Shelly began a non-profit called The Mommy Place for girls under 18 whose moms had died. It is a place of support and mentoring. Working part-time at first to pay the bills, she began to slowly pull the organization together--legally and organizationally.

After 9/11, Shelly saw how much The Mommy Place was needed and put her other life activities on hold. She sacrificed herself financially, and focused completely on bringing the organization to life. She spent all of her time tracking down 9/11 families with girls who lost their moms, organizing a pre-mother's day event for girls without moms, fundraising, finding space and therapists for support groups, and dealing with all of the other things that need to be dealt with. The organization can't afford to hire help right now, so she does everything.

Her reward is helping the girls and through that helping their families. She has successfully applied for some grants to fund the support groups, but had no money for operating expenses until very recently, so she did not pay herself and existed on what little she could make with odd side jobs. To make The Mommy Place come alive, Shelly didn't eat much (couldn't afford it), didn't sleep much (no time), and gave up her personal loves of playing basketball and writing (again, no time). But, she has found some qualified therapists and possibly some support group space; she had a successful mother's day event and a bowling fundraiser; she helped a grandmother start a scholarship in the name of her daughter who was killed in 9/11 and left behind 2 daughters; and she won a grant that allows her to pay herself a small salary.

2002 was a time of great challenge for her and The Mommy Place, but even though Shelly had many moments of loneliness and even poverty, she never gave up trying to help the girls. Through Shelly and The Mommy Place, a generation of girls will have the resources to overcome one of the most devestating losses a child can face.

Shelly chose to make this her work and dedicated everything she has to it, sacrificing personal needs.

Shelly turned down publicity and personal profit opportunities to protect the private lives of the girls and continues to strictly monitor those who would be involved with them to make sure no one exploits them.

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