Community Corner

Shaq's Mom Seeks "Most Inspirational Mom"

Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula nominated Menlo Park resident Angelica Berenice Navarro for national award.

The country's Most Inspirational Mom may be your next-door neighbor.

Meet Angelica Berenice Navarro. 

She’s a Menlo Park resident who is one of 16 finalists from across the country who are in the running for the “Most Inspirational Mom” award. Navarro is the Art Director at the .

The mother of four was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year and also helps her mom raise her sister who has down syndrome.  In 2011, her youngest child was diagnosed with autism.

“Despite all of these challenges, Navarro approaches life with a smile and reaches out to kids as an art director at her local ,” said Nicki Sawaya, development associate for the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula. 

“A recent New Year’s resolution was to get her college degree. Now she moves one step closer to becoming the Most Inspirational Mom,” Sawaya said.   

Shaquille O’Neal’s mom Lucille launched the search four months ago.  

“I came up through the Boys & Girls Club and so did my children, so I have a strong connection to Family PLUS and the Most Inspirational Mom search," O’Neal said.

The Boys and Girls Club of America partnered with Kimberly-Clark to strengthen families through this program, whose acronym stands for Parents, Leading, Uniting, Serving. The program's goal is to make sure "parents and caregivers have the opportunities and assistance they need to better their children's lives," according to the club's website. 

About 2,000 Boys and Girls Clubs in America participate in the PLUS Program, according to Sawaya.

O'Neal said she's heard about many incredible moms during the search. “But now we are down to the top 16, and every one of these moms would be ideal choices because they are all wonderfully inspirational," O'Neal said. 

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She said the competition would be tough, but the reward would be sweet.

Three moms will win a full-tuition scholarship, undergraduate or graduate, to the University of Phoenix. They will also get a “Kimberly-Clark survival kit” that contains a one-year supply of Cottonelle toilet paper, Huggies diapers, Viva papertowels and Kleenex.

For more information about the Family Plus program, or to meet the other moms in the running visit familyplus.bgca.org.

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