every community has a story.
this is ours.
how it started
Sometimes the hardest part of raising a child with special needs is feeling like you're the only one walking that road. That’s exactly how Kindred began. It started with a simple conversation between two moms who were both searching for something they couldn’t quite find.
We met up after recently connecting and quickly realized we were both looking for the same thing — community with other moms raising children with special needs. We both knew how isolating this road could feel at times, and we kept coming back to the same thought: there have to be other moms out there who feel the same way.
So we decided to create the kind of space we had both been hoping to find.
That day, Kindred was born — a place where moms walking similar roads could come together, support one another, and hopefully begin to feel a little less alone.
Before we left that meeting, we made a promise to each other that we would keep showing up, even if it was just the two of us. And honestly, for a little while, it was. But we believed God had placed this on our hearts for a reason, so we stayed faithful and kept showing up.
Not long after those early gatherings, we felt God nudging us to share Kindred with more moms. We started posting about it in Facebook groups for moms of children with special needs, and slowly things began to grow. What started as two moms meeting in a small upstairs room eventually turned into a room full of women walking similar paths and a growing online community of hundreds of moms.
But honestly, the numbers aren’t the part that makes us the most proud.
The moments that mean the most are the ones that happen after our events are over — when moms are still standing in the parking lot talking long after everything else has wrapped up. Hearing that moms are texting each other, planning playdates, and building real friendships is exactly what we had hoped for when Kindred first began.
Kindred exists to create a space where moms of children with special needs can find friendship, support, and encouragement from other moms who truly understand this journey. Some days you might come needing encouragement. Other days you might be the one offering it. Either way, you belong here.
Kindred is a ministry of Harvester Christian Church, and our faith shapes the heart behind what we do. While we may be the ones organizing things, we truly believe God is the one guiding it all. Our prayer from the very beginning has been simple: that every mom who walks into Kindred feels seen, supported, and reminded that she isn’t walking this road alone.
Looking back, it’s incredible to see what God has done with something that started with just two moms and a small idea.
And honestly, we feel like this is only the beginning.
more than a name
When we were dreaming about what this community could be, the word kindred kept coming back to us.
Kindred means family — people connected by shared experiences — and that’s exactly what we hoped moms would find here. Not just a group, but a place where women walking similar paths could find one another, feel understood, and over time begin to feel like family. Raising children with special needs can sometimes feel isolating, but when moms who share similar experiences come together, something powerful happens. Conversations are easier. Walls come down. And the feeling of doing this alone starts to fade.
That’s the heart behind Kindred. A place where moms can find their people — their village — and walk this journey together.
As Kindred has grown, our branding has grown with it. The wildflower theme and the hand-drawn elements in our logo were chosen intentionally to reflect the real women who make up this community. We don’t have everything perfectly put together, and we’re not trying to. The organic typeface and hand-drawn flowers aren’t rigid or polished — they have movement and character.
Just like us.
The three flowers in the Kindred logo each carry meaning.
The geranium represents friendship.
The tulip symbolizes fresh starts and sacrifice.
The poppy honors quiet strength.
Each bloom grows differently, just like the moms in Kindred. Our children have different diagnoses. Our stories look different. But the stems meet at the bottom — reminding us that at our core, we all need the same things: to be seen, to be heard, and to find connection with other women walking similar paths.
Wildflowers are diverse, resilient, and beautiful in their own unique ways. No two are exactly alike. And yet when they grow together in a field, they create something vibrant, strong, and full of life.
That’s the picture we hold onto for Kindred.
A community of women who may all be walking different stories, raising children with different diagnoses, and navigating different challenges — but growing side by side. Encouraging one another. Laughing together. Carrying each other through the hard seasons.
Because motherhood was never meant to be done alone.
And what started as two moms hoping to build a village is slowly becoming a field full of wildflowers