The Ashley Michelle Project is a Utah-based 501C non-profit helping women transition to a stable life after drug addiction treatment. The organization will be hosting their First Annual Softball Tournament fundraiser on Saturday, October 22 at Barnes Park in Kaysville, Utah.
After watching her two daughters struggle to adjust to life after drug rehabilitation, Kelly Wareham is on a mission to help women in recovery get the resources they need to succeed in life. Through her newly launched non-profit, the Ashley Michelle Project (named for her two daughters), Kelly is raising funds through a community softball tournament in Kaysville, Utah, on October 22.
“Women often enter recovery with too many strikes against them,” said Kelly. “They have no stable place to live so it’s hard to hold a steady job. If their kids were taken from their custody, they can’t get them back. Without support, it’s all too easy to slide into hopelessness and return to drug abuse. Everyone wins when we help these women succeed.”
The softball tournament will be held at Barnes Park with 100% of proceeds benefiting women in recovery. The entry fee for competitors is $350 per team with a three-game guarantee. Community members can buy raffle tickets for generous prizes, and sponsors can donate $500 for recognition at the event.
With the help of donations from the community, Wareham is able to work with local treatment centers, accepting women into her program on a referral basis. Their care starts with a free makeover by Wareham’s daughter Brooke at the Crazy Beautiful Hair Salon. Guided by Wareham’s daughter Ashely, women can then go “shopping” in a community closet of donated clothing and get training in critical life skills. Ashley also helps with fundraising to help reach Wareham’s ultimate goal: building a community of tiny homes on a large plot of land in Davis County, where women can establish themselves in safe, stable, and affordable housing.
With a non-profit named in her daughters’ honor, Wareham hopes to provide women with the support that her own daughters needed to succeed in their recovery. Both of her daughters’ drug abuse started with marijuana and prescription pain pills and spiraled into heroin addictions. After long journeys through many different detox and rehabilitation programs, both are now in recovery.
“I wish I had known more from the start about how to help my daughters,” said Kelly. “The Ashley Michelle Project allows me to take the services that were most helpful to my own daughters and provide them to other women struggling to overcome addiction. I want to build a safe and supportive community so that more women in recovery get a second chance to thrive in life.”
Those interested in participating in the First Annual Ashley Michelle Project Softball Tournament at Barnes Park (950 W. 200 N., Kaysville), or simply donating to the project, can contact Kelly Wareham at 801-529-8413.
About Ashley Michelle Project
The Ashley Michelle Project is a Utah-based 501C non-profit helping women transition to a stable life after drug addiction treatment.
