Eva Mae was my grandmommy, and even now her name still feels like a soft lamp left on in a hallway, the kind of light that says: “Come on in. You’re safe here.”
She carried a particular kind of strength, not the loud kind that needs a stage, but the steady kind that holds a family together through ordinary days and hard seasons.
Eva Mae understood something many people spend a lifetime chasing: love is not a sentiment, it’s a way of being. It shows up in how we speak to people, how we listen, how we make room, how we forgive, how we feed and clothe and encourage, how we stop long enough to notice someone who is being overlooked.
She lived the Golden Rule with her whole life. Not as a slogan, but as a practice. Her presence carried dignity. Her care carried backbone. She could be tender without being fragile, and firm without being cruel. She knew how to set aside judgment and see the human being underneath the story.
The Eva Mae Foundation exists to make love visible in the world.
Established in 2021, the Eva Mae Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, created to extend dignity, practical support, and spiritually grounded care to people navigating life’s most tender transitions. Through aligned programs and partnerships, we put the Golden Rule into motion, setting aside bias, honoring every life as sacred, and building bridges of hope that last.
Everything we do is meant to be a legacy and an honor to her: compassion with structure, mercy with integrity, and support that doesn’t require anyone to become “acceptable” before they are worthy. The heart of this Foundation is the heart Eva Mae gave the world, a commitment to meet people without bias, to honor all paths to divine love, and to walk alongside those standing at life’s most consequential crossroads.
When we support partnerships like Love Only Grows Music Ministry, and providing food, clothing, education and medical care for orphans and children in need, we are carrying forward her understanding that comfort and hope can reach places logic can’t. When we build pathways like the LifeCharter Freedom Ready Initiative for women preparing for parole after decades of incarceration, and publishing Becoming Uncaged, we’re extending the kind of steady, human-centered care Eva Mae embodied, the kind that says: “Your future is not canceled. Your life still belongs to God. You still belong.”
This Foundation is not simply named after Eva Mae. It is shaped by her very heart and the life she led.
It is our way of saying: her love mattered, her life mattered, and the way she loved is still alive, still multiplying, still making room for people to become uncaged, inside and out.
Programs and Partnerships
Steady Support - Sacred Partnerships
The Gentle Shelter Program is Eva Mae Foundation’s wraparound care initiative for orphans and children in need, designed to meet the essentials with dignity and consistency.
Through reliable access to nutritious food, seasonal clothing, education support, and basic medical care, The Gentle Shelter Program helps stabilize a child’s daily life so growth can take root. We don’t offer “handouts.”
We offer a steady covering: practical provision, compassionate advocacy, and a path toward health, learning, and long-term wellbeing.
Because when a child is fed, warm, taught, and cared for, they don’t just survive.
They begin to belong, to breathe, and to build a future.
2026 Fundraising Goal: $12,000
The Gentle Shelter Program
Love Only Grows Music Ministry
Love Only Grows is an independent music ministry devoted to sharing the transformative power of singing our prayers together.
Led by singer-songwriters Matthew Hammond and Davya Flaharty, Love Only Grows creates and shares hymns and devotional music that glorify Divine Love, reaching sincere seekers of Truth wherever they are and supporting them in rediscovering their wholeness.
Through concerts, hymn sings, and workshops, their music becomes a living invitation to healing, courage, and spiritual renewal. Eva Mae Foundation is honored to partner with Love Only Grows to help carry this message of Love into communities that need it most.
loveonlygrows.org
There are places in life where the walls feel permanent.
And yet, even behind concrete and razor wire, something remains unincarcerated: the part of you God authored before the world started naming you by your worst day.
Becoming Uncaged: A Map for the Middle of It is a 12-month book and workbook created to support transformation during incarceration and the road toward reentry. It is not a “fix yourself” manual. It is a steady companion. A Travel Partner in paper form. A way to practice the holy work of returning to what is True even when your surroundings argue loud.
This workbook guides readers through a year-long journey using a Body/Brain/Soul approach:
~The body, where stress lives and habits form
~The brain, where patterns repeat until something interrupts them
~The soul, where identity is restored and purpose is revealed
Each chapter includes short teachings, practical exercises, reflection prompts, and tools for accountability, emotional regulation, relationship repair, spiritual grounding, and daily structure. It is written with deep respect for prison reality and with a conviction rooted spiritually: God’s presence, care, and transforming power are not confined by walls or labels.
2026 Fundraising Goal $15,000
Planned Release Date:
April 1, 2026
LifeCharter Freedom Ready Initiative
2026 Fundraising Goal $20,000
The LifeCharter Freedom Ready Initiative (Prison Ministry Program) is Eva Mae Foundation’s ministry of presence and transformation for those who are incarcerated and ready to make an inward change regardless of outward circumstances, as well as supporting inmates who have spent 20+ years incarcerated and are approaching parole within the next 18–24 months.
Through the LifeCharter Freedom Ready Initiative, we help each program participant rebuild from the inside out, not with hype, but with holy clarity and practical steps. Together we focus on emotional resilience, spiritual grounding, life skills, and a personalized plan for housing, health care, education, employment readiness, and supportive community. This is not just “getting out.” This is learning how to stay free in mind, heart, and daily living.
Our aim is simple and sacred: to walk with women as they move from survival to stability, and from fear to a future they can actually hold.
MISSION:
To support humankind through a share belief and demonstration in the Golden Rule - Setting aside biases and honoring all paths to divine Love.
FAQs
Find answers to common questions about Eva Mae Foundation, our programs, and how to get involved.
Don’t see your question? Contact us, we’d be honored to help.
What is the Eva Mae Foundation
Eva Mae Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to protecting dignity, restoring hope, and expanding opportunity for children in need and incarcerated women preparing for life beyond confinement. We serve through practical provision, sacred partnership, and long-term support that helps people rebuild from the inside out.
What programs does the Eva Mae Foundation offer?
Our core initiatives include:
The Gentle Shelter Program: food, clothing, education support, and medical care for orphans and children in need.
LifeCharter Freedom Ready Initiative: a women’s prison ministry and reentry preparation program for incarcerated women ready for inward change, including those approaching parole.
Who can receive support through your programs?
Support is provided based on program focus and partnership pathways. The Gentle Shelter Program serves children in need through vetted local partners. The LifeCharter Freedom Ready Initiative serves incarcerated women who are committed to inner transformation and, when applicable, are within an 18–24 month window of parole consideration.
How can I partner with Eva Mae Foundation?
We welcome partners who align with our mission and values. Partnerships may include program collaboration, in-kind donations, sponsorship, volunteer support, or referral relationships. If your organization or ministry feels aligned, reach out through our Contact page and we’ll explore the next right step together.
What is Love Only Grows and how do you work together?
Love Only Grows is a music ministry devoted to singing prayers and sharing hymns that uplift and heal. Eva Mae Foundation partners with Love Only Grows to bring encouragement, spiritual renewal, and the message of Divine Love into communities that need it most.
How can I donate and where does my gift go?
Donations support direct program impact. Gifts help provide essentials for children (food, clothing, education, medical support) and support prison ministry and reentry preparation through the LifeCharter Freedom Ready Initiative. You can donate through our Donate page, and you’ll receive a tax-deductible receipt.
Do my online donations lose money to processing fees?
Not through Eva Mae Foundation. A generous benefactor covers all credit card processing fees so that 100% of every donation goes directly to the program, partnership, or initiative you choose to support.
Eva Mae Foundation
AmiLynne Carroll, Director
5787 S Odessa Street
Centennial, Colorado 80015
Established 2021