Ahead of Mother's Day, a local group hopes the public will help with a special fundraising effort. Family Promise of Western New York wants to raise money for homeless single mothers in hopes of getting them back on their feet. 

Group members say there are around 2,000 homeless families in Erie County alone, and 73 percent of them are headed by single mothers. The group's latest initiative allows you to have a donation made in a loved one's name, and that person will get a Mother's Day certificate. That money helps keep temporarily homeless families together via a network of congregations that offer housing.

"They provide meals, shelter and companionship for these families at night and over the weekend. During the weekday our families come to our day center in Cheektowaga where they work on housing and employment issues with our case manager," said Peter Scott, Family Promise of Western New York.