THE STEPMOTHER'S PROJECT (Social Impact Media)

Jennifer Bao Yu 'Precious Jade' Jue-Steuck is organizing this fundraiser.

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“TO ENSURE THAT ALL MOTHERS – INCLUDING STEPMOTHERS – HAVE ACCESS TO SUPPORT AND ARE EMPOWERED TO HAVE A VOICE IN OUR SOCIETY…”

THE STEPMOTHER'S PROJECT IS A BOOK FUNDRAISER TO LAUNCH A GLOBAL CONVERSATION ABOUT STEPMOTHERHOOD.

DEAR AMAZING STEPMOTHER SISTERS, FRIENDS & FAMILY, and ADVOCATES:

You are a mother. YES! You.

You are – according to census reports – 20+ million mothers.

20 million stepmother strong voices. Beautiful, unsung voices of talented, amazing, incredible women who fell in love…

Yet you are invisible in our society.

I see you. Let us take THIS moment to HONOUR YOU.

Without you school lunches would not be made. And their bedrooms might not have been cleaned that week. Without you emergency trips to the doctor's office might have been much, much more difficult. Without you there would have been no trips to NYC, no writer's workshops, no glittery golden special letters hand-selected for your child-of-the-heart / stepchild. There would have never been that hug, that help with his first speech, her special Broadway show. Without you there never would have been that hand-painted desk with bespoke animal knobs, their first play, that loving embrace when they sobbed salty tears in your arms because they were sad about their parent's divorce...but didn't want to hurt their parent's feelings...

You matter.

You are so important.

Without you, dearest Stepmother, there might not have been any other adult to pick up the pieces of that messy divorce, to rock and soothe and love a child in need.

You MATTER. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO. Even if no one else ever says thank you, know that WE THANK YOU. The WORLD THANKS YOU – for holding together the broken pieces of its lost and divorced heart.

In spite of all your contributions in some countries there is literally no term for you. Instead there is a tacit but unspoken Social Contract that Stepmothers shall be physically present but NOT considered. Don’t rock the boat; in return your presence shall be tolerated. Perhaps…

Invisible Mothers. You are everywhere around the world, and yet who sees you? Who truly sees you?

I see you. I see your pain.

For I am a fellow sister – a fellow stepmother-of-the-heart. I see your dreams, your sorrows. The loss. The pain. The confusion. And at the end of it all – when you have dried their tears, spent your savings on them – I feel your heartbreak when those same children and their parents (and maybe even their grandparents and relatives) perhaps pretend that you do not exist. Those same children do not invite you to their graduation, their wedding, and then casually discard you from the rest of their lives...

Do you know how much you matter? Do you know that you are a mother, too, and that ALL mothers matter? Do you know how special and beloved you are? Do you know how much I believe in your potential and your dreams, oh dear Stepmother-Sister-Of-My-Heart. You deserve so much more.

You deserve support. You deserve to be honoured and appreciated for the millions of tiny gestures – invisible stitches made with your heart's blood and silent tears each and every day – that help to hold the world and its grieving children together in a collective embrace of 20 million stepmother arms encircled around the globe.

My name is Jennifer Bao Yu ‘Precious Jade’ Jue-Steuck (that's me in the photo below with my adoptive mother, Janet), and I have been an orphan, a Harvard grad, a transracial and transnational adoptee, an illegal immigrant, a legal klutz, a founder, a travel writer, and a proud stepmother-of-the-heart to two talented and special children.

When I was 19 my (adoptive) mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Losing both my adoptive and biological mothers in the first two decades of my life was a double loss that no one ever talked about or prepared me for. My mother Janet was my best friend, and when she died I was devastated.

Fast-forward to almost 20 years later and I became a proud Stepmother. I wanted to share everything that my beautiful adoptive Mother had taught me with our children-of-the-heart.

Today I write to you from afar – from a Future Land of Stepmother Dreams – to respectfully ask for your help. Vast in numbers, where is our voice? And where are our stories…?

MY GOAL FOR THE STEPMOTHER PROJECT – A BOOK TO SHED LIGHT ON A FREQUENTLY MISUNDERSTOOD TOPIC, TO HONOUR AND GIVE VOICE TO THE HOPES AND DREAMS OF MILLIONS OF STEPMOTHERS AROUND THE PLANET

For the past 11 months, I have been working on my newest book — inspired by my experiences as a stepmother / mother-of-the-heart. I’m thrilled to announce that we are now ready to take the next big step, and I know that your support will make a significant difference. (Please see Budget Breakdown below.)

PERSONAL STORY:

For as long as I can remember I have always dreamed of becoming a mother (photo above: Jennifer, age 6). As an adopted child I, too, wanted to continue my parent's legacy and one day adopt children of my own.

My family and Mother Dreams came true when I became a Stepmother-of-the-heart.

When I first became a Stepmother I was so excited and thrilled to create a healthy, positive, and welcoming blended family culture. We planned trips. Made special family rituals. Laughed a lot. Took the children to my writing conferences abroad. Shared dreams, hopes, and lots of love.

(Little did I suspect the hazards that can be placed on a stepmother’s path, and how dangerous this path can be for one’s personal integrity, self-esteem, career, mental health and more...)

FACT:

Stepmothers are the most likely adults (in blended families) to suffer from ANXIETY, DESPAIR, FEELINGS OF POWERLESSNESS and DEPRESSION, yet they are the least studied group, post-divorce.

BIRTH OF "THE STEPMOTHER'S PROJECT"

In the summer of 2022 we were thrilled and excited to attend our child's 8th grade graduation ceremony. Once inside the ceremony we were heartbroken to discover that we had been erased from the graduating class family photos. (I didn't know what to say or do. I clapped and cheered, trying not to burst into tears...as my heart, hopes and mother-dreams shattered onto the floor into a thousand tiny pieces.)

That weekend of our child's 8th grade graduation (see photo above holding flowers for our 8th grader and her BFFs), PROJECT STEPMOTHER was born. I wanted to know if other stepparents had been erased from the lives of the children that they loved — whether in subtle or dramatic ways. And what had they done about this…? Was I the only one who had experienced this? Probably not. But where were all the books about this?

Why weren’t there more positive images of stepmothers in media, movies and stories — ones that actually highlighted stepparent struggles in a heartfelt and authentic, balanced way…? Why were step-relations — and stepmothers in particular — so frequently misunderstood...?

WHY THERE IS A NEED FOR THIS BOOK: BLENDED FAMILY & STEP-FAMILY STATISTICS

• 114 million Americans have a step-relationship

• 40% of married couples with children are step-couples (at least one partner had a child form a previous relationship)

• So-called “non-traditional” families now outnumber “traditional” ones.

• Of all the “parents” in a blended family situation, Stepmothers are often reported to have the highest levels of depression and anxiety within the blended family.

To this end I am proud to donate a portion of book proceeds to create a STEPMOTHER BURSARY / SCHOLARSHIP for stepmothers who are in transition / in need.

I envision this scholarship to be used for things that I wished I had had access to when I first became a stepmother—such as stepmother coaching, stepmother counsellors, workshops, career advancement for stepmothers, and more!

HOW MY BOOK IS DIFFERENT

My book is unique in that it addresses Stepmotherhood in a new work of fiction that challenges our notions of what a Stepmother is.

On this site everything that I have shared thus far is seriously heartbreaking. Stepmothers as we know, however, deserve romance. They deserve to smile. They deserve to laugh.

I hope that readers will be delighted by the surprise in my story. It is a true labour of love. Thank you for your help making its completion possible.

WITH GRATITUDE — HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THIS PROJECT

You can support this project by donating to my Stepmother Project Angel Fund. Suggested donations are the following amounts: $15, $25, $50, $75, $100, $150, $250, $500+. (Any amount is greatly appreciated.)

May all Mothers feel supported and honoured for the important work that they contribute to the lives of the children of the world, no matter how they came to become a mother (biological, adoptive, foster, "step-mother," mother-of-the-heart, etc.). I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF STEPMOTHERS TO TRANSFORM OUR WORLD. I BELIEVE IN EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Graphic Design

($1,000)

Typesetting

($2,000)

Copyediting

($1,500)

Editor

($3,500)

Book Website & Marketing:

($1,500)

Estimated Total Budget Needed:

$9,500

BE REWARDED!

In gratitude for your generous donation Stepmother Project REWARDS are as follows:

• $15 Gift: your name listed on book website as "Project Stepmother Friend"

• $25+ Gift: your name listed on book website as "Project Stepmother Supporter" + complimentary paperback copy

• $75+ Gift: your name listed on book website as "Project Stepmother Patron" + complimentary hand-signed copy with *personalized* note

• $125+ Gift: your name listed on book website as "Project Stepmother Circle" + complimentary hand-signed copy with *personalized* note + exclusive VIP Invite to a book event

• $150+ Gift: your name listed on book website as "Project Stepmother Confidante" + complimentary hand-signed copy with personalized note + exclusive VIP invite to a book event + Your Name in the Acknowledgements Section of the Book

• $250+ Gift: your name listed on the book website as "Project Stepmother Auntie" + complimentary hand-signed copy with personalized note + Your Name in the Acknowledgements Section of the Book + exclusive VIP invite to a book event + VIP Invitation to Book Launch Party

• $500+ Gift: your name listed on the book website as "Project Stepmother Angel" + Complimentary hand-signed copy with personalized note + Your Name in the Acknowledgements Section of the Book + Invitation to Book Launch Party + VIP Invitation to Book Event + Surprise Bonus Gift

May no mother feel that she does not matter, or is erased, in the lives and hearts of the children she loves because all children deserve to be loved and treasured by as many adults in their lives as possible.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INVALUABLE SUPPORT FOR THE STEPMOTHER'S PROJECT.

THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN THIS PROJECT.

EVERY MOTHER MATTERS.

BIO:

From Laguna Beach (Orange County), California, Jennifer Bao Yu "Precious Jade" Jue-Steuck is an author, screenwriter, children's novelist, adoption researcher, and adoption columnist. Adopted from Taipei (by an American family from Los Angeles), Jennifer is a graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and Harvard University, where she was a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Scholar.

She is the founder of Chinese Adoptee Links (CAL) International — Global Generations, the first global group created by and for the more than 150,000 Chinese adoptees growing up in 26+ countries around the world. She currently serves as the co-founder of Harvardwood Vancouver-Seattle (for Harvard alumni in the Arts & Entertainment), and is the West Coast Brand Ambassador for Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs (HAE) Canada.

Jennifer has given more than 100+ adoption talks in 8 countries, including several Keynote Speeches, on behalf of the international adoption community. A contributor to St. Martin’s Press, Oxford University Press, MIT Press, Conde Nast and more, Jennifer was recently awarded a runner-up prize by International Thriller Writers (ITW). She won her first writing competition at age 9, and has been writing ever since. The Stepmother's Project is Jennifer's first Canadian global media project ("EVERY MOTHER MATTERS").

MORE ABOUT JENNIFER:

During and after university I created the first global group created by and for the more than 150,000 Chinese adoptees growing up in 26 countries around the world. (Here I am with some friends in Europe.)