Ella's House: Elise Jenkins on Helping Pregnant College Students Finish Their Degrees

Ella's House began with Elise Jenkins crying on her mom's bathroom floor, 21 and pregnant, one semester from graduating at Auburn. Elise is now the executive director and co-founder of Ella's House, a Nashville nonprofit that helps pregnant and parenting college students stay in school and finish their degrees. She finished her own degree in human development and family studies, and her daughter Ella Rae arrived days after graduation. You'll hear why housing, childcare and transportation are the big three for a student mom and why diapers turned out to matter more than Elise expected, how Ella's House grew from a two-bedroom bungalow near Lipscomb into housing, mentors, counseling and Tuesday night dinners across more than twenty colleges, and what Elise would ask every university to do first. She also shares the 19-year-old who called the day she came home from a C-section, the Room to Rise plan to build a campus for twenty to twenty-four moms, and the 3am Club, the monthly givers with no minimum who keep the lights on. Ella's House: https://ellashouse.org/ Join the 3am Club: https://ellashouse.org/join-the-3am-club/ Get involved: https://ellashouse.org/get-involved/ Campus Ambassadors: https://ellashouse.org/campus-ambassadors/ Holiday Makers Market: https://ellashouse.org/holiday-makers-market/ Night Circus: https://ellashouse.org/night-circus-2/ Full transcript and show notes: https://youmatternashville.com/episodes/ellas-house-elise-jenkins **************************************** 🎬 WATCH THE VIDEO Watch all episodes on our YouTube Channel @YouMatterNashville 💡 NOMINATE A GUEST Know someone making an impact in the Middle Tennessee area? Nominate Them Here 🌐 FOLLOW US Facebook: @youmatternashville Instagram: @youmatternashville TikTok: @youmatternashville