In 2015, at the Oklahoma City Pride Parade, there was a moment in time when Sara Cunningham stood holding a simple, homemade sign and a button that read "Free Mom Hugs". From one mother’s inspiring act of compassion, it has since blossomed into a national nonprofit. Free Mom Hugs empowers volunteers across the country to show up for LGBTQIA+ individuals with love, visibility and open arms -- hugs. From a nonprofit started in Oklahoma City to a lively, inspirational, and active chapter represented on the USC campus, Free Mom Hugs is making a difference.

As Cunningham explained: “Now we have Free Mom Hugs chapters all across the country and abroad and our mission statement is to empower the world, to celebrate the community through visibility, through education, and through conversation. It’s those things that changed my heart, and my mind, and my understanding”. The organization is visisble in Pride festivals, on college campuses, and at community events. Volunteers show up in shirts and buttons, some hold signs, and some simply offer a presence of support. Each of them are there to remind others that they are loved and seen.  As noted by Cunningham, being visible is the main objective, “Showing up at Pride festivals with our logo, a bumper sticker, a button. Even if you can't use words, you can see a logo and know I am a strong and faithful ally. And to educate, we collaborate with PFLAG, the ACLU, and the Human Rights Campaign. It’s not a competition here".

As the founder of Free Mom Hugs, Sara Cunningham's activism began at home through the deeply personal journey of learning to overcome her own misconceptions developed through her experiences in the church which had an effect on her relationship with her son. As Cunningham relayed: “I have a gay son. It was a journey that took me from the church to the pride parade without losing my faith or my child.  Along that journey I saw my son happy and healthy and living authentically. Not having to hide and learning about the community and the history”. Cunningham said, “...when my son came out his closet, I had to go into mine, and I had to re-examine everything that I believed. I made a homemade button, I went to a Pride festival, and for anyone who made eye contact with me, I offered a hug. The first hug went to a girl who said it had been four years since she had a hug from her mother because she's a lesbian. And from that experience we started Free Mom Hugs.”

Even in the simplicity of giving hugs, this transformation didn’t happen overnight. As a woman of faith, Cunningham grappled with the painful realization that much of what she had been taught in church clashed with her love for her son. She admitted that “...people's fear and misunderstanding, even my own, was a huge stumbling block... I grew up in a generation where we didn't talk about sex, we didn't question authority, and we didn't talk about money, and that's how we got into this huge mess we’re in today. Yet, you absorbed this idea, this bad theology, that homosexuality is wrong, that maybe something bad happened to my son, or he was broken and [in] need of fixing... and if I accepted him, that made me a sinner too. It was just a devastating time. [But] my faith carried me through that bad theology and soon I found good theology that helped me to better understand...that the LGBTQIA+ community is a gift from God to our families, to our communities, to the world.” Her faith did not falter; it only evolved into something greater, and through that evolution came hope and determination.  

In her book, How We Sleep at Night: A Mother’s Memoir, Cunningham writes about those who guided her toward understanding -- people she calls “glimmers of hope”. “These were people who allowed me the space to ask. They were my glimmers of hope and I just clung to that. There was no judgment, no shame, no condemnation”. Those glimmers, being the ones who helped guide her, became cornerstones of her advocacy; cornerstones of love without judgment and community without perimeters. 

These glimmers of hope and even that first hug became a spark that illuminated both the need and the power of unconditional love. This movement became a reminder of home and even an organization for found family. As Cunningham soon discovered, familial rejection was widespread within the LGBTQIA+ community and communicated that what she heard most was, “... the members who’ve been alienated from their families and from their church homes”. Furthermore, “Not everybody's a hugger, so it might be a high-five or it might just be looking at someone intently in the face and saying, ‘I love you, I'm proud of you, I'm glad we're here together”. It’s about the community-building and offering a safe space that prospers. She clarified that “Sometimes you’ll see slogans like ‘If your mom doesn’t accept you, I’m your mom now’, and that’s never been Free Mom Hugs mission. We never want to replace a parent. We’re always hopeful that parents will come around, but until they do, we want to be a loving presence in the lives of those who need it most".  

The organization’s goals extend far beyond hugs. Cunningham envisions Free Mom Hugs as a sanctuary for tangible support in the future, going on to say that, “I would love to be in a position to where we could offer grants for... safe housing,  gender-affirming care, or something as simple as paying the phone bill or a bus pass to a safer space... we're not there yet, but that's a goal -- to actually give back to the community in that way". 

For those looking to start their own nonprofit rooted in passion, aspirations, and purpose, Cunningham’s advice is simple yet powerful: “It just starts with your passion, with your story, and to stay true to that...that's your superpower... ask for help, stay teachable, and keep returning to your why.” 

Towards the end of our interview, Cunningham offered a reflection that encapsulates her journey and what others may face as well, “I would say you have no idea how far love will take you. And that the pain and confusion will be worth it. Every hug and every story matters. And that the world won't fall apart if you take a nap. That rest is important too. Yeah. Love goes a long way.”  A powerful sentiment that she hopes will inspire and fuel the passion and dreams of others.  

Before closing our conversation, she shared a poem by David Gate: “ If God created the night and the day and the dawn, of course and the dusk and the tangerine rose pink sunset and the infant bright of morning and the deep amethyst twilight then to perceive the world in binary is to forego knowledge of the divine.”  For Cunningham, that poem captures what Free Mom Hugs represents -- a world beyond stereotypes, rooted in the beauty of diversity and unconditional love.” She reiterated “So we know the power of love and education, and that's the heart of Free Mom Hugs... Doing whatever we can to educate, create community, and sustain safe spaces.” From one mother’s embrace to a national movement, Free Mom Hugs reminds us that sometimes the simplest gestures -- a hug, a high-five, a kind word -- can ripple outward and change lives. As a reminder, “Love goes a long way.”