"I'd like to help put on a prom for moms like me," the 17-year-old girl tells Anderson [Indiana] University junior Heather Brown. "It might make up for missing it."

Heather listens as this young, single mom talks about problems she faces. Having dropped out of high school because of her pregnancy, she admits her fears about taking the GED--a test allowing her to receive a high-school diploma. During one silent moment, Heather responds, "I'm so impressed with you. You have so many strengths ..." It's a genuine comment from the founder of Students Offering Unconditional Love (SOUL), now an official Anderson campus ministry to unwed mothers in the community.

Students volunteering for SOUL tutor, baby-sit, give rides to the doctor, and help teenage moms connect with social services. Most of all, they offer friendship.

"You must come in as a friend," stresses Heather, "not as someone out to fix their problems. They'll resent that. But if you ask, 'What are some of your needs?' they'll respond."

When Heather was a freshman, she met a pregnant, unwed mother of two. Soon they were chatting about friends, boyfriends, and mutual problems with parents. "This girl had children, and she came from a different economic level than my family's," Heather recalls. "Even so, she was close to my age, and she could be my friend." Since that first meeting, Heather has been with this young mother through the birth of two children and has seen many positive changes.

Yet, seemingly insurmountable problems face this young mom and the others like her--poverty, repeat pregnancies, abusive relationships. And most suffer from deep feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.

"SOUL wants to affirm the mother's dignity," stresses Heather. "And have them see God and his love in all we do. I can't change anybody's behavior through scare tactics or begging. Unless Jesus comes into the situation, everything will stay the same." Heather Brown and her group of volunteers are helping to introduce him to some struggling, young mothers.