ORLANDO, Fla. — After the sudden death of her husband, an Orlando woman had to adjust to life as a widow raising two young children. Carolyn Moor created the nonprofit Modern Widows Club to help people find the healing resources they need.

She is this week's Everyday Hero.

Moor and her husband had gone out to celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2000, but the night ended when a car crashed into their car and Chad was ejected.

“It was very painful because when the police did come, I didn’t want to let go of him," she said. "They had to force me to let go.”

Hours later, her husband was gone, and Moor was suddenly a single mother of two daughters, ages 2 and 4.

“I think every new widow is a deer in headlights. I don’t think any of them know what to do," Moor said. "I was completely the most capable, the most resourceful leader running my own company of 50 people. I couldn’t figure out what to do.”

She was referred to a grief center for her children. After that yearlong program, Moor didn’t know where to go for the guidance she needed. The lack of resources led her to create the Modern Widows Club pretty much by accident in her living room.

“I would open up my home every third Thursday, and two ladies started coming, and I was just going to mentor two ladies," Moor said. "But what I soon found is widows know widows."

The club grew into a nonprofit that serves more than 50,000 women around the world today with mentoring, leadership development, advocacy, and research. Now she even represents the United States at the annual International Widows Day event focused on issues and solutions.

“Modern Widows Club is a women’s health organization," Moor said. "Yes, every woman that comes here is experiencing grief, but no one wants to stay. There they want a future."

Moor is writing a book called “Inspire, Connect, Lead: Empower Your Widow Mentoring and Leadership Gifts” to help more women.

Registration is open for the Club’s 2022 Widow Empowerment Event being held in September in Arizona.