Mother's Day is a time of commemorating and celebrate that one special woman in your life — your Mother. Now imagine how wonderful and amazing it would be to have not only your birth mother, but an additional six who not only shower you with love, but take care of you day and night.

LeAnda Johnston, Shayna Duncan, Melissa Trott, Channel Bean, Denise Carey and "Aunt" Jean Outerbridge are the "Mothers" of The Bermuda Sunshine League.

Every day they care not only for their own children, but the 12 boys and girls who, for various reasons, call the centre in Hamilton home.

LeAnda Johnston, Melissa Trott and Channel Bean are Child Life staff and help the children with their homework, getting ready for school the next day and problem solving, which also sometimes includes offering a shoulder to cry on and settling disputes between the children who range in age from five to 18.

Shayna Duncan is a supervisor of The Sunshine League, a job that goes 24/7 and involves shift work to oversee the home, making sure everything works the way it's supposed to and organising daily, weekly and monthly events.

"Aunt" Jean Outerbridge prepares three healthy and delicious meals a day and also teaches the children to cook so that when they return home they can share their new-found skills with their families. Thanks to her skills there is always something delicious baking in the kitchen and it's not unusual for the mouth-watering aroma of chocolate chip cookies to fill the air.

Last, but not least, is Denise Carey who is the Director of The Sunshine League. Besides being mother to the children who call the League home, she is also "Mother Hen" to all the staff. There are also two men on staff — Michael Parsons and Allen Trott.

Every day there's cooking and cleaning (which the children help with as part of their after school chores) and these "mothers to many" also do the laundry, drive the children to school and after-school activities, help them keep appointments with teachers, their families, doctors and also organise activities at the centre. Basically everything their own mothers would do for them.

"I think it's both rewarding and challenging," says Ms Duncan. "You are working with children and it's important to understand where they are emotionally and help them to deal with and understand that there is a process in life."

She adds: "So it's challenging at times because they are individuals and they have rights, and they know their rights, and trying to get them to see that there's a bigger world than just this. So we work with them constantly to help them see it's a journey and how you connect the dots will work for you and what has happened does not have to mean that will always be."

Ms Duncan was a foster mother for six years.

Ms Trott, who has a young daughter, says she never expected to be a mother to 12 children: "It is a rewarding because of the challenges that come with the attitudes they might have and the flak you get from them, but you still see the love and respect they have for you. They say it with a hug and when they're upset and crying they chose to come to you and that's rewarding at the end of the day."

Ms Johnston adds: "A lot of the challenges are natural as they reach obstacles being teens, or preteens and they need to learn to get over that hurdle and we provide hurdle help for them, so that's rewarding to see them bypass those challenges."

Director of the Centre, Ms Carey says she loves her job and the trigger points include the day the children arrive at The Sunshine League, which can be the worst day of their life and how they get through that and how they and their families feel after their first meeting.

"There is nothing more rewarding when a child leaves and says 'Thank you', or their parents come to you and say 'You did a really good job'. When that happens, you know you're heading in the right direction," the mother of a young son says. "Personally, for me to be a part of these children's lives and to know that I get to go home and take some of what I've learnt from the children and staff, and use that in my own home to be a good parent, that's very exciting because you are part of making a difference in our community."

The Sunshine League, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, is hosting and Open House on April 30 and members of the public are invited to visit the home and see the difference these "mothers to many" make in the children's lives. For more information visit www.sunshineleague.bm