Singled Out : Celebration: Rap label’s co-founder holds Mother’s Day luncheon to honor the women who face rigors of parenting alone.

While most moms were waiting for that special phone call, a meal that someone else cooked or even to be treated like a queen for a day, more than 800 mothers and their children got more than that, enjoying a special Mother’s Day luncheon Sunday afternoon--an event for single mothers only.

Noting that a lot of single mothers often don’t receive the praise they deserve, Suge Knight, co-founder and president of rap label Death Row Records, which hosted the event, said the luncheon is a way to give such mothers a day of celebration, and a chance for them to mingle with other women in their situation.

Knight, who attributed his own success to the constant nurturing of his mother, said mothers--especially single mothers--often struggle to make ends meet and grapple with raising a child alone.

“I feel like a lot of single mothers work hard and have so much daily stress in their lives. . . . “ Knight said. “That’s why we are doing this.”

Death Row, the nation’s premier rap label and home of rappers Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre, presented its second annual Mother’s Day Luncheon at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The capacity crowd had registered for the free luncheon by calling a local radio station two weeks ago.

Seated at round tables ornamented with spring flowers, most of the mothers chatted or sorted through gifts such as certificates for makeup make-overs. After a lunch of chicken and creme brulee, they were entertained by singers on the host’s record label.

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For an afternoon that was special for most of them--if not unique--many of the women came dressed as if for church, in lacy dresses and Sunday hats.

Sara Gallaway, a 25-year-old professional courier, came all the way from Riverside with her 3-year-old son, Brandon. She said it felt good to know that someone cares about women like her.

“They must love their own mothers a lot to give something like this for so many people they don’t even know,” said Gallaway.

Knight made that point when he told all the children to get up, give their mothers a kiss and tell them, “I love you.”

“There’s one thing you gotta realize,” he told the children. “You will always have one mother--just one.”

Most of the women said the afternoon was an opportunity to escape the pressures of life and just be pampered.

“If you’re a single mother and you have young kids, most times (the kids) can’t really do anything like this for you on Mother’s Day,” said 27-year-old Kim Jones, who brought her two children, Mychal, 7, and Shaina, 8, to the luncheon. “That’s why this is good. It’s like a glamour day for me.”

Among the guests was Snoop Doggy Dogg’s mother, Beverly Broadus. Her son was not with her, she said, but he sent her a big bouquet of flowers and a note expressing his thanks to her for being there for him all these years.

In Downtown Los Angeles, the Union Rescue Mission put on a fashion show and luncheon for about 200 homeless women, many of them mothers, and their children.

“They cut my hair, they styled it, they put makeup on me. I look nice,” said Josette St. Pierre, 19, one of nine women who volunteered for a cosmetic make-over and modeled for the audience.

Some of the guests were staying at the mission, while others were invited from sidewalks and overnight shelters in the area.

The menu, much of it donated, included roast beef, grilled chicken breast, rice pilaf, vegetables, pasta salad and cake. Music was provided by Thomas Ross, a saxophonist, and the Rococo String Quartet of the USC School of Music.