More than merely Mother's Day

Mothers Acting Up hosts its annual downtown parade Sunday

By Jennifer Bronson, Camera Staff Writer
Saturday, May 10, 2008

Photo by Cliff Grassmick

Erika Shafroth, left, and Joellen Raderstorf, share a laughwhile on stilts before the Mothers Acting Up parade. The Fifth Annual Mother's Acting Up Parade was held Sunday (Mother's Day) in downtown Boulder. The parade was held to "mobilize the gigantic strength of mothers on behalf of the world's children."

Some mothers in Boulder want Mother's Day to be more than an excuse for flowers and breakfast in bed.

The members of Mothers Acting Up say they are "re-claiming" Mother's Day, taking it back to its historic roots as a day of female activism.

Instead of celebrating the day with a leisurely brunch, the organization's members hope that mothers in Boulder will come together at the seventh annual Reclaim Mother's Day parade to demonstrate the strength mothers have when united for a cause.

The parade will begin at the Boulder Public Library at 1 p.m. Sunday and end at the Pearl Street Mall. The annual Mother's Day events organized by Mothers Acting Up were inspired by a declaration made by Julia Ward Howe after the Civil War, when she called for a day when mothers would unite across boundaries to protect their global family.

In her Mother's Day proclamation, Howe said: "Arise, arise, all women who have hearts!"(...more)

Bianca Bean on Beth!

Beth and M(other) is the word on the blogging mama street....


and yes, Bianca, and all, her show is available to come to you. Just ask how!
Holler at MAU beheard@mothersactingup.org

MAU looking for Development Coordinator.

Development Coordinator, Mothers Acting Up

Reply to: Joellen Raderstorf, Executive Director

Starting Aug 15, 2007

If you have an appetite for raising money for social change, this is an outrageously great opportunity: great mission, great organization, great team!

Flexible hours, can work from home.

Volunteer position with potential to move into a paid position.

Become the Development Diva of Mothers Acting Up (MAU), a movement of mothers publicly and passionately advocating for the world’s children. MAU inspires, educates and engages mothers* a gigantic force to be reckoned with to prioritize children in our corporate and public policies. MAU believes that when mothers lead, generations of global citizens will follow. The organization is in its fifth year with a strong foundation and well-connected team.

All the raw materials are in place, awaiting someone who is inspired!

* mothers and others, on stilts or off, who exercise protective care over someone smaller

Qualifications:

• Love raising money for social change
• Development, Marketing and PR experience
• Familiarity with grant funding sources and processes
• Donor cultivation knowledge and/or experience
• Passionate commitment to a peaceful, child-friendly world
• Excellent communication skills
• Computer savvy
• Event planning knowledge and/or experience

Major responsibilities include:

• Work with MAU team to create development plan
• Pursue sponsorship opportunities for MAU’s 5th annual Handbook
• Support marketing and distribution of MAU Handbook
• Assist in planning, coordination and implementation of fall fundraiser
• Research and apply for grants (corporate and foundation) for MAU
• Maintain and enhance current donor tracking/management systems
• Provide donor cultivation guidance

Check out MAU at www.mothersactingup.org

joellen@mothersactingup.org

PO Box 1244

Boulder, CO 80306

303.474.1286

Mother's Day Fundraiser for MAU.

So perhaps you're going to reclaim Mother's Day an wrest the holiday from the profiteers of the big box stores and sappy commercials with a parade, a vigil a rally or a simple lunch from your well tended garden. But you still want to show mama some extra love. (And remember, mama might be YOU, or a girlfriend, or your sisters...)

Straight outta Boulder, home of the MAU Mothership, comes Boulder's Best Organics with beautifully handcrafted goods that'll nourish mama, align spending power with good practices, AND help fund the movement with a part of each purchase going straight to MAU. See the below description and details, and you can visit their website to see the products.

Mother’s Day Gift Fundraiser

Beautiful. Convenient. Eco-friendly. This Mother’s Day, Boulder’s Best Organics is offering something special for moms everywhere – organic Gift Collections and donations to MAU! This great gift is all organic and all from Boulder, CO! It includes a tea assortment, three-part facial care, essential oils candle, herbal soap, mints, and a lavender plant. Even the attractive Presentation Box is reusable and filled with eco-friendly cushioning. On top of all this, $5 of every Gift is donated to Mother’s Acting Up! Ordering is easy at www.BouldersBestOrganics.com, or at 303.499.ORGANIC (6742). Be sure to enter coupon code MAU for the donation, and share this idea with friends!

Join Up! (in the news.)

... in which Colorado MAUs advocate for the right to education for all.

Conference on World Affairs in Boulder.

Conference on World Affairs Concurrent Events
Education, Microcredit, & Global Health Series

Presented by RESULTS, Mothers Acting Up, Boulder Friends of UNICEF & Engineers without Borders (CU Chapter)
April 10 - 12, 2007
On the CU-Boulder Campus

Tuesday, April 10, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. (Clare Small 207)
Can Microcredit End Poverty?

Panel: Bob Sample, RESULTS; Sue Dorsey, Executive Director, Friendship Bridge; Kerston Hostetter, Executive Director, Microbusiness Development Corporation

Wednesday, April 11, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (UMC 457)
AIDS, TB & Malaria: the Three Diseases of Poverty

Moderator: Christopher Smith, Executive Director, Boulder County AIDS Project
Panel: Dr. David Cohn, University of Colorado, Dr. Robert Belknap, University of Colorado; Jennifer Braun, International Midwife Assistance

Thursday, April 12, 11:15 - 12:00 noon (Norlin Quad – at the front of the library)
JOIN UP! To Send Children to School Around the World
Honorary Join-Up Leader: Magdaleno (Leno) Rose-Avila
www.sendmyfriend.org

(PS Harry Bellefonte will be presenting at Macky at 1pm on Thursday)

Thursday, April 12, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. (Clare Small 207)
Health Care for All: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

Moderator: Howie Wolf, MD
Panel: Dr. Elinor Christiansen, President, Health Care for All Colorado (HCAC); Barry Keene, Business Consultant, HCAC; John Brackney, President, South Metro Denver Chamber & former Arapahoe County Commissioner

More Information: http://www.resultscolorado.org

Featuring: Linda Armstrong, MAU Maven!!

A MAU calendar is on its way to President Bush! Unusual, yes! Why did I, a democrat and an absolute liberal, send Bush a Christmas gift? Well, I can easily go “negative” with today’s politics and the world situation, who can’t? I wanted to send some positive energy to our leaders. Maybe an impressionable support person will find it and reconsider their support of a child-unfriendly policy. Perhaps the bright colors will entice an aide to leaf through the pages and think, “This year, I can help stop AIDS in Africa!” Hey…I can dream, can’t I?

PS: I sent a MAU calendar to Bush last year, and received a lovely engraved thank you note. Now that’s acting up!!

Linda Armstrong, MAU Maven

Learn more about MAU from the Mothership