The moms came marching one by one....

Publish Date: 5/12/2008

Jennifer Parsons of Longmont helps her daughter Sedona, 1, wipe her eye Sunday before the start of the seventh annual Mothers Acting Up parade in downtown Boulder. Janna Vance of Longmont, right, and Parsons are members of Longmont Moms Go Green. Lewis Geyer/Times-Call

Mom Movement
125 gather in Boulder to march for a better future

By Scott Rochat
Longmont Times-Call

BOULDER — The moms came marching one by one — and then some.

About 125 people paraded through Boulder on Sunday, from moms on stilts to kids in strollers. It was Mother’s Day and that meant it was time for Mothers Acting Up to go on the march.

“We’re just having a lot of fun out here, while doing something worthwhile for everyone,” said Isabel Cousins of Boulder, wearing a bike helmet that had been turned into a crown of flowers, with bright purple and orange blooms.

Mothers Acting Up got its start seven years ago...(more)

Nashville MAU's Mother's Day events in Nashville Parent.

MAU Seeks to Raise Awareness of Whole New Generation of Activists.

From the Colorado Daily....

Mothers Acting Up

BOULDER-BASED ORGANIZATION SEEKS TO RAISE AWARENESS AND A WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF ACTIVISTS

By DEBRA GOLDYN, Your Town Correspondent
Monday, May 5, 2008

IF YOU GO WHAT: MAU Mother's Day Parade

WHEN: Sunday, May 11, 1 p.m.

WHERE: Boulder Public Library, 1000 Canyon Blvd., Boulder, 80302; to the Pearl Street Mall

HOW MUCH: Free

ON THE WEB: www.bouldermau.blogspot.com

The environment is ailing, there's a war raging in Iraq, and there are children living in poverty around the globe. What's a concerned mother to do? Why, strap on a pair of stilts, of course.

At least that's the thinking for Mothers Acting Up (MAU), a Boulder-based global network of "mothers and others, on stilts or off, who exercise protective care over someone smaller." The group, which lists "Be Exuberant" as one of its guiding principles, seeks to mobilize that most primal of instincts--a mother's love--and turn it into a political force to be reckoned with. The stilts are just a unique way to bring attention to MAU's message of positive activism.

Stilts are "really the perfect metaphor for what we do,"(...more)

World AIDS Orphans Day May 7.

Subject: Please join us to speak up for orphans and vulnerable children!

Dear Friends:

World AIDS Orphans Day – May 7^th - is a campaign to draw attention to the more than 15 million children orphaned by AIDS worldwide.

Visit the World AIDS Orphans Day website, www.worldaidsorphans.org, where you can learn more about the issue, raise awareness, lobby political leaders, plan and host events, and share stories and photos.

To mark World AIDS Orphans Day, here are a few quick and easy things you can do:

1. Join us: Sign up online to join the campaign. You can also join us on Facebook, Myspace, and YouTube.
2. Spread the word: Tell friends and fellow activists about the day, submit a letter to the editor to your local or campus newspaper, and email government leaders to advocate for 10% for children.
3. Host or attend an event: Host a rally, party, or tabling event to mark World AIDS Orphans Day. Add your event to our global calendar.
4. Share your story and put your face on the map: Take a few seconds to post a story, share news, or visit our photo map to add your voice.

Please visit www.worldaidsorphans.org today and get involved. For questions or to learn more email info@worldaidsorphans.org or call (212) 697-3566.

Help us to spread the word. Your voice is their future.

MAU at National Mothers Conference.

MAU's Beth Osnes above, doing her stand-up routine.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Viviana Russell, 516 939-6667 X107, vivianar@motherscenter.org

Jericho, NY - April 17, 2008: Meeting of the Minds (and Mothers!)

Over 150 mothers-- and a few fathers-- traveled to Smithtown, NY April 4-6th for an historic conference sponsored by Jericho, NY based National Association of Mothers’ Centers (NAMC). The diverse group of national mothers support and advocacy organizations included: Family & Home Network, Mommies Network, Moms Rising, The Motherhood, Mothers & More, Mothers Acting Up, Mothers Movement Online, Mothers Ought to Have Equal Rights (MOTHERS), National Advocates for Pregnant Women, NOW’s Mothers & Caregivers Economic Rights Committee, The Motherhood Project and the Welfare Warriors.

Attendees hailed from 24 Mothers’ Centers, 16 states and Canada. They networked, attended informative workshops and explored opportunities to work together for the rights and financial stability of mothers, parents and children in this country. Keynote speaker Ellen Bravo, author of “Taking on the Big Boys: Or Why Feminism is Good for Families, Business, and the Nation” fired up the group with words of inspiration. “I realized I’m not the failure. Society has failed us [parents]. I now know where to put my efforts for activism.”, commented one first time attendee at the end of the weekend.

The conference was hailed as “… inspiring and empowering.” The NAMC plans to continue the conversation with partnering organizations who said “Bringing together the representatives from various organizations was meaningful, the results of which will be seen in years to come.”

The NAMC is the leading organization that recognizes the challenges, realities and importance of mothering and other caregiving work, offering educational and support programs in local centers, in libraries and in the workplace, offering an annual Work/Life Conference as well as doing advocacy in the fields of postpartum depression, early care and education, work/life balance and the economic impact of being a care giver. For more information contact us at 877.939.MOMS X101, info@motherscenter.org, or visit our website at www.MothersCenter.org.

# # # # #

GROUP PHOTO

Back Row: (left to right)

Cathy Myers, Family & Home Network; Valerie Young, NAMC's MOTHERS Initiative; Joanne Brundage, Mothers & More; Judith Stadtman Tucker, Mothers Movement Online; Linda Lisi Juergens, NAMC; Pat Gowens, Welfare Warriors; Rhonda Kave, NAMC

Front Row: (left to right)

Emily McKhann, Moms Rising; Tiloma Jayasinghe, National Advocates for Pregnant Women; Debra Levy, Mothers & More; Kristin Maschka, Mothers & More; Beth Osnes, Mothers Acting Up

Photo credit: Moseley/bbaphotography.com

	Photo Donated by Bill Moseley/bbaphotography.com

Memphis MAUs reclaiming Mother's Day.

Memphis mamas are mobilizing!!

Join their yahoogroup to build community and plan for Mother's Day, and check out their blog. Get involved!

MAU: The First Principle.

The following is the first of a series of essays which discuss the 5 founding principles of Mothers Acting Up, a national non-profit organization which exists to inspire and mobilize mothers to advocate on behalf of the world’s children.

From all over the country, people are taking the MAU Pledge to bring the security of the world’s children into the forefront of all discussions – from conversations with family and friends, to our wider communities and certainly with candidates and elected officials.

How to do this effectively? To answer that, let’s begin at the very beginning, with the first of the 5 MAU Principles:

Be exuberant: Since we're ACTING UP for the rest of our lives, our activism has to be joyful. No one wants to rally around anger; studies show that negative advertising causes women to politically disengage. This movement is about the JOY of standing up for what you believe & publicly declaring your priorities. Let's gather in the streets, not with bullhorns, but singing.

With its roots in the lavish abundance of growing and being fruitful, the quality of exuberance smacks with the juicy goodness of mother nurture, Mother Nature and Mothers Acting Up.

As of this writing, we at MAU Central are nodding our heads in collective understanding as to precisely why one presidential nomination candidate’s message of hope and of change has engaged, inspired and ignited citizens across lines of gender, race, class and socioeconomics. While we do not organizationally endorse any candidate, we know from our studies that research shows proof positive that women as a whole, and mothers in particular, disengage when activism and campaigning turns nasty – not just in the presidential race to the nomination, but in life itself! It seems no wonder then, that a swell of support favors positive messaging, declaring that we are not to be saved by any one elected leader alone, but that yes, WE can make the difference all together. Yes, WE can be scrappy and strong and sassy and also sublime when we collectively hold corporate and government leaders accountable for policies that uphold values and services and for the great human family rather than a few select someones. We the mamas, say YES.

Exuberance in practical application means saying, for instance: “Thank you, Delta, for revising your policies in support of breastfeeding families,” instead of, “Hey, Frontier, you messed up and breastfeeding moms are angry!” or by saying “Children Deserve a Bigger Piece of the Pie” instead of “Bush Hates Kids.” But this is not about being sunny for sunny’s sake. This is about focusing on WHAT WE WANT rather than looking back at what we reject. It’s moving towards, rather than against.

While perhaps Pollyanna in part, this primary MAU principle is neither easy nor simple. Sustaining exuberance is a tough row to hoe, a perennial crop whose nutritive value staves off depression, indifference and offers a real life solution to overwhelm and fear. Kind of like mother’s milk for the great human family itself, exuberance promotes real security.

Go forth and be exuberant mamas. Live in liberation of what others’ think of your choices. Model this joyful abundance because it feels good, because your kids will enjoy it far more than staying holed up in fear and loathing, and because you’re likely to inspire others to sing along while plucking up the fruits of your labor.

Try sowing seeds of exuberance by sharing this essay with two friends and asking them to declare themselves Mothers Acting Up. Try bolstering your own activism by writing YES on a mirror with lipstick so you see it each day; the affirmation a reminder of your call to duty and your sheer brilliance in carrying out your mission.

Holler at me with your comments, questions and desire to act up!

Mobilizing Mamas Project in Top 100 for Case Foundation Grant!

Thrillingly, my project proposal to the Case Foundation's Make It Your Own Awards for Mothers Acting Up made it to the TOP 100 out of nearly five thousand applications! This is hugely exciting for MAU, and for me. See the kind of amazing company I'm keeping in this list, and click on my project Mobilizing Mamas to see what it's all about! You can see the widget over at Ms. Booty Homemaker Explains It All To You. More on that soonest!!