5 minute read
FINDING YOUR CAUSE
In previous articles, I’ve Some mothers, like Canwritten about giving back dace Lightner, who founded to the larger community by Moms Against Drunk Drivers getting involved in a worthy (MADD) in 1980, are propelled cause and I’ve suggested that to activism by personal trageyou do so only to the extent dies. that your time and resources allow. But, what is your worYou can use your voice as a thy cause? woman and a mother to denounce injustice and promote For some people, their cause BY PEGGY O’MARA positive political change. First, is obvious; it gets right in peggyomara.com explore groups in your local their face and they get incommunity that need help. volved without realizing that they’re even doing so. If you’re not one of If you don’t find something local, here are these and feel overwhelmed by the numerous some mother-centric national groups to conworthy causes and your own limited time, resider: member that women and mothers are behind many of our most beloved organizations. GROUPS TO CONSIDER eliminating war as a means of solving dis
Look for ways to get involved in community work that help to improve the lives of your own family members and neighbors.
For example, historically, women have been involved with improving access to education, protecting the environment, ensuring affordable healthcare, advocating for housing, and rights, respect, and resources to thrive before,
working to prevent drug abuse, alcoholism, and violence.
Negative experiences with racism, classicism, and sexism have sparked mothers of color to advocate for accessible childcare, voter regisAnother Mother for Peace is a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1967 “to educate women to take an active role in putes between nations, people and ideologies.” —anothermother.org
Black Mamas Matter Alliance envisions “a world in which black mamas have the tration, and elder care.
during and after pregnancy.” —blackmamasmatter.org
Black Mothers Breastfeeding Assocation wants to reduce racial disparities in breastfeeding success for black families through direct service, education and advocacy. —blackmothersbreastfeeding.org
Blue Star Mothers of America is a private non-profit organization that provides support for mothers who have sons or daughters in active service in the US Armed Forces. It was originally formed during World War II and has local chapters. —bluestarmothers.org
Every Mother Counts works to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother, everywhere by raising awareness, investing in solutions and mobilizing action. —everymothercounts. org
Free Black Mamas puts together funds to bail people out of jail. Women are the fastest growing group of people incarcerated in jails and prisons. Sixty percent of people in local women’s jails have not even been convicted of a crime and are awaiting trail. Eighty percent of them are parents and many are without support, a safety net or someone to come for them. — nationalbailout.org/history
Incarcerated Mothers Law Project. For over 25 years, a team of committed attorneys has provided legal advice, information and advocacy to women in jail and prison. Through this unique project in upstate New York, mothers who are separated from their children due to incarceration receive critical family law counsel to help them preserve and protect parental rights, arrange care for their children, maintain family ties and plan for re-unification. —volsprobono.org/projects/ incarcerated-mothers
March for Moms has organized a rally on the National Mall every year since 2017. Its purpose is to share the experiences of extraordinary people working to produce a safer and more equitable American maternal health care system. The organization highlights solutions that will end maternal mortality, improve access to high quality and equitable care and broaden support for the challenges of early parenting. —marchformoms.org
Moms Clean Air Force is “a community of over 1,000,000 moms and dads united against air pollution and committed to fighting for climate safety to protect our children’s health.” —momscleanairforce.org
Moms Demand Action is a grassroots movement fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun vio-
lence. They work for the passage of stronger gun laws and also work in the community to encourage a culture of responsible gun ownership. —momsdemandaction.org
Mothers Against Police Brutality unites mothers who have lost their children to police violence. This is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic coalition uniting mothers nationwide to fight for civil rights, police accountability, and policy reform. —mothersagainstpolicebrutality.org
Mothers of Transgender Children provides support, education, resources and articles for mothers whose children are transitioning from one gender to another. —mothersoftransgenderchildren.wordpress. com
Mothers Out Front is “an organization of mothers, grandmothers, and other caregivers coming together to make climate change an issue that our leaders can no longer ignore.” —mothersoutfront.org
Single Mothers Outreach “scaffolds families facing sudden housing instability, income loss, emotional trauma and social deterioration as the result of divorce, abandonment, or widowhood.” —singlemothersoutreach.org
Social Good Moms is a global coalition of over 3000 mom bloggers from over 20 countries. “When our partners need to reach the masses about new initiatives, advocacy campaigns, or fundraising efforts, Social Good Moms work voluntarily and collectively to spread the word through social media and blogging.” —mombloggersforsocialgood.com
GOOD Green NEWS
Positive changes are happening for the environment. Here are the stories that are giving us hope for the future of the planet right now.
U.S. secures permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This fund uses oil and gas revenue to finance national parks and historic sites, along with local and state parks and recreation areas. The bill also designated $6.5 billion over the next five years to address the maintenance backlog currently on the shoulders of the National Park System.
Norway is the world’s first nation to ban deforestation. Norway’s deforestation ban is a commitment to deforestation-free supply chains. Norwegians will refuse to award government contracts to companies that engage in clear-cutting.
A Scottish startup created a breakthrough brick made from construction waste. A startup company called Kenoteq has launched a sustainable building brick that generates less than 10 percent of the carbon emissions released during the manufacture of regular bricks.
Eleven new colonies of emperor penguins have been discovered in Antarctica using satellite photography. The emperor penguin is the largest penguin species, and the new find brings their known population to around a half-million.
Researchers discover how to recycle Coronavirus PPE into liquid biofuel. Dr. Bhawna Yadav Lamba, who co-authored the study, believes the recycling process the team discovered is far more sustainable than incinerating or landfilling used PPE.
