Mothers Acting UpMQs

Katie Doyle Myers

julianaf — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:41:07 +0000

Q What about being a mother* brings you the most joy? (*mothers or others who exercise protective care over someone smaller)
A It’s the moment when Finn sneaks up behind me and gives me a giant hug … unconditional love.

Q What 140-character tweet—or ten-word sentence—best describes a mothering skill YOU have that you wish every world leader possessed?
A While not necessarily a skill, I have time to offer to my son; I wish that privilege for every mother everywhere.

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world?
A “I love you more than a million billion universes.” (The same thing I whisper into my son’s ear every morning.)

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings?
A A few nights ago I watched a video about children living in slums in Nepal that emphasized how they have no where to go to become warm at night—their homes are slats of wood and a dirt floor. I’ve been kept up about moms and children being wet and cold at night. How do I respond? First, by remembering to be incredibly grateful for what I have. Secondly, by talking and raising awareness about this concern, to my son, to my family, friends, co-workers.

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children?
A I am very fortunate in that, in my job, I am able to spend time sitting around kitchen tables, or on stools around open fires, with mothers from different places, countries, cultures. While our discussions are often sobering—I just talked for hours with a women in rural Mexico about the countless miscarriages that she endured—exuberance always prevails when we end with a hug, a mutual sharing and acceptance.

Q Which mother leaders or activists inspire you and why?
A I am inspired by Gretchen Wallace—an activist and mama to be! Gretchen founded and directs Global Grassroots, an NGO that leads the “Conscious Change Academy” for women in Rwanda. Gretchen is committed to intersecting personal and societal transformation.

Q You have an opportunity to meet with the President on behalf of the world’s children. What single request do you make? What individual or group do you invite to join you, so you’re invincible and win the support of the White House?
A I would call for access to education for every girl in every corner of the globe. I would invite a girl and her mother from 50 different nations—Guatemala, Uganda, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan—I would ask each girl to stand up, to speak her dream, and to tell her truth.

Q What issue are you embarrassed you don’t know more about?
A Hmmm, that’s a good one. I should certainly know more about the issue of sex trafficking. And climate issues. And land rights. There are lots … I’m not really embarrassed about it though, I try to be honest about what I don’t know, to ask questions, to learn about people’s experiences.

Q How do you share your activism with the children in your life and how do you think it has shaped them?
A The biggest thing that I do is lead “100 Book Day” every year with my son, Finn. We founded this event in 2009. The mission of the initiative is to use reading and spending time together as a way to raise awareness, generate resources, promote literacy, and have fun. Finn is shaped in three wonderful ways by this event: he self-identifies as a “reader”; he has a vision beyond his community that there are kids out there who don’t have books to read or someone to read to them; and he knows that he has the power to create change.

Q What moment did you first feel moved to take a public action, and begin your journey as an activist?
A In all honesty—I am not just saying this because I’m on the MQ—it was during my first Vocal Empowerment Workshop with Beth Osnes. Before that I didn’t know that I could be the one to actually do something to create change. The moment I expressed my most passionate concern—and what I could do about it in the next 4 weeks—I gave myself permission to be the activist, the change-maker that I so admired in other women.

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t?
A I hope it’s something that I can bring my son to … and something that is joyful. I also hope it has something to do with art or literacy. Or women’s rights. I feel terrible about this, but I hope it’s not about climate change. While I am not passionate about this issue, I AM passionate about the people who work on it tirelessly!

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both?
A I start at home, at my friend’s homes, and at my son’s school by extending compassion to the children that I know and meet—and I try to volunteer in ways that benefit them whenever possible. I am fortunate that my work with the Philanthropiece Foundation allows me to work on programs that support the education, health, and general wellbeing of children in Latin America. As a Global Grassroots Board Member, I am proud to contribute to changing systems for women and children in Rwanda—building their self-sufficiency to create change in their communities for example via a clean water source, domestic violence education, adequate school bathrooms for girls, literacy, etc.

Q What challenges have you encountered in your work that caused you to stumble a bit but taught you a wickedly useful lesson?
A My biggest challenge is having too many things on my plate—work, life, family, exercise, etc. My most useful lesson: breathe deeply and go snuggle up on the couch with my son and a book. That seems to ease everything.

Q You’ve just been given a $5 million grant to “Change the World For Children’s Sake!” What do you do with it?
A I would invest $1 million dollars each in five grassroots organizations whose programs focus on sustainability and self-sufficiency. Who would those orgs be? Hmmm … at the moment: Global Grassroots, Reading Village, Limitless Horizons Ixil, El Porvenir and Educate!

2. Support Global Grassroots’ Change Agents by learning about them and donating $15!

3. Tell a mama friend how you feel and get her involved!

Gretchen Seefried

julianaf — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:02:34 +0000

Q What about being a mother* brings you the most joy? (*mothers or others who exercise protective care over someone smaller)
A The most joyful parts of being a mother are the constant surprises that each child has in store for me. I love not knowing what comes next, as it makes each day a learning experience.

Q What 140-character tweet—or ten-word sentence—best describes a mothering skill YOU have that you wish every world leader possessed?
A Imagine if leaders advocated 4 their citizens as mothers do 4 their children!

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world?
A You are loved and you are safe.

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings?
A It’s hard to sleep when I think about all of the violence that human beings visit on other human beings.

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children?
A I keep going back to a quote I heard last year, “The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.” Wholeheartedness and a deep faith in human resilience are the buoys that keep me afloat.

Q Which mother leaders or activists inspire you and why?
A Jeannie Ritter is an inspiration because of her commitment to educating people on mental health issues and to begin conversations about that long-forbidden topic. Judy Shepard for her determination to make her son Matthew’s tragic death be a call to action for gay rights and human rights and an end to bullying. Kathy Robertson who created Abby’s Voice to educate younger women about dating violence.

Q You have an opportunity to meet with the President on behalf of the world’s children. What single request do you make? What individual or group do you invite to join you, so you’re invincible and win the support of the White House?
A Mr. President, I ask you to establish a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse of children. Any adult convicted of sexual assault against a child should be imprisoned in a sex offenders’ community where they must serve a minimum of twenty-five years, attend weekly educational/psychological sessions, and participate in a work program that raises money for organizations treating sex abuse survivors. Accompanying me would be the Director of the Kempe Foundation for The Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, www.kempe.org.

Q What issue are you embarrassed you don’t know more about?
A I wish I had a better understanding of economics so when having discussions about political issues, I could have confidence in arguments I make about the importance of supporting social programs.

Q How do you share your activism with the children in your life and how do you think it has shaped them?
A My kids have joined me in volunteering and have seen and helped me campaign for political candidates who support women, mothers, children, and families. Now, they are all old enough to read and understand my articles and blog posts, and have begun taking their own steps towards activism.

Q What moment did you first feel moved to take a public action, and begin your journey as an activist?
A When my son had his cell phone stolen and tossed in a urinal in 8th grade by a homophobic bully.

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t?
A I hope it is something creative and authentic. I pray it isn’t religious or contrived.

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both?
A I advocate for children through fundraising, contributing, campaigning, voting, educating, and writing. I try to improve both individual lives and the larger systems.

Q What challenges have you encountered in your work that caused you to stumble a bit but taught you a wickedly useful lesson?
A It is hard to regulate oneself when talking about emotional topics, such as abuse. But learning to use hard facts in the context of powerful stories has made me much more effective.

Q You’ve just been given a $5 million grant to “Change the World For Children’s Sake!” What do you do with it?
A I establish and fund several micro-credit-like programs for small nonprofits doing good work on behalf of children. And I establish a board of business and nonprofit advisers (financial, legal, marketing, PR, governmental and social media) to provide them with the most cutting-edge business advice to help them create a regular stream of revenue to support their programs.

Q After reading this, other mothers share your passion! What are the 3 most compelling, creative, blow-your-skirt-up, want-to-do-it-right-now ACTIONS they can take to get involved?
A 1. Find a local organization involved with treating and preventing child abuse and get involved ASAP.
2. Send your holiday greetings early and use the venue of all of your friends, family, contacts to announce your involvement and share stats and ways they can get involved.
3. Be the kind of parent who kids will talk to, both your own, and their friends. Remember what it’s like to be a kid with every interaction.

Michelle Maloy Dillon

julianaf — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:10 +0000

Q What about being a mother* brings you the most joy? (*mothers or others who exercise protective care over someone smaller)
A Children are so open to exploring their world and to enjoying the present moment. Being a mother has allowed me to explore my own joy and amazement about the world around me, because my kids are always reminding me to. My best moments as a mother are when I am completely ‘in the present’ with my family and I don’t allow myself to be distracted by other things I think I ‘should’ be doing. My children are changing and growing so fast. It is so important to enjoy NOW.

Q What 140-character tweet—or ten-word sentence—best describes a mothering skill YOU have that you wish every world leader possessed?
A Every world leader should be a great listener.

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world?
A You are loved.

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings?
A War, Poverty, Illness, Natural Disasters … should I go on? I am a voracious current events reader. I feel that it’s important to know what is happening in the world. But, it is also necessary to not let those big issues emotionally paralyze me. I respond by donating my photographic services to local non-profits in my area; there are many people doing incredible work to help those in need. It is so rewarding to use my photography to visually show what good works are happening. It helps more people get involved and helps provides much needed funding for these great organizations.

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children?
A Children around the world and in our local communities indeed have some very difficult hurdles in life. My hope lies in the small part that we as individuals can play in a child’s life. There are so many parents, teachers, and neighbors that are part of our children’s everyday lives. If we can all support the children in our lives in whatever ways we can as individuals, we can be part of a great network of adults that can guide these children to make the most of their lives and to be happy people.

Q Which mother leaders or activists inspire you and why?
A There have been many people in my life that have inspired me personally to be an activist and have given me inspiration and strength. These people are my mentors. My grandmother for being a great listener. She has always been someone that I can talk to. My friend and former boss, Sharon Smith who despite her debilitating fight with Multiple Sclerosis has always been an upbeat and positive person and an incredible photographer. Among her many projects, she has donated her gorgeous photography to help the homeless in Chicago. My former photography teacher, John H. White. One of his many words of advice is, “Look for the good in everyone. Never misjudge people. Everyone has a song“. And of course, my own Mother and Father who have always encouraged my questions and activism.

Q You have an opportunity to meet with the President on behalf of the world’s children. What single request do you make? What individual or group do you invite to join you, so you’re invincible and win the support of the White House?
A It is so difficult to pick one single request. But, I think the issue with the greatest influence is Education. If children have a quality education, it can teach them the way out of poverty. It can teach them medicine to heal the sick. It can teach them the advantages of a non-violent way of life. Education can teach children about the environment of our planet. Education can give them hope. An organization that seems to have had great success with educating kids to benefit their community is called Educate! They have provided an education to kids in Uganda that is a mixture of social entrepreneurship and leadership along with long term mentoring. If I had an opportunity to meet with the President, I would bring someone from Educate! to discuss their challenges and successes.

Q What issue are you embarrassed you don’t know more about?
A I’m embarrassed that I don’t know more about how to raise my own children! Each stage that they go through is completely new and different. I’m amazed that I constantly feel like a ‘new’ parent! I continually rely on my own network of friends and family for advice. It truly does ‘take a village’ to raise our children, as Hillary Clinton said.

Q You’ve been chosen to be the face of Mothers Acting Up—celebrating mothers taking public action on behalf of the world’s children—to shine from the side of every bus in America. What’s your tag line?
A Treat every child in your life with respect and love. They will grow up and do the same. Pass it on.

Q How do you share your activism with the children in your life and how do you think it has shaped them?
A My children are very aware of the photography that I contribute to non-profits. I show them the pictures that I’ve taken and talk to them about the experiences that I’ve had while taking the pictures. I also get them involved by bringing my children to local marches that will bring them awareness of issues. They have been on a Martin Luther King Jr. march, an anti-war rally and we all went to hear Barack Obama speak in Denver when he was running for President. These have had a big impact on my kids. It prompts some great family discussions. I want my kids to be aware of the troubles in the world around them, but I also want them to feel that they have the power to do something about them in their own way.

Q What moment did you first feel moved to take a public action, and begin your journey as an activist?
A In high school, I was really worried about nuclear weapons. I became very involved in the Nuclear Freeze Movement. My friend Judy and I found an adult family friend who was kind enough to chaperone us and take us to protests at the United Nations in NY and to Washington D.C. I felt very inspired by these marches. I worked as a volunteer for the the movement, and collected signatures from citizens to ban nuclear weapons. In college, I interned for NY State Governor Mario Cuomo. It was one of the best jobs I ever had; I really felt like I was in a position to help people in my state.

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t?
A I hope that the action she would like me to join her in is something with a specific plan. I hope that there is plenty of information about it so that I can decide if it’s something that I agree with. I hope it is not an overly generalized action. Although I love the idea of a ‘march for peace’, it’s not specific enough for politicians to support. I want to work toward something with a very specific goal.

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both?
A The most powerful and personal way that I can support children is by contributing to individual lives. I try to benefit every child that I meet by accepting and respecting them for who they are. If a child feels that they have a supportive adult in their life, they are more likely to become that same support for a child when they become an adult. I can think of nothing more powerful than to be able to pass love and respect on and on through generations.

Q What challenges have you encountered in your work that caused you to stumble a bit but taught you a wickedly useful lesson?
A As a photographer, it is my job to capture the essence of a person in a single image. This is easier said than done. Often times adults come to a photo session with the weight of the world on their shoulders. I need to figure out how to get the adults to relax and have fun. Inside each and every adult, there is still that pure, joyful, playful spirit that they were as a child. It is my job to find it.

Q You’ve just been given a $5 million grant to “Change the World For Children’s Sake!” What do you do with it?
A I would start a mentoring program for middle school and high school kids. The mentors would be adults in the community that can volunteer time to show kids what they do at work, and help them with ideas about what they want to be when they grow up. The mentors would help give kids experiences that they wouldn’t normally be exposed to in their home and school environment. Kids could find out what a CEO does. How does a surgeon spend most of her time? How does an artist make a living? There would be another group of adults that help kids with homework. They would also help kids research colleges and figure out how to get accepted and pay for college. This program could start on a local level, but it could eventually work nationwide and worldwide. The goal of the program would be to enable kids to ‘think big’ for their life’s work and to work toward making that happen.

2. Get yourself and your children involved in an organization that helps people (or help out a neighbor). Your lives will be much richer if you all feel that you are part of a community that helps each other.

3. Don’t be afraid to tell your local politician what you think! Write a letter or stop by their office to talk to them about an issue that is important to you.

Erik Hoffner

julianaf — Mon, 16 May 2011 21:57:53 +0000

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world?
A You are the future; work for justice and harmony and beauty.

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings?
A Lack of justice and opportunity.

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children?
A Looking for joyful responses. Reading stories of those rescued from being a child soldier, for example.

Q Which mother leaders or activists inspire you and why?
A MAU.

Q How do you share your activism with the children in your life and how do you think it has shaped them?
A Through books, that’s the best route for an uncle who doesn’t see his nieces and nephews much.

Q What moment did you first feel moved to take a public action, and begin your journey as an activist?
A In college, 1990, my first Earth Day gave me a vision of a different world.

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t?
A I hope it’s getting arrested, or doing a community art project. I hope it’s not burning candles at a vigil.

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both?
A I contribute to child soldier rescue groups, support the work of Heifer and Green Empowerment and Solar Cookers International in the developing world.

Julia Ward Howe

julianaf — Wed, 04 May 2011 02:22:19 +0000

Q What about being a mother* brings you the most joy?
(*mothers or others who exercise protective care over someone smaller)
A I assure you it is a delight but a terrible thing to be a mother. The constant care, anxiety and thought of some possible evil that may come to the little creature, too precious to be so frail, whose life and wellbeing the mother feels God has almost placed in her hands! If I did not feel angels watched over my baby, I should be crazy about it. (JWH Vol 1 page 113)

Q What 140-character tweet—or ten-word sentence—best describes a mothering skill YOU have that you wish every world leader possessed?
A I take for my guidance a new motto: “I will ascend”, not in my ambition but in my thoughts and aims. (The Walk With God page 60)

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world?
A Oh! You dear young people, upon whose faithfulness depends the fate of further generations, do not waste precious years in the mistakes of selfishness!

Now that the generous impulses of Youth and the discipline of good teaching are fresh and strong in you, address yourselves to discern the most imperative needs of Humanity. So shall you learn to meet them with good service. So shall future generations rise up and rightly call you blessed. (The Walk With God page 57)

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings?
A I woke, heavy with uncertainties, and with much thought of my own shortcomings, past and present. I may say, what I rarely record, that an earnest prayer helped me very much, and set me on my feet, to walk and work another day. (The Walk With God page 48)

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children?
A As I was resolving these matters in my mind while the [Franco-Prussian] war was still in progress, I was visited by a sudden feeling of the cruel and unnecessary nature of the contest. It seemed to me a return to barbarism, the issues having been one which might easily have been settled without bloodshed. The question forced itself upon me, “Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters, to prevent the waste of that human life of which they alone bear and know the cost?” I had never thought of this before. The august dignity of motherhood and its terrible responsibilities now appeared to me in a new aspect, and I could think of no better way of expressing my sense of these than that of sending forth an appeal to womanhood throughout the world, which I then and there composed. … The little document which I drew up in the heat of my enthusiasm implored women, all the world over, to awake to the knowledge of the sacred right vested in them as mothers to protect the human life which cost them so many pangs. (Reminiscences page 328)

Q What issue are you embarrassed you don’t know more about?
A Albeit my intellectual pursuits have always been such as to task my mind, I cannot boast that I have any acquired much in the way of technical erudition. (Reminiscences page 205)

Q You’ve been chosen to be the face of Mothers Acting Up—celebrating mothers taking public action on behalf of the world’s children—to shine from the side of every bus in America. What’s your tag line?
A Ambitious people climb, but faithful people build. (The Walk With God page 35)

Q How do you share your activism with the children in your life and how do you think it has shaped them?
A “We can teach no virtues we do not practice,” occurred to me this afternoon; for without learning by experience how a virtue is acquired, how can we teach one to acquire it? I thought of this in connection with the experience of undutiful children. (The Walk With God page 37)

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t?
A On the way to the hall … I thought, “If anyone asks me whether I love preaching, I shall reply, ‘Yes, if one loves child-birth,’ which on this wise it much resembles.” (The Walk With God page 37)

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both?
A I confess that I myself am one of those to whom expression, in some form, is natural and even necessary; and yet I think that my best studies have been those which have made me most desirous to give my own voice the echo of other voices, and to ascertain by experiment how much or how little of my individual persuasion is in accordance with the normal direction of human experience. (Reminiscences page 304)

Q What challenges have you encountered in your work that caused you to stumble a bit but taught you a wickedly useful lesson?
A [Recalling visits to camps and hospitals during the Civil War.] It was on the occasion of one of these visits that I made my first attempt at public speaking. I had joined the rest of my party in a reconnoitering exhibition … [Colonel William B. Greene] … said to me, “Mrs. Howe, you must speak to my men.” Feeling utterly unable to do this, I ran away and tried to hide myself in one of the hospital tents. Colonel Greene twice found me and brought me back to his piazza, where at last I stood, and told as well as I could how glad I was to meet the brave defenders of our cause, and how constantly they were in my thoughts.” [Julia later went on to a career of public speaking] (Reminiscences page 271)

Copland Rudolph

julianaf — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:33:02 +0000

Q What about being a mother* brings you the most joy? (*mothers or others who exercise protective care over someone smaller)
A My children have taught me to live more fully in the present moment. Joy bubbles up effortlessly when I get present.

Q What 140-character tweet—or ten-word sentence—best describes a mothering skill YOU have that you wish every world leader possessed?
A Fierce determination—I don’t take no for an answer.

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world?
A You are loved. You are a brilliant light in the world. Be all that you are: SHINE

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings?
A I think about the immense amount of suffering on the planet and wonder, is anything I’m doing making a difference, really? Then I think of Julia Butterfly Hill’s statement, “No one makes no difference.” Every thought, every action, every purchase makes a difference. Every day I have thousands of opportunities to show up in the world with compassion and love, to end suffering.

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children?
A Connecting with one child at a time. By sponsoring children through ChildFund International and Friendship with Cambodia, my family has written correspondence with 4 children in Cambodia, Africa, Sri Lanka, and Hondurus. They are my points of light across the globe and I imagine that light spreading.

Q Which mother leaders or activists inspire you and why?
A Marion Wright Edelman at Children’s Defense Fund—she balances dark and light so well. She can be brutally honest about reality while holding a big vision filled with hope and love.

Q You have an opportunity to meet with the President on behalf of the world’s children. What single request do you make? What individual or group do you invite to join you, so you’re invincible and win the support of the White House?
A I would have Michelle Obama by my side when I request full funding to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Q What issue are you embarrassed you don’t know more about?
A The ins and outs of lobbying and the legislative process.

Q You’ve been chosen to be the face of Mothers Acting Up—celebrating mothers taking public action on behalf of the world’s children—to shine from the side of every bus in America. What’s your tag line?
A I would put the Dalai Lama on the side of the bus with: “The Dalai Lama says, ‘The world will be saved by the western woman.’ That would be YOU!”

Q How do you share your activism with the children in your life and how do you think it has shaped them?
A I have tried to make activism an integral part of our lives. We volunteer at the local food pantry every other week. My kids have marched at peace rallies, knocked on doors in the 2008 election, and participated in our annual Alternative Gift Fair. I think a focus on helping others has made them less focused on themselves. On a recent trip to Chicago, my twelve year old bought nothing for himself, giving his money to a teenage girl begging on the streets.

Q What moment did you first feel moved to take a public action, and begin your journey as an activist?
A 5th grade—someone found a bobby-pin in the strawberry shortcake at lunch. I organized a lunchroom strike.

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t?
A I would hope for a humanitarian aid trip to Africa. Please God, not a black tie event for the arts center.

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both?
A Specific aid projects through Northern Michigan Mothers Acting Up Mother’s Day Tea. We bought a PlayPump for a school in Tanzania, opened a children’s library in Vietnam through Room To Read, and sponsored students through Friendship with Cambodia.

Q What challenges have you encountered in your work that caused you to stumble a bit but taught you a wickedly useful lesson?
A I‘m an idea person. I think of a philanthropic project as learning to ride a bike. I like to bring out the bike, hold the bike, get the person riding smoothly and then let go. Lessons: make sure there is someone riding; someone who likes to ride bikes; don’t let go too soon; but remember to let go. Create strong networks, plan for attrition ( people having babies, etc.) and know when to let go.

Q You’ve just been given a $5 million grant to “Change the World For Children’s Sake!” What do you do with it?
A Call Oprah, Melinda Gates, and Lady Gaga and ask them to match it. With 20 million, I would call in Jeffrery Sachs as a financial advisor to invest in the UN Millennium Goals.

Q After reading this, other mothers share your passion! What are the 3 most compelling, creative, blow-your-skirt-up, want-to-do-it-right-now ACTIONS they can take to get involved?
A
1. Sponsor a child through ChildFund International
2. Give the gift of KIVA as birthday gifts—the recipient can donate to the project of their choice: www.kiva.com
3. Play angel for a day. Call your local homeless shelter and ask them for a list of needs—go shopping and deliver!

Heather Hallagan

julianaf — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:16:46 +0000

Q What about being a mother* brings you the most joy? (*mothers or others who exercise protective care over someone smaller)
A My son can be very empathetic and sensitive to others; that warms my heart. When he grabs my face, kisses me and says “I love you! You’re the best mom EVER,” I’m a puddle. I see the results shining through from the important life lessons I’ve tried to teach and share.

Q What 140-character tweet—or ten-word sentence—best describes a mothering skill YOU have that you wish every world leader possessed?
A Mothers are acutely aware that ALL children are someone’s children. That would be a good thing for our world leaders to remember.

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world?
A The world needs you!

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings?
A Often it’s the little stuff, like bills, tomorrow’s dinner, those extra 10 pounds. When big stuff creeps in—my son’s well-being, my marriage, world peace, etc.—then I get up and get busy making things right. Often, I come up with great solutions in the middle of the night.

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children?
A I embrace the great moments when we succeed at something and try to learn from the failures. And the occasional cocktail helps.

Q Which mother leaders or activists inspire you and why?
A Rosa Parks … She took action in a very small personal way and it radiated out very large. Mothers Acting Up. I LOVE that they are mobilizing mothers and others on behalf of the world’s children!

Q You have an opportunity to meet with the President on behalf of the world’s children. What single request do you make? What individual or group do you invite to join you, so you’re invincible and win the support of the White House?
A Mr. President, your grandmother and I are here to tell you: it’s time to stop spending 2 billion a week on war and defense. Really, is that what your mama taught you?

Q What issue are you embarrassed you don’t know more about?
A Wow, where to begin. Well, astrophysics puzzles me. The truth is, I’ve learned not to be embarrassed about not knowing. It’s important to be fearless and forthright about issues you don’t know about. My motto is: Ask questions—lots of questions—and learn. Luckily for me, I am surrounded by many brilliant people.

Q You’ve been chosen to be the face of Mothers Acting Up—celebrating mothers taking public action on behalf of the world’s children—to shine from the side of every bus in America. What’s your tag line?
A Look at me!!! I’m on a BUS! No really, “Take Action in your own Backyard!“

Q How do you share your activism with the children in your life and how do you think it has shaped them?
A I am doing it right now with the Mamas for Peace campaign. My 8 year-old son has been making videos. Take a peek at one of them.

Q What moment did you first feel moved to take a public action, and begin your journey as an activist?
A I‘ve been dabbling in activism for years; this campaign was inspired a month before Mother’s Day last year when I first read Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation. I decided right then and there that I was going to raise awareness and celebrate its original intent, and work towards uniting mothers/women.

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t?
A I hope we’ve been invited to participate in a ‘General Congress of Women’, the one that Julia Ward Howe dreamed and wrote of in her Mother’s Day Proclamation. I pray that it’s not to organize a memorial for a child or friend.

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both?
A If we are all successful in our own backyards, hopefully we can change the world. One has to hope that one action inspires another.

Q What challenges have you encountered in your work that caused you to stumble a bit but taught you a wickedly useful lesson?
A We launched our campaign, Mamasforpeace.org, the weekend Osama bin Laden was killed. Needless to say, media had no interest in covering our story. And even in social media, the word “peace” wasn’t exactly trending cool. Lesson learned: don’t launch your peace campaign when people are chanting “USA! USA!” Peace takes patience. We’re not out of touch, we’re just ahead of the curve.

Q You’ve just been given a $5 million grant to “Change the World For Children’s Sake!” What do you do with it?
A Mr. President, your grandmother and I are so proud of you that you cut defense spending in half! Two billion dollars a week was an awful lot to spend on those dreadful wars! That $5M grant was nice but now with a billion a week for peace, you’ve utterly changed the world. Poverty has ended, and there is health care and education for all. Who knew it would be so easy to create a sustainable planet? With the wise and brave choice you made, we can all now, truly, live in peace.

Mother’s Day

julianaf — Tue, 03 May 2011 19:40:02 +0000

This shining woman is none other than the great, great, great, great, granddaughter of Julia Ward Howe, Kate Stickley. Generously giving us the pleasure of peering into the thoughts of Julia through her writings—Kate has in essence let Julia answer the MQ. Imagine how we love that …

For everyone not fully introduced to Julia Ward Howe yet, she incited women to Arise! through a remarkable document entitled The Mother’s Day Proclamation. After the Civil War, Julia wrote in her journal, “Why do not the mothers of mankind interfere in these matters, to prevent the waste of that human life that they alone bear and know the cost?” That thought prompted her to write the proclamation, entreating women to create peace on a day she called, “Mother’s Day”. Thus began the holiday that in later years took a sharp right turn into hollandaise sauce and breakfast in bed.

This Mother’s Day, May 8th, Mothers Acting Up celebrates Julia Ward Howe with the launch of the MQs, inspiring mothers to act up, not solely for peace, but for all the issues we’re passionate about. Others promoting mother activism are: The Evolving Homemaker, Pundit Mom, Mamapalooza and Heather Hallagan’s Million Mom Tweet, Mamas For Peace. Yes; that’s what Julia was talking about!

Now, with great respect and in celebration of Mother’s Day, here is Julia Ward Howe’s Proclamation in all its revolutionary grandeur.

Mother’s Day Proclamation—1870

Arise then … women of this day! 
Arise, all women who have hearts! 
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears! 
Say firmly: 
“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies, 
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, 
For caresses and applause. 
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn 
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. 
We, the women of one country, 
Will be too tender of those of another country 
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.” 
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with 
Our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm! 
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.” 
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, 
Nor violence indicate possession. 
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil 
At the summons of war, 
Let women now leave all that may be left of home 
For a great and earnest day of counsel. 
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. 
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means 
Whereby the great human family can live in peace… Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, 
But of God - In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask 
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality, 
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient 
And the earliest period consistent with its objects, 
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities, 
The amicable settlement of international questions, 
The great and general interests of peace.

More about Julia has been compiled by Kate and her family at www.juliawardhowe.org.

p.s. The photo shows four generations: the baby is Kate’s mother’s great grandmother. The man is Kate’s father’s great great grandfather. The woman is Kate’s mother’s great great great grandmother. And the Grand Dame with the baby is Julia Ward Howe. Happy Mother’s Day!

Lee Lee

julianaf — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:44:39 +0000

Q What about being a mother* brings you the most joy? (*mothers or others who exercise protective care over someone smaller)
A Participating in his growth and exploration of the world.

Q What 140-character tweet—or ten-word sentence—best describes a mothering skill YOU have that you wish every world leader possessed?
A The ability to listen.

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world?
A Have confidence in your explorations & let them nurture you.

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings?
A Environmental: the quality of our food & our impact on the natural world which is essential for our survival … and the ability for our children to inherit a living planet.

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children?
A Focus on people who are coming up with solutions instead of dwelling on problems … then taking our cue from them to come up with our own solutions.

Q Which mother leaders or activists inspire you and why?
A Many, many—right now I’m in love with the moms from the Taos Pueblo who have set up a community kitchen in Taos, complete with a Mobile Mantanza (slaughterhouse) to help small ranchers and food producers provide real food for our community.

Q What issue are you embarrassed you don’t know more about?
A American public education.

Q You’ve been chosen to be the face of Mothers Acting Up—celebrating mothers taking public action on behalf of the world’s children—to shine from the side of every bus in America. What’s your tag line?
A NOURISH

Q How do you share your activism with the children in your life and how do you think it has shaped them?
A Growing food & visiting farms in the area—it instills a respect for animals & an awareness of the earth and how our nourishment grows from it.

Q What moment did you first feel moved to take a public action, and begin your journey as an activist?
A When I was in high school and started traveling the world.

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t?
A Looking forward to a bright future where we can pass a living planet on to our children. I hope it has nothing to do with religion.

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both?
A I’m working on children’s books which address environmental issues.

Q What challenges have you encountered in your work that caused you to stumble a bit but taught you a wickedly useful lesson?
A People are ambivalent or feel they are above the fray—most shocking are those who believe that Jesus is coming back to take them to heaven, so they feel it is no problem to trash the planet.

Q You’ve just been given a $5 million grant to “Change the World For Children’s Sake!” What do you do with it?
A Support women entrepreneurs internationally, with a focus on sustainable food production.

2. Be aware of commodities and the true cost of our “stuff”.

3. Stop buying water in single-use plastic bottles.

Kayhan Irani

julianaf — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:09:00 +0000

Q What 140-character tweet—or ten-word sentence—best describes a mothering skill YOU have that you wish every world leader possessed?
A Creativity and flexible thinking.

Q What would you want to whisper into the ear of every child in the world?
A You are powerful, you can do anything.

Q What issues keep you up at night? How do you respond to these nocturnal musings?
A Environmental degradation is most worrying to me. But, I do sleep well because I work so hard!

Q How do you stay exuberant when addressing the sobering realities facing children?
A I connect with young people and remember their brilliance. I work with them using arts.

Q Which mother leaders or activists inspire you and why?
A Rickie Solinger—writer, feminist historian, amazing mother and advocate for all mothers.

Q What moment did you first feel moved to take a public action, and begin your journey as an activist?
A As a child, I was always sensitive to injustice. It was as a young adult, in a play, where I was introduced to a form of theater for social change.

Q A friend leaves an excited message asking you to join her in an action. What do you hope it is? What do you pray it isn’t?
A I hope it’s street theater. I pray it isn’t an astro turf organization funding a faux movement.

Q How do you benefit the world’s children? Does it involve contributing to individual lives or changing systems, or both?
A I help adults to be their best selves and think of all the people around them.

Q You’ve just been given a $5 million grant to “Change the World For Children’s Sake!” What do you do with it?
A Train adults and teachers and students on theatrical, creative democratic processes and set up structures of young people’s participation in our local governments and communities.

Q After reading this, other mothers share your passion! What are the 3 most compelling, creative, blow-your-skirt-up, want-to-do-it-right-now ACTIONS they can take to get involved?
A 1. Support artists and arts locally—see some art, a performance, bring your kids.
2. Help young people create art.
3. Donate! Forward my info to influential people.