The other day, I had the opportunity to participate in a Twitter party organized by Holly Pavlika, founder of the blog Mom-entum, and executive vice president and managing director of Big Fuel for an initiative called Moms4Moms.
She wanted to help raise awareness for EveryMomCounts.Org, a campaign to increase education and support for maternal and child health. Leveraging the power of social media, Holly asked “what if moms got together and said “Instead of a big gift, buy me a small present and donate the difference to the cause.”
Its goal is to “really make Mother’s Day about moms” by promoting the allocation of at least some of the money spent on gifts to mothers in need.
Their new Facebook page “Moms4MomsDay” (www.facebook.com/havemomentum) focuses on two initiatives: micro-donating, which encourages everyone to give as little as $5, and old cell-phone donation through the group Hope Phones, which refurbishes old phones and donates the proceeds.
Just look at these statistics:
• There is one maternal death every 90 seconds.
• 15% of all pregnancies result in complications during labor and delivery and sometimes are fatal.
• Pregnancy is the biggest killer of girls ages 15-19.
• For every woman who dies in childbirth, 20 more suffer from debilitating complications.
• We have the knowledge to prevent 90% of all maternal deaths.
What amazed all of us was that the United States is ranked 50th; meaning 49 other countries do a better job of maternal care than we do.
Moms4Moms hopes to use the collective power of socially connected moms to help moms in need. Isn’t that what Mother’s Day is all about?
Here is what the Moms4Moms is asking:
1. Write a blog post and post it on April 27th.
We’re hoping we can get hundreds of thousands of women to post all on the same day and show our unity behind better this issue.
• Post this article or your own article on your blog on April 27th.
• Tell the Moms in your network to commit to posting on April 27th.
• Join us by hitting the “Like” button on www.facebook.com/havemomentum and show your commitment to helping us spread the word about maternal health. Through our Facebook page, we will be able to provide you with updates, information, the Moms4Moms badge and more.
Moms have a powerful voice, let’s use it!
