Donate now and get the beautiful MOMibuster carnation pin
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Dear Friend,
Today is Mother’s Day… a time of joy, of pain, of hope, of grief, of
happiness, of anger, and this year, more so than in many years in the
past, a time of deep frustration.
[ [link removed] ]Through it all, we are here for you, for us, for the movement that
we’re building together – and opening avenues for you to turn your anger,
grief, frustration, and yes, also joy, into a force for much-needed
change.
The last two years of the pandemic have been particularly brutal for moms
and all caregivers, with Black, Brown, Indigenous and moms of color
experiencing compounded health and economic harms. And though it seems
like we may be finally starting to emerge from the pandemic, providing
care to our families without the care infrastructure we all need (like
affordable childcare, home- and community-based services, fair pay, and
paid family/medical leave) continues to be beyond hard. In fact, stories
from moms, parents, caregivers and care providers – about barriers to
finding childcare and eldercare, the necessity of monthly Child Tax
Credits to help make ends meet, the impossibility of juggling it all
without paid family/medical leave, and so much more – continue to be
urgent and visceral.
The struggles we face are not the fault of moms. We know that when this
many people are facing the same types of struggles at the same time, we
don’t have an epidemic of personal failures, we have national structural
issues that we can and must solve together – and we can organize, and
raise our stories and voices together, to build a powerful wave of
change.
That’s why MomsRising created the first-ever MOMibuster, which started
yesterday, all day – and also will be running today and for three more
days on an LED truck that is circling Congress – in order to amplify the
voices of moms and caregivers as we demand that our elected leaders
finally build the care infrastructure we all need to boost our families
and our economy.
[ [link removed] ]But we need your help to keep the pressure on. Please consider making a
donation to MomsRising today to support even more powerful actions like
the MOMibuster and the delivery of your stories (collected in a storybook)
directly to Congress that we’ll be doing on Tuesday.
*When you donate, in gratitude, we’ll send you the beautiful MOMibuster
Care Can’t Wait carnation pin that you can wear to show you stand with
moms and caregivers.
You might be wondering what a MOMibuster is… Well, you know how members of
Congress use the filibuster to stop legislation in its tracks? The
MOMibuster was designed to turn the tables on Congress so that moms and
caregivers can take space, share our stories, and actually move care
policies forward!
For the MOMibuster, hundreds of parents, caregivers, care workers, and
leaders from over the country, one after the other, share their care
stories and call for the care policies they (and we) need, driving home
the message: “Care. Can’t. Wait.” More than 40 supportive members of
Congress also participate, as well as Olympic athlete and celebrity moms.
Led by MomsRising, along with the #CareCantWait coalition and more than
100 allied organizations, the MOMibuster spans more than eight hours,
streamed over a galaxy of Facebook pages and other social media pages,
with a combined audience reach of more than 21 million. The MOMibuster
event was also highlighted in a New York Times ad, co-signed by 100+
organizations, published on Friday. And we’re keeping the pressure on
through the month of May and into the future.
It’s not easy right now. The MOMibuster stories are heartbreaking, moving,
infuriating and inspiring, many bringing tears to my eyes. Here’s just a
small sample:
* Stephanie in Pennsylvania shares the hardships her family sometimes
faces caring for their special-needs daughter without the basic
protection of paid family and medical leave. She says, “There have
been times when she has had hospital stays, and we just don't have the
ability for my husband to take time off of work to take care of the
other kids while I have to stay in hospital with her. She shouldn’t
have to be alone in the hospital, and my husband shouldn’t have to
find a way to work with the other three kids. Paid leave is huge for
our family.”
* Julie in MIchigan says that child care costs “almost as much as a
second mortgage for us, and we only have one in child care right now.
We made the decision to not have another child because we simply
cannot afford another payment. We also have been struggling to find
quality child care that’s near us. We moved to Michigan a couple years
ago and found a center, but that center has since closed…due to not
having enough employees. They were getting very frustrated with the
low, low, low pay….We were fortunate enough to find the last spot at
one particular child care center but we pay an extraordinary amount.”
* Corrinne in Wisconsin shares that the monthly Child Tax Credit
payments were transformative for her family, and calls on Congress to
reinstate those payments to help parents meet their kids’ needs. She
says, “The Child Tax Credit was a godsend last year. It saved us.
Every single month I was able to make sure that I had enough
groceries, and I had clothes to cover the kids. When winter came I was
able to get them new boots and snow pants and coats and hats that
would fit them.”
Every story is always unique to the storyteller, and as they are told, the
same themes emerge again and again in the MOMibuster, clearly illustrating
that when so many are struggling with the same issues, we have structural
problems that can be fixed with national policy solutions. Those solutions
begin by building a care infrastructure.
Because of you, and MomsRising members across the nation, the powerful
first-ever MOMibuster is shaping up to be a huge success. But it’s just
one moment in the many moments still needed to move us forward to finally
passing legislation that advances the change mothers and families need.
[ [link removed] ]Please make a donation now, so MomsRising can create more moments like
the MOMibuster. *When you donate, you’ll get the MOMibuster carnation pin
that you can wear to show you stand with moms and caregivers.
Please forward this message to other moms and caregivers so they know
about our movement and the MOMibuster too, and so they can be inspired to
[ [link removed] ]join MomsRising so we can all create change together. The more of us
who come together, the faster we’ll be able to create the changes we seek.
On this day and every day, I’m sending love and gratitude to all moms,
parents, caregivers, and care workers. I – and MomsRising – stand with you
and your family today and always. We are here for you.
– Kristin
P.S. If you missed the MOMibuster, [ [link removed] ]you can still watch the recording
here, and it’s not too late to participate by adding your own story in the
comments.
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