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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.

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.

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. 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 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, 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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