Category Archives: Motherhood

Dec30

Together With The World Food Programme We Can Make A Difference

Posted on by
Together With The World Food Programme We Can Make A Difference

*This Infographic comes from the World Food programme Website

 The World Food Programme is globally poised to provide food to populations most in need, and to be there when emergencies hit. Emergencies such as the drought in Somalia, hurricane Sandy or armed conflicts in Syria, all of which have caused communities to suffer severe food shortages.  Families around the world depend on the World Food Programme to be there when disaster strikes, and the donations we give provide life saving meals to those in need.  Feeling blessed after the past weeks holiday festivities with family, contributing to The World Food Programme is one of the ways I look forward to giving back in the New Year.

I wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health.

Our Motto: Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

Follow along with us here on Tumblr, on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for the latest Global Team of 200 news.

Dec22

Still Looking For A Meaningful Gift? How About The Gift Of Life?

Posted on by
Still Looking For A Meaningful Gift? How About The Gift Of Life?

 When I was pregnant with my first child I dragged my husband to pre-natal and child-birthing classes where we practiced our breathing, and formulated a birthing plan.  Four kids later I laugh when I think about it.  I do remember when they finally induced that first baby, that a sudden fear set in.  It was the realization that something could go horribly wrong.

As my healthy baby was set on my chest after a smooth delivery, I realized that how the baby got there was not the important thing.  The “Birthing Plan” we threw out the window didn’t matter.   The only thing that mattered was that both mom and baby were fine.  I live in a country where we expect safe childbirth, and have the luxury to imagine that we can plan how it will go.

Giving birth should be a time of joy and hope for families, yet in Sub-Saharan Africa  1 in 39 risk dying in during childbirth.  In developing nations around the world  800 mothers will die giving birth each day.  These are areas without proper healthcare facilities or healthcare professionals within reach.  No mother should die in childbirth, and many who do are only in the 15-20 year old age group.  Other mother’s often leave behind older children who are then more likely to suffer from malnutrition, and a continued cycle of poverty. Most of these lives could be saved relatively easily for a small cost. This is where Maternity Worldwide comes in.

 London-based Maternity Worldwide, works to ensure safe births and increased maternal health in developing nations. By providing communities with information on maternal health and family planning, improving access to healthcare, training local midwives and doctors and providing the resources and equipment to provide safe births they are saving lives.   Maternity Worldwide is offering an alternative to traditional gift giving this Christmas with their “Save A Life This Christmas” program.

A Safe Birth Certificate can be purchased for $24. For $81 an emergency delivery is provided for a mother in sub Saharan Africa. This is the perfect gift for that someone with a giving heart, someone who has everything they need, or a friend who has just given birth to her own child, and understands the true impact of this gift.

By ordering a Safe Birth Certificate you will enable a mother in a developing country to safely give birth to her baby. The Safe Birth Certificate can be personalized with your own message, and either sent directly to the recipient or to you to give to them. Because Maternity Worldwide is based in London, the amounts are listed in pounds. (when I went on to order my gift I ended up doing it as a donation and then sending an e-mail to the provided address asking them to provide a digital gift certificate or to mail a copy to the recipient.) I encourage you to read some of the amazing case studies of funds in action on the Maternity Worldwide website.

 

What could be a more amazing gift than giving the gift of life?

 

I wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health.

Our Motto: Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

Follow along with us here on Tumblr, on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for the latest Global Team of 200 news.

Dec21

A Way Kids Can Hand Out Gifts Even If They Can Not Yet Read

Posted on by
A Way Kids Can Hand Out Gifts Even If They Can Not Yet Read

Kids love being the ones to hand out the gifts! Years back when our now teenagers were toddlers, my father-in-law came up with a great way to help them do so even though they could not yet read. He put a photo of  who the gift was for on each present and the kids were thrilled to be able to find each gift, and hand it to the proper recipient.  It is also a great way to use all those photos in a box that are not quite good enough for the albums.

Nov13

Giving Tuesday Helps To Balance Out Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Posted on by
Giving Tuesday Helps To Balance Out Black Friday & Cyber Monday

 

With the National Movement of Giving Tuesday being created I now know for sure that I am not the only out there who feels like the commercialism and excess of the holiday season in this country has gotten a bit out of hand.  It is not even Thanksgiving and I am hearing Christmas music playing throughout the mall.  We seem to have lost a bit of the message in the madness of “the giving season”.   Everyone is just so busy trying to keep up with the expectations that we have created, and I’ll admit that I am as guilty as the rest.  We want to stir up excitement and memories for our family, sometimes giving extravagantly to show how much we love each other.  I fall into the same commercial frenzy despite the pit in my stomach telling me we don’t need more.  There are many people out there who do need more, and this year I feel hopeful, because there are some new tools in place to help us turn things around, and head in the right direction. The inaugural Giving Tuesday is a great place to start.

“On Tuesday, November 27, 2012, the collective power of charities, families, businesses and individuals will transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. #GivingTuesday will create a national movement around the holidays dedicated to giving, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days that are, today, synonymous with holiday shopping.”-www.givingtuesday.org

Giving Tuesday provides a way to harness all of the grateful energy amassed over Thanksgiving and transform it directly into the spirit of helping others.  Having lost both of my own parents before having my own children I know that nothing in life matters as much as your loved ones, and sitting around our Thanksgiving table I am always struck with deep gratitude for my family, our health, our safety and comfortable life.  These are not things that I take for granted.  Extensive travel through developing nations gave me an acute awareness of our good fortune to live in a place where food security, education and housing are the norm. There are still those even in this country to whom those basic needs do not come easily, and I feel that it is our basic human responsibility to extend a hand if we can.   There are so many positive ways to give to either family members or strangers in need, and this year, as always I will try to teach my kids the true meaning of “The Giving Season”.  I know I will still happily take part in picking out gifts for each of my family members, because there is true joy in finding something great to give someone you know they will love.  I will also try to be somewhat practical in my gift giving, and on Giving Tuesday make sure my family marks the day by giving back to others in need. Here are a few ideas:

There are still many on the East Coast who need supplies due to the storm, and we donated coats and canned goods to help fill three school buses that brought supplies from our town to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Our local food bank has many collections this time of year and I make sure each of my four kids brings in contributions to donate to the Girl Scouts Food Drive or Student Council, or whichever one of their activities is collecting.

We have adopted a family in past years where we get a list of family members to purchase gifts for so they have something to give their children and receive for the holidays. I have my kids think about and pick out the gifts for kids closest to their ages.

This year I feel like there are so many gift-giving options that are gifts that give back. Tom’s shoes for example, where for each pair of shoes you buy one pair is donated to a child who needs them. I am going to try to give as many of those types of gifts possible to family and friends. Other companies that offer some great gifts that give back options are UNICEF, FashionABLE, FEED, Alex & Ani Charity by Design bracelets.

 

What are some other ways that you can think of to help celebrate Giving Tuesday?

I wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health.

Our Motto: Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

Follow along with us here on Tumblr, on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook for the latest Global Team of 200 news.

 

Nov2

Waxing Leaves

Posted on by
Waxing Leaves

I love when my children gasp and point out some beautiful aspect of nature. A sunset, a cloud, a full moon. These days in our area the trees are blazing with colorful leaves, and even the storm gusts did not manage to blow them all off. I point beautiful leaves out to my kids to remind them to look closely at nature and to appreciate the beauty in it. I don’t know if they really need to be reminded, but I know that sometimes I do. I remember collecting beautiful leaves as a child and ironing them in between wax paper to preserve them. I had forgotten the simple pleasure in that activity somewhere along the way, and it wasn’t until a few years ago when my own children were old enough to do it that I remembered. It becomes an entire activity that gets us outside on a leaf collecting expedition, before going in for some creativity. We then tape our creations to the window to display our pretty fall decorations.