This Saturday I set off on the long journey to Ethiopia as part of ONE Moms. It's starting to feel real (particularly when I look at the list of things I need to take care of before I depart), but I don't think the magnitude of the trip will really set in until we land in Addis Ababa. I've received a lot of questions about this trip so I thought I would address the most common of them all in one place.This Saturday I set off on the long journey to Ethiopia as part of ONE Moms. It's starting to feel real (particularly when I look at the list of things I need to take care of before I depart), but I don't think the magnitude of the trip will really set in until we land in Addis Ababa. I've received a lot of questions about this trip so I thought I would address the most common of them all in one place.
A month from today I head to Ethiopia as part of ONE Moms. I went to get my first round of vaccinations this week and while I was waiting, I inhaled the Ethiopia culture report shared by the travel clinic. And today I wanted to take a cue from Asha (the candor of her post hit a nerve for me) and share some facts about Ethiopia and ONE. I shared many of these facts with Laurel (who accompanied me to the clinic) and she was fascinated by it all. This trip will clearly be a game changer for me, not only for personal reasons but because it has already made me realize that I need to share more of the world with Laurel.
Friends, I'm diverting from regularly scheduled editorial today because my mind is swimming after my trip to Washington, DC yesterday. I am humbled and honored to share that I am now part of the ONE Moms advisory board, through which I will work on inspiring community action around issues such as maternal and child health, agriculture, and the empowerment of women and girls in developing countries. As part of this work, this fall I will travel to Ethiopia -- I can barely wrap my head around the magnitude of this upcoming trip; I know it will change my lens on, well, everything else in my life. And you all are part of why this is happening and I can't thank you enough.
Thanks to an invitation from Electrolux (who kindly handled my travel and accommodations), earlier this week I had the pleasure of traveling with Laurel to New York City for an event to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. With the incredibly gracious and down to earth Kelly Ripa as hostess, and Serendipity 3's Stephen Bruce as banana split master, the kids got to go nuts in the kitchen (Laurel left no topping unturned) while the grownups learned about a sweet new virtual campaign.
Friends, I was so happy to walk in yesterday's March for Babies (which had an impressive turnout despite the downpour preceding the walk), and am enormously proud of all of the funds raised by Team Boston Mamas & Friends. We raised $7,762 for the March of Dimes, and I am especially grateful to my sister Stephanie (our runaway top fundraiser at $3,915 -- she matched her donations dollar for dollar!), and to Carissa, Angela, and Christina, who all raised $500 or more (I was also thrilled to meet my personal fundraising goal). Amazing efforts all around and we couldn't have done it without the generosity of many people. Thanks to everyone who supported our team!Friends, it's the final stretch and I am doing one last ask in this space: will you please support Team Boston Mamas & Friends with a donation to the team or my personal page? I am thrilled that we recently broke the $3,000 fundraising mark and I hope we can keep upping our contribution this week -- truly, no gift is too small! Thanks so much in advance for your support, and I look forward to rocking the walk on May 8th on behalf of all of you.
I first met the lovely Isabel Kallman of Alpha Mom at the inaugural Pampers mom blogger meeting in Cincinnati and have since adored being in her company at every turn (most notably while interviewing Salma Hayek, talking all things blogging, and while wearing paper bags on our heads). Isabel is a smart entrepreneur, a kind friend, and always is thinking towards personal improvement, community building, and outreach to those in need. Fittingly, for the fourth in my Simplifying the Holidays guest blog series – Isabel shares easy ideas for reconnecting with the spirit of the holidays through giving.
Jennifer James is one of the first bloggers I met in real life, through the inaugural Disney mom bloggers mixer. She since has become a dear friend and a trusted professional confidante; someone I admire for her kindness, good karma, smart insights, and astute perspective as a long time blogger (among her many projects, she’s best known as the founder of the Mom Bloggers Club). The second in my Simplifying the Holidays guest blog series, today Jennifer shares a collection of wonderful ideas for everyday philanthropy where you can make a difference from the comfort of your home.
Teaching Laurel empathy has always been very important to us, not only to help curb age appropriate but hurtful behaviors such as biting and hitting, but also simply to help her learn how to be a good friend and family member. And while she has embraced these lessons since toddlerhood (in daycare she always was quick to give a hug or rub a friend’s back if they were sad), we know we’ll need to revisit these themes through her young life. And for parents of tweens, here’s an interesting way to help teach compassion to kids: Generation Cures.
Having grown up in a large household with little in the way of material luxuries, I am grateful on a daily basis for what our household has. We subsequently made a point this weekend to celebrate the collective joy of giving and receiving by trimming a Christmas tree with Laurel, purchasing gifts for our school's holiday drive (it was really marvelous to involve Laurel in the shopping process), and depositing several bags of warm clothing and shoes to a donation station. In the latter vein, today Kate reports on her excellent experience with Room to Grow:
Generally it seems a reasonable rule of thumb to not have reason to cry before 9am, but this morning there was no helping the tears at the Horizons for Homeless Children Annual Women’s Breakfast in Boston. At this remarkable event, 1,000 women gathered to learn about homelessness in Massachusetts. We heard compelling, moving stories from women who – with children in tow – battled back from homelessness to become thriving members of their communities, and learned about the impact of giving back from a woman who volunteers as a Playspace Activity Leader.
Horizons’ approach to battling the numbers surrounding homeless children (10,000 children in Massachusetts per year; 500,000 nationally) is impressive in its’ multi-dimensional structure. Not only does Horizons’ give children a safe and happy space in which they can learn, play, and develop (through community children’s centers in Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, and Roxbury that offer full-time care so parents can work, and through building of playspaces in local shelters across Massachusetts), but they also provide much-needed support to parents, whether it be informational – by helping parents learn how to be involved in the growth and development of their children, as well as how to access education and job training resources – or emotional, through listening ears and open hearts free of judgment.
It’s difficult for me to resist facts and figures; I felt encouraged by the idea that modest gifts of $50 or $100 could go so far ($50 = art supplies for a classroom for one month; $100 = 17 lbs of Legos, 37 lbs of Play-Doh, or 30 lbs of puzzles for shelter playspace programs). In addition to donations, there are many other ways to help, such as donating goods or services, becoming a Playspace Activity Leader (2 hour per week commitment), or event hosting.
The next time you are preparing to purge baby/kid stuff from your home, consider donating to Cradles to Crayons, an organization committed to providing poor and homeless children from Massachusetts (infancy to age 12) with everyday clothes, gear, toys, and school supplies.
Last year alone, Cradles to Crayons provided 25,000 local children with high-quality goods to keep them warm, safe at home, and ready to learn at school. Find out about the different ways you can help their cause, and the types of items accepted for donation.