Saving Mothers

There was a great article written in the Huffington Post today by the Executive Director of the International Museum of Women Clare Winterton about how we as a society value mothers today. Ms. Winterton addresses some of the realities of motherhood in modern society from the stigma surrounding issues like infertility or postpartum depression to the larger social issue of equality between women and men in terms of balancing child rearing responsibilities with careers. The International Museum of Women just launched a new online exhibition on motherhood called MAMA and I urge you to visit their website and take a look.

On Saturday, January 7, Saving Mothers hosted a Birth Kit event at the Museum of Motherhood.  Joy Rose, the museum’s founder, was gracious enough to share her beautiful space with us. 

Much to our surprise, eight wonderful women along with their children volunteered their time to help us put together birth kits for our trip to Guatemala next week. Not only did they help us make the kits, but many volunteers brought the supplies for them. We exceeded our goal of 100 birthing kits and in just a couple of hours, our amazing volunteers helped us put together 107 kits!

Everyone was so enthusiastic and eager to help. 

“Their desire to volunteer was truly inspiring,” said Leiann Lopez, Members and Donor Liaison for Saving Mothers.  We appreciate the support of our volunteers and look forward with sharing the day’s photos with the women of Lago Atitlan.  A special thanks to our volunteers: Lauren Abrams, Robin Templeton, Keya Kennedy, Janae Sheilds, Windi Mirkovic, Marilyn Suffet, Holly White, Amy Alpern, and their wonderful children. 

Also, don’t forget to check the Global Wall: Saving Mothers exhibit at the Museum of Motherhood during the month of January. 

As we come to the end of the year, I thought I’d share a link to our 2011 Newsletter! It’s been a busy year for Saving Mothers, what with field work in Guatemala and Liberia, our Mother’s Day campaign, our 2nd annual fundraising event, and numerous other projects to promote maternal health and wellness in the US and abroad. Thank you to all of you out there who have supported us and our mission over the past year- we can’t wait to continue our work in 2012!

Happy New Year from everyone at Saving Mothers!