Reclaiming Mothers Day 2010!

Bend MAU is celebrating Mothers Day this year with our 3rd Picnic at Harmon Park.

Come on by from noon-2pm for music, Julia Ward Howe's inspirational Mother's Day Proclamation, dancing, kids games, and community fun.

We will be collaboration with the Oregon Midwifery Council to raise support for a relief birthing center network that first opened in Bali and has now expanded to Haiti.

http://www.bumisehatbali.org/

Please start gathering baby blankets, and sturdy tents and tarps to send as donations. We will also be hosting a bake sale to raise funds for shipping. Come enjoy a day by the river and send some mother love around the world!

Contact:
Kate Ast
kate.r.ast@gmail.com

rebirth

Hey Central Oregon,

Over the past year, I have had the amazing privilege of assisting a wonderful midwife here in Bend. I have learned more than I can say in words about the strength of motherhood. I have whitnessed amazing families laugh, cry, dance, and roar their babies into the world. I have enjoyed a sisterhood of midwives that reminds me of the yoga term seva, "self less service."

Midwifery is as old as the earth and just as sacred.

Waking up in the wee hours of the morning, leaving my children snug in their beds and traveling to another families home to attend their birth has also allowed me to notice the moon, the stars, on nights I normally would have slept on through. I have been graced dreamlike experiences watching siblings greet each other in their parents arms, watching men thank their women as they pushed out new life....I have learned more about love and how much we can accomplish as women. We are infinite, incredible and capable of more than we ever imagined.

We give birth in many ways and this brings me back to MAU. In my story, I need to pass on the midwife hat, dive back into my own young family, and continue to serve the global family through MAU. Someday those hats will merge...How badly do I want to go be with women giving birth in Haiti! Sustainable, smart growth Kate...all things that apply to our environment apply to us as well.

So, I vowe to twitter! Which for any of you who know my technoknowhow is HUGE. Yes, Joellen I will twitter for a better planet, what the heck. Join me!
This Thursday, twitter for ending world hunger and for conversation about Haiti info below:

Join MAU each Thursday for a tweetchat (an online chat in 140 character tweets) 10am PT.
Join at: www.tweetchat.com.

Enter MAUact at the #hashtag and you’re good to go. The chat lasts for one hour, and it’s okay to watch without adding, but don’t be shy for long!
To get started: Go to www.twitter.com and sign-up. To find followers: start by following @mothersactingup, then look at @mothersactingup followers and troll for the most interesting people.
Follow them. Post something everyday, and respond or retweet someone’s comments everyday. Stay tuned for upcoming MAU tweet trainings!

Ready for some really great news?
Mother engagement is at an all time high, in the flesh and especially online! The time is ripe to bring the world's children to the forefront of our conversations and our actions.

Sharing passion, commitment and brainy ideas on a DAILY BASIS. Actually, minute by minute in all the old ways, and by embracing new tools like twitter. This is revolutionary.
On Friday, MAU is launching our new Website designed to support this growing network of mothers acting on behalf of the world's children. You'll find tools, stories, twitter tips and daily actions. Did we mention videos? Stories from the Mother Front? Starring YOU? Here's a sneak peek:

Movie Mondays: movies to inspire our mother leadership.
Talk about it Tuesdays: juicy info to practice out loud and share with others.Write & Call Wednesdays: communicating with decision makers.Traction Thursdays: amplifying our voices. Friends Fridays: engaging friends in acting up.Spending Saturdays: spending money to benefit our global family.
Family Sundays: creating new habits & practices within our family.
Stay tuned for the launch of the NEW MAU website on Friday, Nov. 20, Universal Children's Day!

Reving it up

Hi Bend,

MAU central is evolving with the times. Here is the latest and greatest that they are doing:

Dear Mamas,
We've been experimenting with new ways to mobilize mothers to act on behalf of the world's children. Asking some hard questions. How DO we get the people of one country to care about the children of another? How do we bring the issue of the world's children to our dinner tables?
How can we talk about issues facing the world's children without overwhelming our audience, without pouring on more guilt, and in bite size pieces? How do we communicate with each other through all the noise?
And most importantly, are mothers collectively up for shaping the world our children will inherit? If so, can we make acting up more engrossing than losing weight?
Like President Sirleaf, MAU believes mothers are up for the challenge and we're launching a BRAND NEW WEBSITE on November 20, Universal Children's Day! The site will revolve around action: small daily actions that fit into a busy life, and collective actions in collaboration with other organizations. Because as we all know, numbers matter.
The best part of the new site is that it's going to put the spotlight on the people that matter most: all of YOU working on behalf of the world's children. As we build our numbers, we'll learn how to act from each other with plenty of inspiration and education sprinkled throughout the site.
Get involved: Join the MAU tweet-a-thon to bring the world's children and the new MAU website to the forefront of our collective tweeting. Prizes: A beautiful Juliana Forbes (MAU co-founder) print to the 1st 5 MAUs to sign-up, a MAU bumper sticker for all.Sign up to join the tweet-a-thon and get fabulous prizes!
In the meantime, don't forget to follow us on twitter and facebook!
Happy acting up,Joellen on behalf of all the mamas at MAU Central

Art for climate change

Let's make art for a safe climate future.
World leaders will gather in Copenhagen next month to negotiate a new international climate treaty.

We need to let President Obama and the Senate know that we want them to show leadership in enacting bold climate solutions.

Our partners at the 1Sky Campaign are coordinating "Make Art for Climate" gatherings across the country, where mothers and children can come together to decorate pieces of cloth with images reflecting the urgency of the climate challenge. Mail in your art projects by November 18 in a postage paid envelope supplied by 1Sky.

The art gatherings will culminate in a series of nationwide public actions during the first week of December - just before the international conference on climate change - to reinforce the need for strong action.

Visit MAU's take action page to learn more.

In spirited partnership,JoellenP.S. Have you heard about MAU's new website coming your way on November 20th, Universal Children's Day? Get ready to ACT UP, OUT AND OFTEN!

Summer

What does supporting our mission as consious mothers entail this summer?

MAU central posted the challenge. We raise $100. A kids/parent yoga class in the park will be announced soon, any volunteers?

On a more personal note, we are raising chickens and trying to learn the basics of organic gardening. We continually save the world one cloth diaper at a time and by trying our hearts out at peaceful negotiating 101.

The most brilliant thing I have read within the last hour is, "what people think of you is none of your buisness."

Dear Mother Leaders, Thank you for your tremendous efforts over the past few months. The awareness you raised in your communities and with your US Representatives has set the stage for gaining Congressional support when the bill is introduced. For the next phase of the campaign, we need your leadership in raising funds for MAU. This may sound daunting, but we believe that with a small effort from each of us, we can make a significant difference. We challenge each Mother Leader to raise $100 over the summer. This may look very different to each of us. For example: Elizabeth, in New York, is going to hold a garage sale and give the proceeds to MAU. This is awesome because it raises money and awareness (she'll have the petition to President Obama for people to sign)! Jean, in Montana, is offering reiki treatments in exchange for donations to MAUYou can use your social networking site to get the word out. Facebook Causes is great for small amounts and you could challenge 20 of your friends to give $5.00 each. Twitter your campaign and let your followers know that you’re raising $100 towards MAU. Give updates of what MAU is doing and why our work is important. You can pull this info off the STAND and MAU websites. You could involve your kids and set up a lemonade stand on a busy corner and give the proceeds to MAU. If you can, you could write a check yourself. You could ask your friends to honor your birthday with gifts to MAU as your birthday present. You can think of another clever and creative way to raise this money. If you choose this option, please share your experiences with other Mother Leaders so that we can continue to learn and be inspired from each other. In addition to the funds that we raise, we have received a matching grant from a generous donor who will match the money raised from Mother Leaders this summer. So essentially, your money is doubled!Are you scared to ask for money? If so, don’t worry, that is completely normal. If you would be interested in finding out some tips and practicing with another Mother Leader, email Amy Rosenblum (amyrosenblum@gmail.com). Amy is MAU's Sustainability Chair and a Mother Leader. She is also a fundraising professional who works with people in training them to ask for funds all the time. If there is enough interest, we might hold a few calls, or if you prefer to talk one-on-one, just let Amy know that too.Thank you for all that you do for MAU, and more importantly on behalf of the world’s children. In spirited partnership,Anjali and AmyP.S. If you haven't had a chance to complete the short Mother Leader survey, please click here!