Recap from Reclaiming Mothers Day Picnic

Hello Bend MAU,
Thanks to all of y'all who braved the wind, and chilly weather on Mothers Day, we had a great first Reclaiming MD event here in Bend!
Our Global Warming awareness art was sent to Congress and our picture will be uploaded to the 1sky.org web site. We are also sending a letter about Bend MAU to our reps along with our vision to advocate for our worlds children.
Thanks everyone for helping put Bend on the national MAU map and providing a nurturing environment for activism.
Special thanks to our local musicians, Aspen, Charles, and Maggie for the tunes.
Thanks Magadalyn, for the beautiful and ultra yummy goddess cake.
Thanks Nicole, for capturing our the exuberance and love of our event. Here's the link to a web gallery with the Mother's Day photos. http://nicolewernerphoto.com/slideshows/mao/index.htm.
Stay tuned and keep in touch. Visit , bendmau.blogspot.com. We want your imput to know what Bend MAU should support, do, change, and engage in. Share your ideas and your passion for our global family.

VOTE, May 20th is the day to have your ballot in!
Below is a forward of the national MAU newletter that went out. We are in it!! Check out all the fabulous events that were happening all over the US on Mothers Day.

Dearest Joy Warriors & Apron String Revolutionaries;
The MAU Mother's Day stories and photographs keep rolling in! Thousands of mothers acting up gathered in cities and hamlets across the nation to celebrate the day in the spirit of Julia Ward Howe: advocating for the world's children. We've gone public with press aplenty, witnesses to the powerful force that is mother leadership! And in a year when many events partnered with 1Sky on their collective Mother's Day Action, it's no surprise that the weather played a large role in the festivities.
Here are a few reports:
From Teresa in Snohomish, WA: Our Mother's Day Gathering for Peace was a huge success! We had well over 125 people and it didn't rain! Our tradition is to have a girl/woman from every decade read a portion of the Mother's Day Proclamation by stepping up onto a tree stump. We even had our spry, mid-70s grandmother step proudly up on the stump!

From Kate in Northern Michigan: A great group of area women came together to celebrate and collaborate during our annual Northern Michigan MAU Mother's Day event. This year, we focused on a simple recipe for success with our theme, "Just Add Water." We honored five local women who have been passionate advocates for our lakes and rivers, and were fortunate enough to hear their inspiring stories of activism. Our bazaar brought in $8,000 -- a fantastic kick off toward our $14,000 goal to bring a PlayPump well system to a village in Tanzania.

From Paige in Nashville: Gale force winds (up to 30 miles per hour) radically altered our plans for our 3rd Annual Peace Parade. Two trees fell while we were at the park to set up. Mother Nature was to be respected and lived with in all her wonder. We opted to go out for coffee instead of setting up, then gathered for our parade and cake and a spirited reading of the proclamation. We had a surprisingly large crowd, given the weather. It was wild and great and we went from one stilt walker last year to two this year. We nearly blew away. But didn't.

From Juliana in Boulder: Mother's Day began the week before in Boulder with Girlcotts celebrating local fair trade stores, a performance of (M)other and Janna on TV! Then on Sunday, the Raging Grannies led a parade of stilt-walkers and strollers to gather for music, kids activities, cake and a thousand fair trade roses from Transfair/USA. Eight other organizations joined MAU in the celebration; talking with participants and hearing the eloquent words of MAU Co-founder Erica Shafroth and Jen Parsons. The entire crowd enjoyed stirring music from Danea Shanti and Ancestral Voices, including a troop of belly dancers! A festival atmosphere prevailed, culminating in an hour-long interview with Dr. Daddio!

From Kate in Bend, OR: I am very inspired and unbelievably satisfied: we had a splendid Reclaiming Mother's Day event. Our first annual MAU celebration of Julia Ward Howe's original vision started off with gusts of wind, snow and chilly temps. No matter though: families still came to picnic, play and participate in the movement.

David in Oklahoma City: In the midst of a rainy month we were blessed with an absolutely beautiful sunny afternoon and had a crowd of 75-100 people -- women, men and children -- who enjoyed being on the grass and even under a large shade tree, so everyone stayed comfortable. [We had] a wonderful speech by State Senator Connie Johnson, whose birthday it also happened to be. Our two elementary-school essay contest winners read what they had written on the subject, "I Want To Live In a World In Which . . . " and they each received $40 in gift certificates for their efforts.

Laura in Austin, TX: Adorned in colorful tutus, feathers, and flowers, Austin mamas marched across the pedestrian bridge, which spans our beautiful Town Lake, declaring, "There ain't no power like the power of the mama, and the power of the mama don't stop!"

Cheers to mamas, papas, mini-MAUs and all who answered Julia's call to "Arise!" Yours for the JOYFUL revolution, The Mavens at MAU Central

P.S. MAU Central gives a huge shout out to Paige for all the encouragement, support and guidance she dispatched along the planning route to Reclaiming Mother's Day.
On June 1 MAU Central will say goodbye to Paige as Outreach Coordinator, sending love and blessings to her next adventure. On behalf of all MAUs who have been touched by her spirit, we thank Paige for her incredible leadership, passion, exuberance and her wonderful laugh! We hope to hear it often in the years to come...

Reclaiming Mother's Day

Sunday
May 11
2-4pm
Harmon Park
Come celebrate the original Mother's Day Proclamation. Join us for a picnic, live acoustic music, children's activities, face painting, FREE gourmet cake, and make a political statement to advocate for our worlds children. Costumes are encouraged, bring your joyous spirit and revel in the day!

10 Ways to be a MAUma

What is the sound of mothers Arising?

This Mother's Day, MAU Mavens across the country will be strapping on stilts, baking pies for elected leaders, hawking fair trade roses and singing in the streets! Reclaiming Mother's Day events - now in their sixth season - celebrate Julia Ward Howe's 1870 Mother's Day Proclamation. This year, MAU invites YOU to celebrate her call to Arise by gathering your family and community together through cakewalks, letters to the editor, Standing Women events, mama's open-mic nights, or . . . the sky and your imagination is the limit! When mothers* publicly express our commitment to children, our communities, media and government sit up and take notice. Let's sing it out in the streets, "We will protect our children with our personal & political strength - wherever they live on earth."

Thanks to MAU Mavens and partner organizations, MAU is excited to present the very 1st ever "Top 10 Ways to Reclaim Mother's Day":

Holy Symbolism!
Step outside your comfort zone, and get up on stilts. Parade, prance and promenade with a loyal spotter by your side. When we lift our voices AND our bodies together on behalf of the world's children, we become a GIGANTIC force to be reckoned with.
Dare to be a Joy Warrior! Deliver pies to your local members of Congress as part of the Department of Peace's 4th Annual Mother's Day National Action: Peace Wants a Piece of the Pie Campaign.

Posies with a purpose:
Ask for or send fair trade flowers through Transfair/USA. Fair trade benefits every person along the path, from seed in the ground to blossom in the vase.
Review Save the Children's State of the World's Mothers Report (2008 report availably May 6). Learn simple solutions to stop the deaths of nearly 10 million children a year; educate your community with a letter to the editor on this topic.
Part your purse strings, because giving matters. Donate to MAU, inspiring and mobilizing mothers* to advocate on behalf of the world's children. Your donation, in honor of a mother or other, allows MAU to reach out to a million mamas with templates, tools and recipes for actions that prioritize the lives of our children.

Press the candidates for Prez to take action for the world's children.
Take a photo of your family at brunch this Mother's Day and send to the presidential candidates, letting them know you are a Mother Acting Up who wants Global Action for Children.

There is an elegant beauty to simplicity.
Stand with Standing Women at 1 pm (your local time) on May 11 in support of a better world for our children.

Host a 1Sky climate change event, make a banner calling for serious climate action and then upload pictures and drawings of your children and families alongside the banner as part of a national call to action to Congress.

Join with CodePink mamas at the Mother's Day Picnic for Peace in Washington, DC's Dupont Circle, walk across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, or gather at Merchant's Gate at Columbus Circle in Manhattan for the 2nd Annual Mother's Day Peace Stroll.

Find a MAU Mother's Day Reclamation event near you, and revel in it, mama! Gather round, hand out Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation, eat cake, birth strategic plans to act locally and think globally. Together, we can change the world.

Double Your Donation to MAU this Mother's Day!

Double Your Donation to MAU this Mother's Day!Mothers Acting Up (MAU) inspires and mobilizes mothers* to advocate on behalf of the world's children. MAU believes that when mothers lead, generations of global citizens will follow.
In celebration of all of YOU, an anonymous donor has graciously and beneficently offered to match every dollar you contribute to MAU between now and Mother's Day. Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and double your donation in honor of all the mothers ACTING UP in your life; together we are Reclaiming Mother's Day.
Make a donation in honor of your favorite mom and we'll send them a Julia Ward Howe Mother's Day card on your behalf.

2008 year of the Strategy Mom

Dearest Joy Warriors & Apron-string Revolutionaries,

As MAUs continue to design the top ten ways to Reclaim Mother's Day, we humbly offer the second MAU Principle to incite some new ideas:
Follow the money: Every dollar spent, each tax dollar collected is a vote. It's time to get educated about what we're funding with our budgets - from personal products to the government policies our tax dollars support. If anyone knows how to shop, balance a budget and make sure everyone eats, it's mothers. Make sure your dollars vote for a healthy future. If all mothers embraced this principle today, tomorrow the world would be vastly more just. In the US, women spend 83% of the money. Good gravy!!
Let us be empowered and flex our economic muscle…Girlcott: use your dollars to create social change by supporting businesses and corporations with just trade and labor practices. Spending money never felt so good…
Buy Local, buy Fair Trade:
When possible, choose local foods, supporting regional agriculture and reducing the environmental impact of mass transport. Perhaps even throw a few seeds in the ground of your own backyard! Fair Trade Coffee (and other goods) are widely available, the purchase of these commodities allows for livable wages to be paid, directly supporting a higher quality of life for farmers and their children.
Know your federal budget:
It only takes a few minutes to see with your own eyes what your tax dollars are buying. Over half our federal discretionary budget is spent on "security" without any significant percentage allocated for preventative measures like funding for education and development, including our promised share of the UN Millennium Development Goals (eight international targets to end extreme poverty).
Vote:
Speaking to the importance of mothers in the coming election, Lorelei Kelly (a mother acting up) has designated 2008 the year of the Strategy Mom. She recognizes the importance of mothers voting, and the possibility that we can be the ones to bring the well being of our human family to the forefront of this pivotal election.Share how you Follow the Money by dropping us a line. If you visit the federal budget website we'll send you a FREE MAU BUMPER STICKER!

In most spirited partnership, Paige, for the MAU Mavens

In Boulder, Dr. Karambu Ringera led school children in a lesson on the importance of education for all. All eyes were on Dr. Karambu as she spoke of dirt-floored classrooms, distances walked and how few students know whether they'll return to school next year in Kenya.It's not too late for teachers to join The World's Biggest Lesson on April 23rd at 9 am!

Reclaiming Mother's Day

We are holding our first annual Bend MAU Reclaiming Mother's Day Event!
This year on May 11th at from 2pm-4pm we will be having a picnic at Harmon Park.
MAU's Mother's Day events are inspired by the life, words and actions of Julia Ward Howe. After the Civil War, Julia called for a day when mothers would unite across boundaries - of nationality, race, religion or political affirmation - to protect our global family.
The picnic is still in the planning stages, so all help is welcome. Please contact Kate at bend@mothersactingup.org if you have anything ideas to share, media contacts, groups I should invite, or you want to participate as a facepainter, stiltwalker, bellydancer, cupcake maker, or whatever you can imagine!

Be Exuberant!

Dearest Joy Warriors & Apron String Revolutionaries,From all over the country, people are taking the MAU Pledge to bring the security of the world's children into the forefront of all discussions - from conversations with family and friends, to our wider communities and certainly with candidates and elected officials.How to do this effectively? To answer that, let's begin at the very beginning, with the MAU Principle #1:Be exuberant: Since we're ACTING UP for the rest of our lives, our activism has to be joyful. No one wants to rally around anger; studies show that negative advertising causes women to politically disengage. This movement is about the JOY of standing up for what you believe & publicly declaring your priorities. Let's gather in the streets, not with bullhorns, but singing.With its roots in the lavish abundance of growing and being fruitful, the quality of exuberance smacks with the juicy goodness of mother nurture, Mother Nature and Mothers Acting Up.Exuberance in practical application means saying, for instance: "Thank you, Delta, for revising your policies in support of breastfeeding families," instead of, "Hey, Frontier, you messed up and breastfeeding moms are angry!" or by saying "Children Deserve a Bigger Piece of the Pie," instead of "Bush Hates Kids." But this is not about being sunny for sunny's sake. This is about focusing on WHAT WE WANT rather than looking back at what we reject. It's moving towards, rather than against.While perhaps Pollyanna in part, this primary MAU principle is neither easy nor simple. Sustaining exuberance is a tough row to hoe, a perennial crop whose nutritive value staves off depression, indifference and offers a real life solution to overwhelm and fear. Kind of like mother's milk for the great human family itself, exuberance promotes real security.Go forth and be exuberant mamas. Live in liberation of what others think of your choices. Model this joyful abundance because it feels good, because your kids will enjoy it far more than staying holed up in fear and loathing, and because you're likely to inspire others to sing along.Try sowing seeds of exuberance by sharing this email with two friends and asking them to declare themselves Mothers Acting Up. Try bolstering your own activism by writing YES on a mirror with lipstick so you see it each day; the affirmation a reminder of your call to duty and your sheer brilliance in carrying out your mission.In awed wonder at your beauty and power, Paige, for the MAU MavensPS. Click on the words in RED to link to more information. To respond to this email, click on Paige or email beheard@mothersactingup.org.