Mothers Acting Up: We like her. We really really like her.

Mothers Acting Up: We like her. We really really like her.

MAU at national peace conference in Tennessee!!

The Gandhi-King Conference on Peacemaking takes place this year at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN. Nashville’s own Naomi Tutu (!!) will be the event’s keynote speaker. In its fourth year, the 2007 conference is themed Building the Beloved Community. Today, September 14, is the last day for a price break on an adult conference goer’s registration. Tomorrow, price goes from $50 to $75.

Mothers Acting Up will have a Saturday morning workshop called MAU Now: Mobilizing the Mamas, the Joy of Activism for mothers (and others) who want to build community in advocating publicly and passionately for the world’s children. MAU will have a Nashville MAU presence specifically, as well as MAUs from other locations. We’ll have a table with MAU literature and goods including the hot off the presses 2008 Handbook & Engagement Calendar, the 2007 edition MAU bumpersticker, as well as Nashville Mothers Acting Up tee shirts and mamamade aprons.

The conference should be a big time for ALL wanting to gather in the name of peace with justice. I’m bringing my family (husband and two year old), and encourage that you bring yours, too.

Volunteers for womaning the MAU table are needed! Please shout at me as per below if you are able and willing to take a shift or two.

In peace and in the spirit of community,

Paige

paige (at) mothersactingup (dot) com

National Call In Week to End the War in Iraq!!

PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO YOUR EMAIL LISTS.

Dear Ones,

Congress goes back into session *this week*. Now is a critical time to put pressure on Congress in opposition to the $193 billion funding bill for Iraq and to pressure our Senators for just immigration policy. Please make phone calls this week on Thursday and Friday. Toll free number: 1-888-732-9404.

Collectively our voices will make the difference.

Thanks! All the info you need is below.

Paige La Grone Babcock

paige@mothersactingup.org

_______________________________________________________________

National Call-In Day to end the funding for the war against Iraq -- Thursday, Sept. 6

Capitol Hill Switchboard: 202-224-3121 or 1-888-732-9404 (toll free)

Join the nationwide effort to flood the offices of our member of Congress with calls demanding an end to the U.S. war in Iraq. Let's make it clear: there cannot be "business as usual" in Washington until effective action to bring all the troops home is taken!

Call your Representative, both Senators and Congressman Jim Cooper on Thursday, September 6th.

Tell them: I want you to act now to end the war and occupation of Iraq. The Congress has the Constitutional right and a moral responsibility to use the power of the purse to withdraw all U.S. soldiers and contractors from Iraq on a rapid and binding schedule. Four and a half years of this war is too long - it has to end now!

Not sure who represents you in Congress? www.Congress.org

Background:

In September, Congress will focus on Iraq. They will vote on the President's request for continued funding of the war. At this writing, the request stands at $142 billion, but Bush will probably increase it to over $190 billion! Congress is not required to give Bush any of this money, or even to bring the request to a vote. Congress can also put restrictions, firm withdrawal timelines and other conditions on any funding in order to force an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. More info: www.unitedforpeace.org

Thursday September 6 & Friday September 7, 2007

______________________________________________________________________

Stop Immigration Enforcement-Only Policies

Take Action Now:

Congress has received thousands of calls supporting enforcement-only measures that will harm immigrants and refugees. We must let Senate leaders know that this flawed legislation and Department of Homeland Security policy will not fix the out-of-date immigration system. Spread the word! The recently introduced Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act of 2007 (S. 1984) focuses on punishing immigrant families, adding border fences, walls, and patrol agents, and increasing detention centers and deportations. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized a new rule requiring employers who receive Social Security Administration (SSA) “no-match” letters to follow steps to prove that employees are authorized to work or risk liability. The policy misuses the letters, which are not intended for immigration enforcement, and could result in employment discrimination.

Call your Senator and Share this Action Alert!

On September 6th and 7th, use this toll free number 1-888-732-9404. Ask to be connected to your Senator’s office and tell your Senator:

§ Please say NO to S. 1984! - I urge you to oppose the Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Act of 2007 (S. 1984). More fences, walls, detention centers, agents and rounding up immigrants at their homes and workplaces are not the answer.

§ Please SUPPORT Congressional oversight of DHS’s SSA “no match” letter policy including employer liability for employment discrimination and the complaint process.

§ Please say YES to constructive immigration reform that includes a path to permanent residency and citizenship, restores due process rights, stops the militarization of the southern border, and ensures humane policies that keep families together.

The toll-free number is provided courtesy of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization which works for social justice and peace (www.afsc.org/immigrants-rights/). AFSC welcomes groups to circulate and use the toll-free number in support of non-partisan goals and without linking the alert to a website soliciting donations or actions which may be used to support partisan lobbying or work. (This nonpartisan disclaimer must be included in publications of the toll-free number).

Don’t Forget to Forward this Message! For more information contact Sara Ibrahim at sibrahim@afsc.org or 1-202-483-6839.

41 School Kits!!!

WOW! I set a goal of 5 school kits early in August, and by the end of the month we'd made 41! When the kids and I dropped them off at 10,000 Villages yesterday, the volunteers and assistant manager were overwhelmed by the bags and bags full of kits we kept lugging through the door. While we helped to unload them in the back room, Priscilla, one of the volunteers, told us what would happen to them next. They'll take a ride up to Indiana, where the MCC home office is, and then will travel by ship over to Iraq, where they will be distributed by the MCC workers over there. I'd love to see how they're received by the children themselves, and what they allow the kids to do in school. Such a small gift, but I'm sure it means so much to them.

At Suzanne's encouragement, we'll continue to work with the MCC and branch out into other types of kits. Here's a list of all the kits they request and distribute . I recommend that we make newborn kits next... More on that soon.

In the meantime, thanks to all of you who participated in this project -- it's quite an accomplishment, and so beautifully illustrates our mission to advocate for the world's children.
Kate

Heatwave....

Due to continued heat and air quality discomfort, MAU's play and action group for tomorrow, Friday Aug 24, will NOT be at CentennialPark Playground, but at our inclement weather back up locale: the 2nd Floor Children's Area of Nashville's Downtown Public Library-- main
branch, 10-noonish.

There will be a marionette performance of Midsummer Night's Dream for older kids (6+) and Ginger Sands will have a program for the under 6 crowd as well.

If you are gathering supplies for the school kits, bring them to Kate if you've got 'em. We have but one more week to work on these!!

Please pass the word along to others so that if anyone wishes to join us, they know where we'll be....

Potluck update for tonight!

NEW DEVELOPMENT: the filmmaker will not be present. He's had a family situation arise that requires his attention. He'll send his co-conspirator Alex to show the film.

My decision is to show the 38 minute SHORT version of the film.

Schedule:

6 PM Finalizing set up and folks get nametagged and begin their suppers.

6:40ish begin film

7:15 Q & A with Alex

7:40 wash dishes, breakdown tables, general clean up

Nashville MAU will purchase a copy of the Kilowatt Ours DVD and keep in the lending library (at my home office) -- families who care to can check out the DVD to see the long version of the film at their leisure.


(NEXT MONTH'S POTLUCK SOCIAL & SALON will be in celebration of National Food Sustainability month and will consist of locally grown / produced potluck items and an informal panel including a Food Security officer, organic family farmers, a CSA representative, and more.... mark your calendars now for Friday Sept 21)

Friday 8/17:

Heat and Air Quatlity Alert: Alternate plans for weekly play & action group

Due to extreme heat this week and air quality alerts, Nashville's MAU Mobilize the Mamas play and action group will NOT meet at Centennial Park Playground tomorrow, Friday 8/17.

Instead, we will meet at our inclement weather plan place: the downtown public library on the second floor -- 10-noonish. We can free play, snack and roam the courtyard, and also attend a special storytime event with Ginger Sands and Friends: http://www.library.nashville.org/events/show/176

Bring lunch or snacks for post show courtyard time.

This month's action is as follows:

I was in 10,000 Villages the other day and came across these pamphlets distributed by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), www.mcc.org, on how a community can put together school kits for children displaced by war. I thought this would be a great opportunity for our local MAU community to support the world's children in a very concrete way. The pamphlet reads as follows:

"School kits are MCC's most requested item. They are given primarily to refugee children, helping students and teachers add some normalcy to disrupted lives. Countries receiving shipments include Afghanistan, Liberia, Sudan, Bosnia, Haiti, Nicaragua, Colombia, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, North Korea, Iraq and Palestine.

Contents (NEW items only)

4 spiral notebooks or notebooks with perforations (about 21.5 cm x 27 cm/8in x 10.5in; about 70 - 80 sheets each)

4 unsharpened #2 pencils

1 ruler (flat flexible plastic, indicating both 30cm and 12in)

12 colored pencils (in packaging)

1 large pencil eraser

School kits are distributed in a useful double drawstring cloth bag (28cm x 40.6cm/11in x 16in). You may sew the bag yourself (instructions at www.mcc.org/kits/kitbags), request bags from an MCC collection center, or donate contents to be placed in a bag."

10,000 Villages requests that we get the materials to their store no later than August 31, leaving us the rest of the month to get these kits together. Let's aim for 5 complete kits. You can bring the materials to me directly, or bring them to upcoming August Friday gatherings at Centennial, or to the potluck this Friday. If you're interested in contributing, please email me and let me know what you'd like to give and I can coordinate it so we don't all choose colored pencils or erasers.

Kate

kzwingate@yahoo.com

Mothers Acting Up -- Killowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America screening

Friday, August 17, 6pm
Nashville MAU's Bring the Family Potluck Social & Salon held at Nashville Friends Meeting House; 530 26th Ave. N

Nashville MAU invites the community to gather for a potluck supper and a special screening of Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America, an acclaimed documentary designed to help consumers cut their energy bills and improve the quality of the environment through conservation methods and clean, renewable power sources. This is a family friendly venue and filmaker Jeff Barrie will be present! Drinks will be provided, but please bring a dish to share. The suggested $8 donation per family covers both the film and the Friends Meeting House care fee. Come one, come all! Contact Paige at paige@mothersactingup.org or call (615) 495-1879 for more information.

MAU looking for Development Coordinator.

Development Coordinator, Mothers Acting Up

Reply to: Joellen Raderstorf, Executive Director

Starting Aug 15, 2007

If you have an appetite for raising money for social change, this is an outrageously great opportunity: great mission, great organization, great team!

Flexible hours, can work from home.

Volunteer position with potential to move into a paid position.

Become the Development Diva of Mothers Acting Up (MAU), a movement of mothers publicly and passionately advocating for the world’s children. MAU inspires, educates and engages mothers* a gigantic force to be reckoned with to prioritize children in our corporate and public policies. MAU believes that when mothers lead, generations of global citizens will follow. The organization is in its fifth year with a strong foundation and well-connected team.

All the raw materials are in place, awaiting someone who is inspired!

* mothers and others, on stilts or off, who exercise protective care over someone smaller

Qualifications:

• Love raising money for social change
• Development, Marketing and PR experience
• Familiarity with grant funding sources and processes
• Donor cultivation knowledge and/or experience
• Passionate commitment to a peaceful, child-friendly world
• Excellent communication skills
• Computer savvy
• Event planning knowledge and/or experience

Major responsibilities include:

• Work with MAU team to create development plan
• Pursue sponsorship opportunities for MAU’s 5th annual Handbook
• Support marketing and distribution of MAU Handbook
• Assist in planning, coordination and implementation of fall fundraiser
• Research and apply for grants (corporate and foundation) for MAU
• Maintain and enhance current donor tracking/management systems
• Provide donor cultivation guidance

Check out MAU at www.mothersactingup.org

joellen@mothersactingup.org

PO Box 1244

Boulder, CO 80306

303.474.1286

School Kits for refugee children

I was in 10,000 Villages the other day and came across these pamphlets distributed by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) on how a community can put together school kits for children displaced by war. I thought this would be a great opportunity for our local MAU community to support the world's children in a very concrete way. The pamphlet reads as follows:

"School kits are MCC's most requested item. They are given primarily to refugee children, helping students and teachers add some normalcy to disrupted lives. Countries receiving shipments include Afghanistan, Liberia, Sudan, Bosnia, Haiti, Nicaragua, Colombia, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, North Korea, Iraq and Palestine.

Contents (NEW items only)
4 spiral notebooks or notebooks with perforations (about 21.5 cm x 27 cm/8in x 10.5in; about 70 - 80 sheets each)
4 unsharpened #2 pencils
1 ruler (flat flexible plastic, indicating both 30cm and 12in)
12 colored pencils (in packaging)
1 large pencil eraser

School kits are distributed in a useful double drawstring cloth bag (28cm x 40.6cm/11in x 16in). You may sew the bag yourself (instructions at www.mcc.org/kits/kitbags), request bags from an MCC collection center, or donate contents to be placed in a bag."

10,000 Villages requests that we get the materials to their store no later than August 31, leaving us the rest of the month to get these kits together. Let's aim for 5 complete kits. You can bring the materials to me directly, or bring them to upcoming August Friday gatherings at Centennial, or to the potluck this Friday. If you're interested in contributing, please email me and let me know what you'd like to give and I can coordinate it so we don't all choose colored pencils or erasers.

Kate
kzwingate@yahoo.com

Killowatt Ours Screening 8/17!

Nashville Mothers Acting Up invites the community to gather for a potluck supper and a special screening of Killowatt Ours. This is a family friendly venue and filmmaker Jeff Barrie will be present! Come one, come all. Please share this widely, and contact me at the below numbers for more information.

In spirited partnership,
Paige La Grone Babcock
National Outreach Coordinator & Community Organizer, Mothers Acting Up

---

August 6, 2007 CONTACT: filmmaker, Jeff Barrie (615) 438-5060

OR Nashville Mothers Acting Up, Paige La Grone Babcock (615) 495-1879/ paige@mothersactingup.org

Documentary Screening Helps NASHVILLE Consumers

Lower Heating Bills and Use Energy Responsibly

to Protect Our Health, Environment and Pocketbooks

NASHVILLE – A new documentary film designed to help consumers cut their energy bills and improve the quality of the environment is touring the United States this winter through summer as many Americans face record-high heating and cooling bills. The public is invited to a family friendly viewing of Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America where they can meet the filkmaker during a special MOTHERS ACTING UP (MAU) sponsored screening at the Nashville Friends Meeting House, Friday August 17, 2007. This acclaimed film advocates energy conservation methods and clean, renewable power sources available as alternatives to the high costs of energy.

When: Friday, August 17, 2007; 6 PM
Where: Nashville MAU’s Bring the Family Potluck Social & Salon, held at Nashville Friends Meeting House, 530 26^th Ave N
Admission: a dish to share with other attendees (drinks provided), $8 suggested donation per family at the door covers both the film and the Friends Meeting House care fee

Kilowatt Ours is the story of filmmaker and conservationist Jeff Barrie's 18-month journey across the southeastern U.S. to document our energy-related problems and present practical, cost-saving solutions for consumers. Widespread problems revealed in Kilowatt Ours include mountaintop removal, air pollution, global warming, childhood asthma, and mercury contamination. The film illustrates practical solutions that help homeowners save more than $600 per year on energy bills while helping the environment and protecting human health.

“I hope this film sparks an energy conservation movement across America, while boosting demand for clean renewable power sources,” says filmmaker Jeff Barrie, who will lead a discussion following the screening. “Many people are unaware that we’re still burning coal to generate most of our electricity in America, creating serious consequences to the environment and human health. The need for conservation is urgent,” says Barrie.

According to the Department of Energy, the average American home consumes more than 900 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month. More than 50% of our nation’s electricity is generated in coal-fired power plants, amounting to nearly 6 tons of coal burned to generate electricity for the typical American home each year. By using products marked with EPA’s Energy Star label, purchasing power generated from renewable resources, more effectively insulating our homes, and utilizing natural energy sources like sunlight, wind, and geothermal power, consumers can reduce the impact of their energy usage, while saving money.

For more information please email info@KilowattOurs.org or visit www.KilowattOurs.org. Click on “Media Resources” to receive an electronic media kit. DVDs are available for preview.

For more information on sponsoring group Mothers Acting Up; www.mothersactingup.org

###

2007 Gandhi-King Conference on Peacemaking.

MAUs from all across the Southeast (and beyond!) are encouraged to attend this wonderful conference. We plan to have a strong showing of mobilized mamas from across the state and elswhere!! Want to hook up with us? Contact Paige: paige@mothersactingup.org

2007 Gandhi-King Conference on Peacemaking "Building the Beloved Community"
October 26-27


$20 - Students and Low Income ($30 on or after September 15) $50 - Adults ($70 on or after September 15)

Friday, October 26
7:30 am Registration opens in Theatre Lobby (ongoing throughout the conference) 8:30 am - 12:30 pm Youth Conference

Youth Component
The Gandhi-King Conference is teaming up with BRIDGES PeaceJam to bring local high school youth an innovative and interactive youth component which will occur on Friday of the conference weekend. Friday morning will begin with a plenary address by Rosa Clemente, followed by a selection of workshops specifically designed for youth.

Workshop topics include: Influences of Mass Media, Being Creators Not Consumers, Fair Trade, Alternatives to the Military, Voting, Global Citizenship, and Creating Our Communities.

The youth component continues Friday evening with a community performance event to be held at BRIDGES, during which artists will be sharing their messages of peace and visions of beloved community through music, spoken word, visual art, and dance. Youth sessions and Friday evening performance are open to all conference participants.

New Yahoo Group.

Check it out, here.

ACT UP to save SCHIP: Cover the Kids!!

The below action really only takes about three minutes, and could be HUGE if
enough concerned folks do it. I feel like it's imperative that peaceful
parents (AND OTHERS!) speak out for peaceful existences for all children, a large part of
which is access to healthcare when a child needs it.

The recent restoration of budget cuts for our public libraries is a
fantastic example of how mobilized mamas (and daddies) who voice their
concerns really make a difference for good.

(The below email campaign is from friend / colleague Susan McKay
who now works with the Tennessee Healthcare Campaign, just to source it for
you)

Be well.
paige

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY

Tell Rep. Cooper to "COVER the KIDS"

*** URGENT CALL TO ACTION! DO IT NOW! ***
Congressional Vote this Week on SCHIP!

Call Rep. Cooper NOW!
*** Toll-free: 1-800-828-0498 & ask for Rep. Jim Cooper's office ***
Nashville Office: (615) 736-5295
Washington DC Office: 202-225-4311

*** Ask him to vote YES to Reauthorize SCHIP with $50 Billion in
essential funding!

LEAVE a MESSAGE if you get a machine.

It is a matter of getting priorities straight. Tell Rep. Cooper you
want him to SHOW that kids are his priority through ACTION of a YES
vote.

Call Rep. Cooper NOW!
** Toll-free: 1-800-828-0498 & ask for Rep. Jim Cooper's office***
Nashville Office: (615) 736-5295
Washington DC Office: 202-225-4311

*** It is enough to call & ask him to vote YES to Reauthorize SCHIP
with $50 Billion in essential funding.

If you want to say more, here are talking points:

*Priority #1: Health Care for Children

* 84% of Americans strongly support covering children.
That's why reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance
Program (SCHIP) with adequate funding of $50 billion is a national
priority.

* Healthy coverage is a vital investment in our children and in our
nation's future.
Today, SCHIP provides high-quality, affordable health coverage to 4
million children who would otherwise be uninsured. Still, there
remains 9 million uninsured children, of whom about 6 million are
eligible for SCHIP, but are not enrolled. $50 billion over 5 years
would protect coverage for the 4 million kids currently enrolled and
expand coverage to other eligible 6 million. Reauthorizing the
program with adequate funding is a priority for the health of our
children and health of our nation!

* Tennessee's CoverKids program at risk! Tennessee has just started
its SCHIP program, called CoverKids, to help insure 150,000 Tennessee
children. Reauthorization by Congress with adequate funding is
essential for Tennessee's new SCHIP program to be successful.

* It's a matter of priorities. We MUST make children a priority. No
child should lose coverage because Congress doesn't properly fund a
sound program. The $50 billion in funding over 5 years means that no
eligible child enrolled in SCHIP today will lose coverage and that 6
million more eligible kids will get coverage. Without this funding,
millions of needy children will be at risk.

Call Rep. Cooper NOW!
*** Toll-free: 1-800-828-0498 & ask for Rep. Jim Cooper's office***
Nashville Office: (615) 736-5295
Washington DC Office: 202-225-4311

YOUR VOICE DOES MATTER!
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

Warm regards,

Susan McKay

Office T: (877) 431-7083 ; (615) 227-7500
Email: smckay@thcc2.org
www.thcc2.org

"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is
still dark." - Tagore

Ice Cream Social Saturday 8/4!

Dear Nashville MAUmas & Friends,

Now that summer is here, it's time to let loose and have some good family fun with an ice cream social!!



We've built a strong community of mothers (and others) over the past year, so let's gather to celebrate what we've achieved with the Nashville Mothers Acting Up community on the anniversary of our Mobilize the Mamas play & action groups and revel in the friendships we've come to cherish. Bring the dads, partners, grandparents, friends -- it's open to all! Strangers are just friends we’ve not just met and Nashville MAU welcomes and celebrates families of ALL kinds.

When? Saturday, August 4, 3:00pm

Where? Red Caboose Park playground and picnic shelter, off Hwy 70 at 656 Colice Jeanne Rd in Bellevue

What can I bring? Your sweet selves, and an ice cream topping or accompaniment to share, if you are able. Nashville MAU will provide both dairy and vegan ice cream options as well as bottled waters, cones / bowls, spoons, and napkins.



You may also wish to bring acoustic instruments and outdoor toys to share such as parachutes, lawn games, balls, and so on.

Red Caboose Park, for those of you who haven't been there, is a giant, community built playground. It is completely enclosed by a fence (so it's safe for our smallest ones), has a real caboose the kids can climb on, nice indoor bathroom facilities, a large grassy area (Frisbee anyone?), and a picnic shelter for parties such as ours.

We hope to see lots of you there!



Please share this invitation as you are so led, and RSVP to Kate as you are able by Friday August 3 so we’ll know how much ice cream to provide: kzwingate@yahoo.com OR (615) 352-8718



Peace and jimmies,

The Music City Mavens, for Nashville MOTHERS ACTING UP

And the Mothership: www.mothersactingup.org





--
Paige La Grone Babcock, National Outreach Coordinator & Community Organizer, MOTHERS ACTING UP: celebrating Mother Leadership in 2007

www.mothersactingup.org

PO Box 1244

Boulder, CO 80306

303.474.1286

paige@mothersactingup.org

Nashville office 615.750.3780

Mobile mama 615.495.1879



Mothers Acting Up is a mother-led, mother-fed revolution of mothers (and others) advocating publicly and passionately for the world’s children.

Nashville MAUmas to participate in the Great American Bake Sale

Following is a letter from Sarah Flowers Braswell, one of our local Mothers Acting Up:

Hello everyone! I am heading up a team for Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale, called Nashville Mamas, to participate in a nation wide campaign to help END childhood hunger in America by holding a bake sale in our community. Since 2003, this grassroots campaign has raised over $3 million and engaged more than 1 million people in baking, selling, or buying baked goods. 91% of proceeds from Nashville Mamas bake sale will help children in OUR community, either going towards local food banks, school programs to provide a healthy breakfast, etc. Making a difference in the lives of our children can be Piece Of Cake!

I have high hopes for the sweet mamas in Nashville, and know that if we put on our aprons and tie our strings together we can make this a huge, wonderful event! And what a fun way to include our children in community outreach :) I am hoping to book a date and location very soon, but have mid-August in mind for 1-2 weekend days. More than 12 million children in America are at risk of hunger.... this just shouldn't be. I need a team to help make this all that it can be. Whether you would like to bake, donate your time for the bake sale, make a financial contribution, or anything at all, please let me know. My contact info is below. Please, even if nothing else is possible for you right now, encourage your friends, family and colleagues to stop by the bake sale or website and make a contribution.

Visit the website for more info:

www.greatamericanbakesale.org

Nashville Mamas team info:

Bake Sale ID # 31139

YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUoKaLq4UY4

Did You Know...

To date, grants from Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale helped:

• Serve more than 5.3 million nutritious meals and snacks to children.
• Establish an additional 926 sites where children can get meals.
• Reach more than 97,000 low-income children with after-school and summer feeding programs.

Because of hunger, there are children in America not growing as they should be. They are underweight, and often neurologically and developmentally delayed and impaired. Of everyone who is hungry in America, children are most vulnerable and most at risk.

Thank you,

Sarah Flowers Braswell

I know lots of us MAUmas love to bake, and I know we all care about children, so this is the perfect marriage of the two. Contact Kate (kzwingate@yahoo.com) or Sarah (ilysmama@yahoo.com) if you are interested in participating, and stay tuned for more details...

Story Time is Saved!!

Story Time is Saved!!

Public Library Budget Cuts Threaten Children's Programming.

Please share widely!!

There are severe—to the tune of $800 K!! -- budgetary cuts proposed for the Nashville Metro libraries. These cuts would deeply affect the Main downtown library including our superb story time and children’s programming, but also other branch days & hours of operation as well as staffing. These cuts go up for vote beginning Tuesday. One of the great equalizers and community builders, the PUBLIC library brings art, literature, culture and a haven to all walks of life in our city. Keep it so!

*Even IF you’ve already written to your council person, the budget committee needs to hear from its constituents—I am told that this is the only way to have your voice heard and to possibly STOP these cuts.* A simple email in support of the library and in opposition of the proposed cuts will do the trick. Please send your email here: MetroCouncilBudgetAndFinanceCommittee@nashville.gov

(Need a template for an email? Holler.)

Here’s WSMV’s piece from last weekfeaturing Nashville MAU Deanna Pilkenton.

And here, Suburban Turmoil in yesterday’s Nashville Scene gives the issue some ink.

Mothers Acting Up: MAU on Mothering Mag's Mommy Chats This Week!!

Mothers Acting Up: MAU on Mothering Mag's Mommy Chats This Week!!

Please lend your support to our Main Branch public library!!

At storytime today we learned that there has been a highly *unpublicized* campaign to cut the downtown public library (main branch) budget!! This goes to vote soon, and should the move pass, the main library will reduce its hours, opening at 10, and thereby reducing children's programming by *at least* 2 storytimes per week.

I spoke with Mary Mary and the director of the children's programming after the storytime, asking what could be done in support of them and to whom we should address our concerns. They asked that all who do NOT support these budget cuts contact their district council person and let them know your thoughts. If you don't know what district you live in, who your council person is, or the contact information for said person, please look here.

I share with you the letter I wrote to my district 6 councilman, Mike Jameson. It is heartfelt and comes from a real mama's hope for her son and her husband and her community at large, not from a slick professional, even though I can be that when necessary. Feel free to use it as a template, crib from it, or whatever might be helpful.

Dear Councilman Jameson, I write to you today to ask for your support of Nashville’s downtown public library, its main branch, and a central part of my --and many other-- families’ lives. As we do near weekly, my 20 month old son and I headed to the public library downtown this morning—it is such a rich and wonderful community resource for all of Nashville Metro as well as our city’s visitors. We generally go to storytime, have snacks and play in the courtyard by the fountain, and spend plenty of time finding just the right books and sometimes DVDs to bring home for our family’s enjoyment. The theatre where storytime and the puppet shows are held is magnificent and the children’s programming has been an absolute delight. Our son adores Mary Mary, The Professor and Library Pete, their songs, and the puppets. If you haven’t spent time witnessing these activities yourself, I highly encourage a little library storytime; we’d be glad to share a morning with you there anytime. In addition to being exposed to literature and arts (the library shows films!, hosts fine art shows!, puts on lectures and programs of all stripes!), my husband and I love that our family is part of the fabric of our community—that the public library is just that: public. We also regularly visit Representative Cooper’s office to share our hopes for our community as well, now that his office is located at the main library. As National Outreach Coordinator and Community Organizer of our local Mothers Acting Up community (www.mothersactingup.org) I followed the request of other community mothers to choose our beloved downtown public library as our alternate gathering place when the public parks aren’t weather amenable for our weekly Mobilize the Mamas play and action group. As mothers leading our families and our communities, we want to support the institution that our tax dollars pay for, and joyfully inhabit the space that we feel so fortunate to access, along with all kinds of folks from our greater community. For these reasons, I was heartbroken to learn at this morning’s storytime that there are budgetary cuts that may compel the main branch of the public library to reduce their hours, and to cut back on children’s programming next month. I ask for your vote in support of maintaining the library’s current hours and programming. More than anyone, our city’s children would be done a great disservice should the funding (and thereby magic!) for our main library be diminished. I look forward to hearing from you on this matter. In public & peaceful parenting, Paige La Grone Babcock, for [MBM & Ziggy], too

Kindred Spirits

This just in from our friends at MomsRising.org! Last month, several members of our Nashville MAU community painted onesies for MomsRising's Power of ONEsie campaign. This campaign champions paid maternity and paternity leave, and was a big part of why Washington state is now the second state in the US with paid family leave.

The idea behind the campaign: "Imagine a beautifully presented long chain of decorated baby onesies stretching all around your state capital as a visual representation of the real people who need the policies being debated inside the imposing buildings. Each onesie signifies one person--mother, father, child, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, or other--who cares deeply about building a family-friendly America, but can't take the time off work, or away from kids, to actually be at the capital. You."

"One by ONEsie," says MomsRising, "working together, we can show the nation that we are a creative and powerful force for good family policy, as well as help our politicians to pay attention to issues which have long been ignored." If they're not Mothers Acting Up, I don't know who is! Check out the ONEsie photo gallery for a peek at some of the fabulous onesies sent in from folks like us, all across the country. My "Children deserve a bigger piece of the pie" onesie even made it onto the gallery!