Activistas

Introducing: The Mother PAC, an Oregon original

If what you saw makes you want to stand up and shout "you go, mamas!", join us. Together we're making real progress.

You're invited! NW Mothers Milk Bank benefit event Thursday 9/23

Looking for a fun way to help sick and vulnerable babies?  Want to help babies have access to live-saving breast milk even when their moms can't provide it for them?  Join the Northwest Mothers Milk Bank at their first benefit event on Thursday.  Fun? Check.  Food?  Check.  Great cause?  You bet!

Want to find out more about milk banking and what they are up to?  Check out the website for more.  

HARVEST: Cultivating a NW Mothers Milk Bank

Thursday September 23, 2010
5:30pm - Pure Space, NW 14th & NW Overton in the Pearl District
Tickets are $45 -buy yours today at www.nwmmb.org

Join NWMMB for a fabulous evening of food, drinks, delicious desserts, and live bluegrass music.  Plus an amazing auction filled with dinners out, overnights at the beach, theater tickets, the best baby stuff and more. . .

Also posted on StumptownMom

Who are your kids' media role models?

Keeping tabs on our kids' media use and exposure can be hard - especially when it happens outside the home. But it's our job to know what they're watching and make sure it's appropriate. I always turn to Common Sense Media for a little help, since they rate everything by age and explain why. Now they're doin' a little advocacy on the topic, which makes my day (and honestly, makes me want to donate to them).

Check it out:

Any tips and tricks for staying on top of your kids' media use?  

I've finally stepped up to the plate with friends and started letting them know that before my kids watch anything or play any games I need to know exactly what. Sounds simple, but it can be hard! Even for someone as outspoken as I am.

Learn How to Be an Agent of Change

Sometimes it takes more than passion to make change happen, but it sure is a great place to start. If you have desire to make change happen, check out these free Agent of Change courses from the Center for Earth Leadership.

This fall they will be offering a school-focused class just for moms, from noon to 1:45pm on five Mondays: October 18, 25, November 1, 8 (break), December 6. There are two other class time options as well, although not specific to schools.

If you'd like to learn more about receiving training, attend their free information night this Tuesday, September 14. More details, including how to RSVP can be found HERE.

How to Be an Agent of Change

Tuesday, September 14, 2010, 7:00 p.m.

Offered by the Center for Earth Leadership

• Discussion of course content, take-away skills, and the growing Agent of Change Network
• Learn from class graduates about the impact their eco-projects are having on our community
• Meet class architects Dick and Jeanne Roy, recognized leaders in the sustainability movement
• Begin to envision yourself as an agent of change
• Enjoy light refreshments

Join the local network of over 500 class graduates who are creating sustainable change at all levels in our community as agents of change!

Ready to register for a fall Agent of Change class now?  For registration, meeting location and general information, contact Emily Klavins, (503) 227-2315 or emily@earthleaders.org

The OTHER wage gap: Mothers earn less than women without children

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner of Moms Rising.org appears on ABC News to discuss the fact that women with children (us mamas) earn less than women without children.  In fact, that gap is greater than the wage gap between women and men.  Listen here:

Chocolate milk = Soda in drag

I've been shaking my head about chocolate milk in schools for years.  And getting a lot of flack, honestly.  Not that I care.  But when Chef Ann Cooper, aka The Renegade Lunch Lady, called it out, I was pleased to not be just another wacky parent annoyed by the food served to my kid. 

Hear what Chef Ann has to say about it (she's brief), and then (if you like), ask PPS why they continue to stand behind their decision to serve our kids what Chef Ann so aptly calls "soda in drag."  They say it gets kids to drink more milk. I say it teaches kids to prefer sweet foods and gain weight thanks to the additional sugar. 

Clearly, she's my kinda gal.

AC vs. Chocolate Milk from Creative Intelligence on Vimeo.

Ever assessed your home's eco-health?

If you haven't actually assessed your home's environmental health (think: toxic chemicals, indoor air quality), you've probably at least wondered if you're living in a toxic soup or not.  'Cause we kind of are, right? 

We now know that pollutants commonly found in households can trigger asthma, allergies, chronic disease and other negative health effects.  But it can be hard to know which changes to make - and how. 

Enter the Oregon Environmental Council's (brand new) Eco-Healthy Home Check-Up Kit. It includes a full home and garden checklist so you know where you're OK and where you could do a little "greening," plus thoroughly researched explanations so you understand the reasons behind it all.

Order your free copy

It's a great on-the-shelf reference - and there's one available for every Oregonian who asks - so go ahead, get yours, and get started on your eco-healthy home audit.  If you love it and want to share it with others, you can for just $2.50 a copy (order here).  Thinking grandma's house...???

Host a party

Further, if you can gather at least 10 people, OEC staff or one of their trained volunteer eco-healthy home ambassadors will present the info to your group.  Sounds like a great Activistas event if anyone's game to organize.

What are you waiting for?  It's a perfect project for 2010.  Request your guide and complete the checklist before school restarts, then make a few changes this fall, before year's end.  

Thanks, OEC, for helping us live less toxic lives.  We know our children's near and long-term health depends on it.

Climb, Mamas, Climb!

I love a mom who's workin' for a cause.  And these Washington moms are doing exactly that.

On July 16th, 2010, a group of moms and community members from Vashon Island will summit Mt. Rainier to draw attention to the TransAlta coal plant in Centralia, Washington. TransAlta is the biggest polluter in Washington State, spewing 10 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, as well as mercury and haze pollution. We call on Governor Gregoire to close the plant as soon as possible - 2025 is too long to wait. 

As one of them said, "It's time to act big."  Indeed.

Hear about it in their own words:

What mountain are you climbing, and for what cause?

The Story of Cosmetics

Supporting the Reauthorization of Child Nutrition Programs

We see it everywhere: hunger continues to exist in our communities. Families are still struggling to find their way through this recession and find ways to feed their children. Too many times, children are showing up to school or being dropped off at daycare programs hungry. Potentially not fed since the last time they were there.

And our economy doesn't appear to be recovering fast enough to help this situation.

From this month's Oregon Food Bank Advocacy Newsletter:

Each day in Oregon, hundreds of thousands of children—nearly one in five—live in poverty and go hungry. In fact, 36 percent of those who rely on emergency food from the Oregon Food Bank Network are children. Hunger stifles their health,intellect, creativity and capacity to learn and be at their best.

We have valuable programs in place to help feed hungry children like the National School Lunch program, WIC (Women, Infants & Children), Summer Food Service Programs and others, that can help us meet President Obama's promise to end childhood hunger by 2015.

Every five years, these programs need to be reauthorized. Congress will meet this summer to address what these programs will look like and how much funding they'll put behind ending childhood hunger for the next five years. While we don't know what our economy - nationally or locally - will look like next year or in three years, we have this opportunity now to stand up and make sure our children get the nutrition their growing bodies need.

In June House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller released his bill for Child Nutrition Reauthorization which would:

• Allow more rural communities to operate summer food programs & serve more low-income children

• Provide competitive grant funds to promote the expansion of the School Breakfast Program

• Enhance the nutritional quality of food served in school-based and preschool settings

This release of Chairman Miller's version of Child Nutrition Reauthorization is a crucial step in our fight for the best possible bill.

Now it's our turn to make a difference. Ready? It's easy. 

Please contact your legislators and ask that they pass a strong Child Nutrition Reauthorization package before the end of the summer.

The easiest way for Oregonians to do this is to VISIT OFB HERE (Oregon Food Bank). They have an easy form to complete, and OFB does the rest. While there's a message that you can cut/paste into the form, I've found my representatives are most responsive when I also include a personal message - like why this is important to me.

There are many ways to help hunger issues in our communities. I'll share some new ideas later. For today, the most important action we can take is to let congress know how critical it is to reauthorize child nutrition programs.

Miss the link above to send that note to your legislature? HERE IT IS AGAIN.

 

Please feel free to share this with friends and families who support ending childhood hunger. Activistas contributor, Gina Rau, also shared this on her site Change Becomes Change.