By Estelle Sobel Erasmus
I am on the Board of Directors of Mothers & More, a fantastic 25-year-old non-profit that provides support, education and advocacy for mothers through:
- Creating a network of national chapters and online networking forums by and for mothers encompassing non-judgmental communication and peer support
- Offering webinars that give our members exposure to authors, women in business, and financial and workplace tools and tactics, that support our mission
- Supporting financially disadvantaged mothers through our annual Power of a Purse campaign, where new and gently used purses and accompanying items, are collected and donated to shelters and other non-profits
- Advocating for public policies that value the work of caregiving
I am delighted to be able to give you some incredible news about our 2013 Power of a Purse campaign that was just shared with our members. This is a repost of the information that went out. Please read through to the bottom to see how you can participate and/or donate.
For most mothers it’s a continuous balancing act to juggle the needs of ourselves, our families and our jobs, whether at home or in a workplace. Now, imagine the struggle of a mother who has little or no financial means with which to help her family.
That’s why Mothers & More has been dedicated to helping these mothers every year with our Power of a Purse campaign, during which, as mentioned above, members and chapters donate purses and personal items to financially disadvantaged women through shelters and other non-profit organizations. A purse symbolizes a woman’s economic power and many families rely on a mother’s income. We also provide educational resources to help women increase their financial awareness, confidence and control.
Now in its fifth year, Power of a Purse has seen our members and chapters donate more than 20,000 purses and thousands of personal items. And this year we have even more in store.
We are excited to announce that Linda Descano, CFA, President and CEO of Women & Co., a service of Citi that provides women with financial content and thoughtful commentary to get them talking and thinking about money, will be presenting a webinar, “Taking Control of Your Financial Future,” on Monday, May 20th at 1:00 pm EDT. Women & Co. will also provide us with a list of relevant links to financial resource content from its website that we can include in donated purses. You can learn more at Women & Co.
We will launch a Writing Contest in April in celebration of Power of a Purse. The contest will be open to both members and non-members, and will be judged in separate categories for each. We invite you to tell us, in 300 words or less, how the mission of Power of a Purse resonates with you through your own “purse-onal” story. Perhaps it’s the money struggles you’ve coped with in the past, your current daily task of managing a household on a budget, or the financial concerns you have for your future, whether it’s saving for your retirement, paying for your children’s college, starting your own business, or planning for your dream vacation.
We will publish the top 5 stories in our Mothers’ Voices Blog. Prizes will include a one-year Mothers & More membership renewal for current members and a new one-year membership for non-members. We will announce additional prizes on our nationalFB page and on Twitter soon, so stay tuned.
Don’t miss our Twitter party about Power of a Purse (hosted by Culture Mom Media) that will help you test your financial savvy. Join us on Thursday, April 11th at 9:00 pm EDT. We will offer lots of prizes and membership opportunities.
We are honored to have wonderful judges for our writing contest, including Susan Carraretto, co-founder of the website and community 5 Minutes for Mom; Patty Chang Anker, author of the upcoming book Some Nerve: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave, to be published by Riverhead Books (Penguin) in the fall, who blogs at Facing Forty Upside Down; Jessica Rubin Cohen of the social good blog, Found the Marbles; Ciaran Blumenfeld of Momfluential, who also blogs for Casa de Chaos, and Lori Botterman, Senior Editor for Tribune Media Group, who blogs at Who Has More Fun Than People?
Email your entry between April 1st and 30th to powerofapurse@mothersandmore.org. Please be sure to include your full name, address, phone number, and if you are a Mothers & More member, list what chapter you belong to. All entries should be double-spaced.
Spread the word to your friends, both members and non-members of Mothers & More!
To learn more about the campaign, visit the Power of a Purse page on the Mothers & More website.
And join Mothers & More
Remember, together, mothers are powerful!
Please email powerofapurse@mothersandmore.org if you have appropriate books or prizes to donate to our writing contest or for our Twitter party.
Please repost and share everywhere. Thank you!
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Estelle Sobel Erasmus is an award-winning journalist and former magazine editor-in-chief who is on the Board of Directors of the national non-profit Mothers & More, a support, education and advocacy organization for mothers which emphasizes the value of a mother’s work whether paid or unpaid. Her writing was recently featured in the anthology, What Do Mothers Need? Motherhood Activists and Scholars Speak Out on Maternal Empowerment for the 21st Century (Demeter Press, 2013) and in theThe BlogHer Voices of the Year: 2012 book for her article, “We Changed the Conversation,” for which she was named a 2012 BlogHer Voice of the Year. Estelle was a 2012 cast member in the first ever Listen to Your Mother NYC production; and is a 2012 Circle of Moms Top 10 Winner for Best Family Blog by a Mom. Estelle chronicles her often humorous, sometimes serious but always transformative journey through motherhood, marriage and midlife on her blog, Musings on Motherhood and Midlife. She also writes acolumn about women making a difference for examiner.com and has been featured on Raising America, The Broad Side, Kveller.com,
Carrie says
What a great way to educate and empower women. Thanks for doing this!
Susan says
What a great thing! Thanks for posting this.
The Naughty Mommy says
Such a great idea! A great purse can make you feel so good. My mom gave me a purse to sell on ebay for her but I’m going to donate to this cause instead!
Lisa says
Thanks, Estelle, for shining the light on Power of a Purse!
Paula says
We at Mothers & More are very proud of our organization and its desire to give back. As a support, education and advocacy organization, we strive to help mothers through all stages of parenting and life.
Thank you for reblogging Estelle’s excellent post.
Paula Marcotte
President, Mothers & More Board of Directors
Liz says
Thanks for sharing this information, Estelle! As someone who has worked closely on Power of a Purse for several years, I can attest to the difference the campaign has made in the lives of our members and mothers in our community. And every year the campaign gets more exciting – this year, with the addition of the Writing Contest, Twitter Party, and webinars. Looking forward to another great campaign!