Global Mom Relay

 

JOIN IN THE GLOBAL MOM RELAY http://www.unfoundation.org/globalmomrelay/

What is the Global Mom Relay?

• A first-of-its-kind virtual relay with a goal of improving the lives of women and children around the globe.

• Combining the power of moms with the power of social media to raise awareness and raise funds

• Made up of a series of online conversations to share advice, stories, and inspiration about motherhood to raise the visibility of the stark statistics on women’s and children’s health: nearly 7 million children under the age of 5 died in 2011 from preventable diseases and every two minutes, a woman dies from complications related to pregnancy.

• Each time you donate or share on Facebook, Twitter or via email during the Global Mom Relay (March 8 – May 8) you can unlock a $5 donation from Johnson & Johnson and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (up to $8,000 per day) to Girl Up, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action – MAMA Global, or Shot@Life!

HOW IT WORKS

The Global Mom Relay will bring together today’s leading global and local voices to discuss the importance of strengthening the health of mothers and children around the world.

Each day, people like Arianna Huffington, Elizabeth Gore, Jennifer Lopez, and Lynda Lopez, will come together as part of the relay by using social media tools ranging from interviews to blog posts to photos and videos to highlight the power of motherhood, to share an issue and cause they are committed to, or to talk about the mom who inspires them. They will then “pass the baton” to the next relay participant.

Everyone can be a part of this historic relay. Our goal is to share ideas and create change. Each time a person shares a relay post on Facebook, Twitter or Email, or donates $5 or more as part of the relay, a $5 donation (up to $8,000 per day or $500,000 total) will be donated by Johnson & Johnson and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to one of four initiatives that are helping women and children lead healthy and happy lives – Girl Up, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), and the Shot@Life campaign.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY This groundbreaking discussion will kick-off on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2013 and lead up to Mom+Social, an interactive, first-ever conference hosted on May 8, 2013 in honor of Mother’s Day by the United Nations Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, 92Y, BabyCenter, and The Huffington Post.

WHY THE CONVERSATION MATTERS

Improving the health of every woman and every child is a priority for the United Nations and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon because it is the key to creating a better future. The Global Mom Relay is in support of Every Woman Every Child, a movement launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015.

• Every 20 seconds a child dies from a vaccine-preventable disease.

• Medical complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls ages 15-19 worldwide. And girls between the ages of 10 and 14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20 to 24. The vast majority of these deaths take place within marriage.

Online moms are part of the solution. Each time they share and educate their communities about these issues and invite involvement, they spark change. Their influence and voice through blogs, interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and elsewhere matter. Sharing will make a difference!

• For millions of mothers living in poverty, access to vital health information is a matter of life or death.

• Exposure to smoke from traditional cookstoves and open fires — the primary means of cooking and heating for nearly three billion people in the developing world — causes four million premature deaths annually, with women and young children the most affected.

While these statistics are devastating, there is hope. By raising awareness and funds, we can together help improve the health of women and children around the world. Join the Global Mom Relay to change lives and create a better world for generations to come.

 

For more information, contact: adielsi@unfoundation.org or visit www.unfoundation.org/GlobalMomRelay.