One never knows where inspiration is going to come from and I have not been very inspired these last few weeks.
While making breakfast this morning, a line from a song on the radio popped out at me. ?Another day, another dollar,? the singer harmonized. The full lyrics of the song slipped away, but the gist was, that we all have a higher calling than just the dollars we bring home.
Money has been on my mind. Ever since June, the Museum Of Motherhood has been super slow. A number of neighborhood families that have been active M.O.M. participants since the museum?s opening are migrating to the suburbs, and others are on vacation. For those who know me, you might be surprised by a moment of glumness, but in fact, I am glum today.
I need help. Even more than me needing help, the museum needs help. So, I?m reaching out.
This week? the fund Max Sidorov, a Canadian man, set up for bullied grandmother Karen Klein topped $650,000.
Yesterday Anne-Marie Slaughter set off a firestorm when she wrote about why ?Women Can?t Have It All? ? specifically jobs out of the home and in the home as mothers and caregivers.
A couple of weeks ago, we were all over the Time Magazine cover featuring a nursing mother and her toddler.
It seems motherhood, mother wars, feminism, women and working mothers continue to raise eyebrows and be headline-worthy, while inane amounts of money crowd source to an unfortunate grandmother, but our priorities are still all over the place when it comes to funding forward motion with regard to viewing motherhood, mother studies and research on families in any kind of cohesive, positive, forward-moving way.
Is the media invested in simply perpetuating the conflicts women and mothers face? Is a catfight more meaningful that funding real, inclusive studies? Where was Carol Evans, President of Working Mother Magazine, yesterday during the CNN debates? WMM?s long-term studies of working mothers, family friendly corporations and groundbreaking online petition for paid parental leave are the things I?d like to hear more about.
And, even closer to my heart, where is the funding for the Museum Of Motherhood?
We opened the museum in September 2011, almost 11 months ago. Despite the compelling conversations that happen daily within our four walls, and the exhibits that appear to inspire and educate, most community members are just looking for a clean, quiet place to hang out with their babies and toddlers.
That?s great, but where?s the interest in picking up recently published academic articles on ?Spirituality and Motherhood? or ?WorkLife Balance?, (and the online course we pioneered with Minnesota State University) or published materials by the politically active group Moms Rising or taking time to pick up one of the many books in our library that focus on the history of women and mothers in the not too distant past.
Out of a recent college class of 25 freshman visiting the museum, only 1 knew what a Suffragette was. ?No one was aware of any of the information on our ?Birth Practices Through The Ages? panels and all of them appeared stunned by the economics of motherhood depicted on the salary comparisons of Alexia Nye Jackson?s exhibit ?Mother The Job?.
If we care about individuals, if we care about families, if we care about our future, if we?re curious about how human beings get to the planet, and where humanity is going, what better place to share our investigations, understandings, herstory and information than the Museum Of Motherhood.
Erin LaBelle Photography Exhibit, M.O.M.
I suggest the Museum Of Motherhood is an even better platform of discussion and investigation than CNN and Time Magazine, and that if you?re interested in actively shaping our future, Motherhood and family is something worth investigating by more than just a trial and error, public forum platform. If you?ve visited us, care about the concept or even remotely think this might be worthy of some of your time, and more specifically ? your money, please help us succeed by making a donation today.
There is a fundamental disconnect in our society about concepts of value regarding caregiving and motherhood. This is something I?m going to continue to blog about. Look for part 2 and 3 to this series: ?A Stipend For Mothers? and ?A Degree In Motherhood.?
It?s going to be a long hot summer and with your support, The Museum Of Motherhood would like to continue to develop into the fall season.
The Museum Of Motherhood is made possible through subsidized rent from New York GYMBOREE Franchise owners, Deb Whitefield and Barry Hanson. However, we face serious struggles without additional funding from individuals and corporations who believe a place like M.O.M. should and must continue its work in the area of family studies and more.
Please make a pledge, however small, today online. We currently have $600.00 in the bank. Tough to admit this, but we truly do need ?a little help from our friends?.
This is the kind of miracle we need: A church in North Carolina was about to close its doors until a guardian angel pulled up in a blue pickup truck, and offered to pay off the church?s debt of $345,000. The pastor said this stranger gave him the money with no strings attached. The pastor spent the next couple of days unpacking everything they had already put in storage. The donor wants to stay completely anonymous, but the pastor did say he was a businessman, who felt extremely blessed and wanted to share.
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Today?s blog is by Joy Rose, Founding Director of the Museum Of Motherhood, who has pledged one year of her time, salary-free to see to the inception and success of M.O.M. That year is running out and the museum needs your help today! In addition to the generous donation of space by Deb Whitefield and Barry Hanson, the museum has received donations from P & G and is the beneficiary of Working Mother Magazine?s Silent Auction and their annual WorkLife Congress. M.O.M. is grateful to its interns, community volunteers and individual donors like Lynn Kuechle, Suzanne Dawson (honored on M.O.M.?s?Founding Legacy Membership wall) and matriarch Joy Rose Sr. to name a few as well as the local moms and kids who keep the museum active daily.
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