Mominations: Help Me Donate Money to a Good Cause

[Peggy O'Mara]

I've been nominated in the Mominations on Babble.com in the Green category and am now the front runner. If I win, I can donate $5000, the prize, to a charity of my choice. I would like your help winning the contest as well as deciding what non-profit to donate to. 

You can vote for me on Babble. You can also view the other mominees in the Green category.

Here are the non-profits I am considering and why.

My first choice right now is the International Center for Traditional Childbearing as there is such an urgent need for midwives of color and I want to see more midwives trained.

I could give the money to Midwives Alliance of North America with the stipulation that it be used as a scholarship for midwifery education. 

I'm also a strong supporter of the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood and consider them the top group now fighting now to keep our kids free of commercial influences.

Environmental Working Group has been instrumental in letting us know about so many important environmental issues and specifically for helping us know about healthy skin care products with their Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, something I refer people to all the time. 

I admire the work of The Center for Media and Democracy, the only organization I know working today to protect democracy through high quality journalism. I received an award from them a few years ago for my investigative work on how formula companies undermine breastfeeding. 

The 40-year-old consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, is working to defend democracy from corporate influence. 

And, finally, I just heard about the Museum of Motherhood. How cool is that?

I'm also thinking about La Leche League, Attachment Parenting International, Holistic Moms Network and the Organic Consumers Association.

Please tell me what you think by voting in my poll. Thank you very much.

And, in your posts, let me know about organizations that I might have forgotten about or overlooked.

[LCBMAX]

I'll look more closely at the choices later, but wanted to remind you of The Fistula Foundation. It gets CharityNavigator's highest ranking, has been top-rated by Great Nonprofits, and . Their work relieves immeasurable suffering and allows mothers to live and flourish after repair of devastating obstetric fistulas which would otherwise cause total loss of social functioning. Obstetric fistula has recently come to congressional attention in part through the efforts of Fistula Foundation's Executive Director, Kate Grant.

My 2 cents.

[Wildsky]

I would have voted for NVIC.  

[Corey Colwell]

Congratulations, Peggy! YOU have my vote!

All are worthy and incredible choices  - but I'm with you on ICTC.

Warmly & with deep gratitude for all you do for women & families...

Corey

[Peggy O'Mara]

Thanks for the kind words, Corey. And, thanks for adding NVIC, Wildsky. I meant to put them in my first post. I love Barbara and the amazing good work she has done.

[Peggy O'Mara]

And, I did not know about the Fistula Foundation. Thanks for letting me know about them, LCBMAX.

[Emmoney]

Interesting blog about Babble.

[Peggy O'Mara]

Thanks for sending that link, Emmoney. I'm proud that we don't take formula advertising on Mothering.com and didn't in Mothering magazine in voluntary support of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.

[nursing2mom]

NVIC would be my choice. Well-done!

[Ocean_Swimmer]

Hi Peggy,

I am so happy to hear you've been nominated..but no surprise. Ive followed Mothering since 1980 and now I'm a grandma.

Please consider the NOCIRC organization, founded by healthcare professionals to provide information to expectant parents, healthcare professionals, educators, lawyers, ethicists, and concerned individuals about circumcision and genital cutting of male, female, and intersex infants and children, genital integrity, and human rights. This organization was founded many years ago, and needs support. :) 

I want to thank you for the work you do, supporting me through Mothering magazine when I was a brand-new mom. Mothering helped me develop a philosophy about parenting and child-advocacy. As an old nurse (32 years and counting...) I have always found your articles cogent, well-developed, and extremely well-researched.

Mothering's input has contributed to my growth as a better mother, grandmother, and advocate for humane parenting. 

[jblackfamily]

Hi Peggy,

There's a new non-profit birth center in Albuquerque that is doing amazing work for moms: Dar a Luz Birth & Health Center.  The opened in March this year.  The center is run by certified nurse-midwives and provides both prenatal and postpartum care, birth services (including waterbirth) and well-woman care. They strive to provide empowering services to NM's under-served women.

Would you consider adding them to your list of choices? They are struggling with start-up funds right now and a donation like this could make all the difference!  Here's their website: www.daraluzbirthcenter.org

Thanks,

Shelley

[mbrune]

I would nominate Making Our Milk Safe (MOMS). We are a very small nonprofit working to eliminate the presence of toxic chemicals in our environment, our bodies, and in mothers' milk. MOMS was founded by four breastfeeding mothers committed to breastfeeding and preserving breastmilk as the natural resource it is. We now have members in 50 states and in Canada, but still have only one part-time employee! We need more bodies helping to do the work and that takes resources. We support the work of many environmental health nonprofits by organizing moms to attend rallies, speak at legislative hearings, write op-eds, etc. We work to empower mothers to advocate for the environmental health of their families.

But all of the other groups you have nominated - or mominated- are wonderful as well! Thank you for doing this!!

[Peggy O'Mara]

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and support. As it turned out, I did not win the momination. The mom who won really worked her Facebook page during the last hour before midnight and pulled ahead. I've had more time to familiarize myself with what others have written and said about Babble's formula advertising practices and I'm glad I didn't win now. Thank you, Emmoney, for the link to Annie Urban's blog (PhD in Parenting).