#GNO Live—Moms Helping Moms Fundraiser

Meet Up With #GNO Gals for a Great Cause Sat., Apr. 18 in the US, Canada, & Australia

Mom It Forward, in partnership with 12 for 12K, is kicking off 6-weeks of fundraising for moms and by moms (Tuesday, March 31 through Tuesday May 13) and we need your help!

On Saturday, April 18, Mom It Forward and 12 for 12K events will be taking place all over the US, in Canada, and in Australia (see list of locations below) to raise funds and awareness for Yehu Microfinance, BasaBody, and Coast Coconut Farms. The goal? To combat poverty by empowering poor rural entrepreneurs in Kenya to help lift themselves out of poverty through enhanced accessibility to sustainable financial services, business opportunities, and skills training.

Yehu Microfinance, BasaBody, and Coast Coconut Farms work together to achieve this mission. How? First, women secure micro loans from Yehu Microfinance. Next, they purchase a franchise from Coast Coconut Farms, which gives them the materials, skills/business training, and opportunity to run a coconut oil extraction business right from their village. Then, Coast Coconut Farms makes regular village runs to purchase the coconut oil and processes it in its plant. Finally, Coast Coconut Farms exports the oil to the U.S. where volunteers there use the oil to create and sell bath, body, and cooking products—part of the Basa Body and Coast Coconut Farms product lines—returning the proceeds right back to Africa to help more and more women.

How Can You Help?

Our goal is to raise $35,000 for Yehu Microfinance (click here to learn more about donations) and sell $5,000 worth of Basa Body and Coast Coconut Farms product like mint chocolate truffle and cherry soap with coconut oil (shown left) or hand lotion (shown below). Cash donations or product purchases is certainly one way to help and is much appreciated.

We recognize not everyone can donate cash during these tough financial times. Therefore, we have come up with many ways to contribute:

1. Be part of a Moms Helping Moms event planning committee in your area.
   
   
2. Volunteer at a Moms Helping Moms event.
   
   
3. Donate product or services for the event (the venue, food, raffle items, etc.).
   
   
4. Help us publicize it on and offline.
   
   
5. Attend the event.
   
   
6. If there is not an event listed for your area, consider putting one together. We have a team and materials in place to help with this initiative.

Where Are Events Taking Place?

Mom It Forward and 12 for 12K are working with volunteers within our communities all over the US, Canada, and Australia to support Yehu Microfinance, BasaBody, and Coast Coconut Farms through fundraising efforts. The live events listed below (details to come) are being planned and carried out by amazingly giving teams of volunteers in local areas. The success of these events relies on terrific volunteer involvement and every team is looking for help. If you have time, services, or products you would be willing to donate, please e-mail us at momitforward AT gmail DOT com so we can put you in touch with the team leader in your area.

Note: Hyperlinked cities mean there is a Facebook group already formed for this team. If you are near one of these cities and would like to contribute, please click on the link, join the Facebook team, and let the team know how you'd like to contribute. Thanks!

The United States
Chicago, IL
Dallas/Ft Worth, TX
DC Metro (DC/MD/VA)
Kansas City, MO
Milwaukee, WI
Nashville, TN
New York City, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Portland, OR
Raleigh, NC
Salt Lake City, UT
San Diego, CA

Canada
Toronto
Vancouver

Australia
Sydney

If you are interested in participating or having an event in your area, please contact us at momitforward AT gmail DOT com. Thanks for your interest! Together, we can change the world one mom at a time!

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Kids Easter Crafts Service Project—Fun for the Family!

Serve Side By Side With Your Children Saturday, March 28 in Salt Lake City!

Want to teach your children the value of service and giving? We have just the opportunity for you! Take advantage of this amazing service project, hosted by Mom It Forward and sponsored by Make and Takes and Provo Craft, where you can serve side by side with your children all for a great cause.

• What: We'll be making spring crafts and ornaments to decorate the "April Tree" for the Christmas Box House.
  
  
• When: Saturday, March 28 from 10 a.m to 12 p.m.
  
  
• Where: The Christmas Box House—3660 S. West Temple
  
  
• RSVP: Please click here to RSVP by 3/26 so we can purchase the right amount of materials and food. In your RSVP, be sure to mention how many people will be coming in your party.
  
  
• For More Information: Please contact marie [at] makeandtakes [dot] com or momitforward [at] gmail [dot] with "Christmas Box House" in the subject line.
  

(Photo used with permission from Flickr.com)

What Is the Christmas Box House?

In 1997, The Christmas Box Foundation, with support from the community, agreed to fund and build a new shelter intake/ assessment and residential facility. This facility has greatly enhanced services to abused and neglected children and reflects a statewide model for delivery of best practice assessment and treatment services to victims of child abuse.

The Christmas Box House provides:

• Emergency residential services, 24 hours a day, 7 days-a-week, to children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, or a foster care placement failure.
• Emergency intake and assessment services, based on a multi-disciplinary treatment approach, are available around-the-clock for youth to address their emotional, physical, educational and placement needs.
• The Residential Unit provides specialized care for a maximum of 34 children, ages 0-11. It provides state-of-the-art comprehensive services, which reflect best practice and innovative breakthroughs in childcare.
• Over 45 licensed Resource Homes within the community provide nurturing care to children for up to 28 days. Last year Resource families provided care within their homes for 619 children.
• For current volunteer and donation needs, please contact Tammy Champo at 801-269-7506, tchampo@slco.org, or Elisbeth Williams at 284-3301, elisabeth@thechristmasboxhouse.org.

(Information and picture taken directly from http://www.cbh.slco.org/.)

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What Is Mom It Forward?

What Is the Mom It Forward Mission?
Mom It Forward is the newest trend in mom groups and makes giving back fun, sociable, accessible, and stylish—the new “in crowd” of moms where "mom" is a verb. Not only is it fun, fosters friendships, but it is all for a good cause—serving and teaching service to our children.

The Mom It Forward mission is "to change the world one mom at a time." We will achieve that by 1) strengthening women, 2) helping them become the best moms they can be, and 3) providing ideas, opportunities to, and recognition for carry(ing) out the Mom It Forward mission in small and large ways, locally as well as internationally.

Where Is Mom It Forward?
With its unique niche, the Mom It Forward community is the perfect mommy gathering place—both online and in real life through local chapters—to talk about something moms have in common—our passion for making a difference.

Currently, we meet Tuesday nights on Twitter for our Girl's Night Out (#gno) parties and feature community members on our blog daily at Mom It Forward. We are in the process of developing a Mom It Forward social networking site (online community), which will be our online gathering place. We also are forming Mom It Forward Worldwide, which is an international organization moms can take part in with other women in their communities.

What Is the Benefit of Being Part of the Mom It Forward Community?
Members of the Mom It Forward community join for strength and friendship—you know, the adult interaction all of us moms are craving—but leave with so much more... feeling strengthened, uplifted, excited, and with ideas for and a call to action to give back in fun, creative, meaningful ways all while balancing and our role and improving our abilities as a mom.

One of the many benefits of being a part of this group has been meeting such great people and serving alongside them and on some occasions, serving together with our families. To learn about what we've done recently to Mom It Forward, click on Mom It Forward Cares. To find out how you can get involved in upcoming Mom It Forward opportunities, e-mail us at momitforward [at] gmail [dot] com.