MomsRising is taking to the skies above Penn State, Eagles and Steelers football games in October to remind leaders that robust investments in caregiving are truly the wind beneath our wings. Planes are flying two hours prior to games on these dates, up until about the time listed:

• Penn State: Sat 10/2, 6:30pm
• Eagles: Sun 10/3, 12pm 
• Steelers: Sun 10/10, 12pm 
• Eagles: Thurs 10/14, 7:30pm 
• Penn State: Sat 10/23, 11am

Give us a wave and share a pic if you see us! 

Hi. This is Tori and Carrie, two Pennsylvania moms. Did you see us, or a MomsRising banner, at a football game this October? 

We have a message for you. We promise this is important.

We are both working moms with sons with exceptionalities, so we know what being overbooked, overworked, and overtired looks like! We know that your time is precious, and so we ask for your time now, because this issue is precious and urgent.

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Can you join us to tell our members of Congress that they must prioritize women and families? Click here to add your name!

RIGHT NOW our members of Congress are debating President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, and we need them to prioritize a package that would help our families care for our kids, our loved ones, and ourselves with:

• Permanent paid family and medical leave
• Investing in a high-quality, affordable, comprehensive child care and early learning system that children, families, early educators, providers, employers and communities need to grow and thrive
• A permanent expanded child tax credit
• Protecting reproductive rights and investing in affordable health care

You matter, and so do your children. Let’s fight for them, and for their futures. The time is NOW for a transformative and bold investment in our communities. Parents and caregivers like us need to speak up to push this over the finish line.

Add your name and a short comment (if you choose), to a letter we’re delivering next week.

Here’s why this matters so much to us:

As a single mom, when my son’s child care closed because of COVID and I lost my job, I was left home caring for my son with no income. This led me to start my own small business. However as a small business owner, I can’t afford paid leave. Winning paid family and medical leave will support me if something should happen to my son (or myself) and I need to take time off to care for us.

- Tori

I'm the mom of a toddler. I’ve had to work part-time due to limited preschool hours as well as my spouse often being away on medical residency, especially since Covid struck. Any time off that I take in order to care for my son when his preschool closes due to a Covid outbreak, or when he is home sick with a cold, is unpaid. Winning paid family and medical leave will support me when I need to take care of myself or my family.

- Carrie

We know we’re not alone in these struggles. Women have been hit hardest by the pandemic, and Pennsylvania is no exception. Families across the country, especially those with a female breadwinner, are struggling and in urgent need of bold investments like the ones being debated now. Consider these facts:

• From March 2020 to August 2020, 55.4% of Pennsylvania workers receiving unemployment assistance were women, compared with 44.6% of men (1)
• Women in Pennsylvania still make, on average, $0.81 for every dollar paid to a white man. And this number is even worse for moms and women of color. Latina women, for example, make just $0.54. (2)
• 34.6% of female-headed households in Pennsylvania live in poverty (National figure: 33.8%). (3)

So please join us to urge our members of Congress to prioritize women and families. We’re delivering signatures next week, and hope yours will be included. Thank you! 

In solidarity,
- Tori and Carrie, and the entire MomsRising/MamásConPoder team

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References:
[1] Keystone Research Center
[2-4] National Women’s Law Center