Welcome to the April Dispatch! Thank you for being a part of our growing, powerful Moms Next Door program!

What’s the Moms Next Door Dispatch? Each month, you’ll receive the Moms Next Door Dispatch (Scroll down!)—a monthly toolkit that will arrive in your inbox to provide you and your community with ideas on how to self-organize and take action; as well as to process and make sense of all that’s going on; AND also ways to remain calm, find joy in community, and recharge as we build a brighter future! Sign up now to get these monthly dispatches in your inbox and learn new ways to connect!

First things first—make sure you do your homework! For those of you who joined us on March’s Moms Next Door Community Zoom, we shared a survey to complete. We want to hear from you: Please tell us what you want to learn, dream, and connect on during the Moms Next Door program by filling out this survey! 

Now, let’s dive in. Here’s the menu of five ways for you to engage this month, on your own—or with your small group near you:

1. MONTHLY ORGANIZING ZOOM MEETUP: Our second monthly organizing Zoom is happening this month on Tuesday, April 22nd at 7:30 pm EST / 4:30 pm PST with our workshop called “Moms are the original community organizers.” We’ll co-create actions that work in your community, share tools and tips, and can answer questions about your organizing plans. Look forward to seeing you! Sign-up here to join us and learn more. 

2. ACTION OF THE MONTH: Last chance to drop off a storybook from moms across the nation at the office of your local member of Congress during April recess—sign up here! You can do this on your own or with a small group of friends. The stories you’ll be dropping off show why Congress should not cut key programs that fuel our economy and lift our families – like Medicaid which covers 72 million Americans – to give even more tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.

*Note: Requires a printer!

3. FUN, JOY & POWER: 

1. Gather up and tell Congress to restore Head Start & child care. The Trump Administration closed at least five Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) regional offices throughout the country, meaning that right now there are no regional staff available to support ACF funded programs, including Head Start programs. This action essentially rips away child care from children and families served by these programs in 23 states. Gather with your friends, your family, your book club, your soccer team, and tell Congress and the Trump administration: Hands off Head Start! Take action here. 

2. Our national parks need us right now. Not only are our national parks a refuge for natural beauty and wildlife, but they are also a living history for our country. April is National Volunteer Month, and as national parks across the U.S. face staffing shortages due to cuts in federal funding, supporting our national parks is more important now than ever. Learn more about volunteer opportunities near you and sign up here! And as the weather gets nicer, it’s a great time to take your kids to a national park and talk together as a family about how you can support your national park. Write a thank you note to a park ranger, clean up trash, let your kid lead part of a hike, or bring notebooks and colored pencils for kids to draw what they see.  

3. Check back in on our MomsRising blog to get the latest news, petition actions, and more call-to-congress actions (and more!).

4. WHAT WE’RE READING THIS MONTH: For people wanting to start book groups for change, or just looking for good books, here’s what’s in our April library: *When you meet up to talk books, take a picture and post it on social media with #MomsRising to show others that they aren’t alone!

• Non-fiction: 

  • Revolutionary Mothering: Love on the Front Lines, edited by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, China Martens, and Mai’a Williams, comes highly recommended by several members of the MomsRising staff! 

  • From childcare to inclusive meeting planning, Don’t Leave Your Friends Behind: Concrete Ways to Support Families in Social Justice Movements and Communities, edited by Victoria Law and China Martens, offers practical tips for showing up for caregivers and kids in activist spaces. 

• Fiction: We recommend With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo, a book about a high school senior who juggles being a mom, a caregiver, a student, and an aspiring chef that reminds us to be creative and determined in following our dreams! Uses magical realism to help explore themes of motherhood, intersectionality, and social inequality. 

• Need some book ideas for the kiddos in your life this month? Here you go: 

  • Dream Big by Joyce Wan (ages 0 -5) is a beginner board book that introduces little ones to trailblazing women throughout history—from artists to astronauts.

  • Sofia Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty (ages 4-8) is a perfect read for budding changemakers and future leaders! Great book to explain advocacy and civic engagement to kids with an easy to understand local example.

  • Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic by Sangu Mandana (ages 8-12): Jupiter Nettle wishes she had the flashier magical powers like some of her classmates—but she soon learns that her bravery, kindness, and critical thinking are just as important. A fun and thoughtful story that celebrates being true to yourself and recognizing the strengths you already have. Ask your child what they see as their own unique strengths and how they can power their ability to make a difference! 

*Want to support your local bookstore? Use the Bookshop finder to locate bookstores near you and women, Black, AAPI, LGBTQIA+-, Latine, and Indigenous-owned bookstores online.

5. MUTUAL SUPPORT OPTION: What is mutual aid? Different from charity— where resources usefully flow in one direction from donors to recipients—mutual aid is community-driven and reciprocal, built on community-based solidarity. And many parents and caregivers are already doing this (think: your local PTA, community gardens, or even kids’ birthday parties). In creating communities of love, we also want to turn them into communities of support, protection, and action to prepare for what’s ahead. 

*MUTUAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY OF THE MONTH FOR YOU: Moms are the original community organizers. This month, help your neighbors out by compiling your community’s local resources into a map. Tell your networks about local community gardens, free fridges, Buy Nothing Groups, food pantries, and free sanitary and clothing pick up points.  

BONUS RESOURCE - FOOD FOR THOUGHT! MomsRising staff have been loving this resource on how introducing a diversity of play-based learning opportunities can help build our kiddos into resilient, creative, and adaptable problem-solvers (and future activists!). 

Thank you for being here. We are looking forward to strengthening connections and community in refreshing, educational, and joyful ways with you in the coming months!