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News release

MomsRising Prepares to Follow Up on Widely Viewed 2009 ‘Mom of the Year’ Viral Video

May 4, 2010
Equal Pay

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

2009 Video Received 12 Million Views, Exponentially Increased Organizational Membership
On Mothers Day 2009, moms across the country learned that their loved ones considered them “Mom of the Year” when they received a unique and clever video via email in which a news anchor broke the story. The video, which was customized for each mom who received it, had more than 12 million views nationwide and helped the then three-year-old MomsRising organization (which created the video) increase its membership rolls from more than 150,000 to more than one million moms, dads and others across the country.
 
This year’s Mothers Day video e-card takes the concept one step further, declaring the recipient “Mother of the Decade.” Luminaries ranging from Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to First Lady Michelle Obama to “Ugly Betty” star America Ferrera appear in the “newsclip” praising the 2010 Mother of the Decade. The video also features a testimonial from “Baby Claire,” who declares, “as a world-renowned expert on moms, I think the award committee made an excellent choice.” Viewers who watch closely will even catch a glimpse of MomsRising’s president and co-founder Joan Blades.
 
“At MomsRising we believe that moms need to be celebrated more often,” said MomsRising Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “And that can be done by improving the workplace and public policies that shape their lives – among them, food and product safety, fair pay and universal paid sick days and paid leave. In the past year, our more than a million members helped to pass health care reform, and spoke up in support of other legislation to improve families’ health and lives at the federal and state levels. This year, we hope to reach even more people with our Mothers Day video and celebrate moms while we encourage them to continue to stand up and speak out. More moms than ever are in the labor force and juggling multiple roles is a fact of life for us, so it’s important to take time to commend ourselves and other moms for all we do.”
 
Through out the entertaining video card, a crawl at the bottom of the screen provides data on pay disparities.
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.