Mother UP! MCC Matching Funds Appeal

“I was completely blown away by the love and support I got at MCC when I was sad and scared. I've learned to be more empathetic and compassionate and to be gentler with myself. This is rippling outwards to all my relationships.”   ~Megan

Mama’s Comfort Camp (MCC) is a mutual support network that improves maternal health. We meet mothers where they already are--on their phones and screens. We serve mothers in the painful scarcity of mental health services. Even those who have the financial ability, health insurance, and THE COURAGE to seek help rarely see their providers more than once a week.

MCC provides constant access to emotional support regardless of time, place, or financial ability. For those who don’t have access to formal mental health services, MCC may be the closest thing they have to emotional support — always available, and absolutely free. This has proven to be a highly effective (as well as cost-effective) mechanism for: alleviating depression and anxiety; for crisis prevention; and for reducing isolation, disarming guilt, shame and blame, all while facilitating deep and lasting friendships.

We serve all who identify as mothers, from mothers-to-be to grandmothers, at every age and stage of their motherhood journey. Biological mothers, as well as adoptive and stepmothers, come together to be seen, heard and held. MCC is not about mothering better, it's about mothering happier. We provide protection from unsolicited advice because it can often be hurtful. Research shows that when a mother is struggling, even well-meaning advice is experienced as judgment that can trigger more guilt and shame. Maternal suicide is highly correlated with the presence of acute guilt and shame. Disarming these emotions in a safe space SAVES LIVES. 

“I came to Mama's Comfort Camp in the midst of postpartum depression. I was anxious, overwhelmed, isolated, and the support I found at MCC pulled me through my darkest days.”

~Lindsey

Our Vision: A world in which mothers are deeply supported emotionally, physically, and economically, and a community in which all are seen, heard, and held.

Our Mission: To normalize the struggles of motherhood, facilitate the asking (and the receiving) of help, amplify the influence of parents on policy making and allocation of resources, and improve well-being by fostering self-care, self-expression, and a communication culture of kindness.

We can't expect flowers to turn into fruits if we don't water the roots! Our society touts the needs of children while ignoring the needs of the parents. It's time to put support where it makes the most difference: where the mothers, fathers, and caregivers are supported, the entire community thrives. 

~Yael Saar, Founder,
Mama's Comfort Camp

Wait a minute, Isn't facebook free? Why fundraise for a Facebook group?  Facebook is free for users but doesn't come with any moderation services. Unmoderated mom groups are emotional danger zones, full of judgment, unsolicited advice, and competitive parenting. MCC provides gentle and loving moderation 24/7/35, which is offered by dedicated and trained volunteers, and our members report feeling a great deal of relief in our moderated safe space. We also provide community education which is why so many of our members report that the skills they learn at MCC help them improve their relationships in the "real world". All of this requires much training, coordination, and content creation. Without community support MCC's existence is precarious, and optional donations by MCC members and contributions from members of the community at large can ensure our ability to offer our service reliably. Your donations will enable us to keep our forums FREE and SAFE for ALL MOTHERS. We have operated with minimal financial support for our first 8 years, but we can't work effectively without community support. In 2020, we intend to continue to expand and deepen our offerings. The time has come for us to ask our members for optional donations and invite community businesses and philanthropists to sponsor our work.

“If you’d told me before I had kids that a Facebook group would keep me sane I would have laughed you off!, and yet, here I am checking MCC daily, so grateful that it exists.”       

~Laura

How we will use the donated funds? 1. Moderation support, scheduling, and training: our dedicated volunteer Den Mama Moderators are the backbone of MCC, upholding the safe space that supports thousands of mothers from around the world and across the street. Financial support for moderator attraction, training, and scheduling is currently the number one need of the organization. 

2. Explore better technological options for our fast-growing network. Our members have been asking for MCC support forums on other platforms. Since our services are primarily offered via online technology, diversifying our access options will help us protect our members’ privacy and reach more mothers while reducing our dependence on a single corporation.

3. Mother Up! Initiative: Our confidential online forums are fertile ground for transformative conversations and creative exploration. After 8 years of incubation, our community is ripe with inspirational stories and artistic endeavors all eager to be born. This initiative is a series of multidisciplinary artistic collaborations with local artists and organizations. Our first program, Motherhood is a Joke, debuts on March 31 (tickets here). It is a maternal comedy writing and performance collaboration with the Kitchen Theatre Company. Our Listen to the Mothers Concert celebrating mother singer-songwriters and poets is coming to the FUSIT stage on May 8, the Friday before Mother's Day. A fine-arts exhibit and a TEDx event are in the works for next year. We excited to report that we are at the early stages of a documentary film project about this initiative. 

4. Ithaca area community support: help us hold in-person support meetings, family gatherings, resource exchanges and a robust road safety reporting forum in which thousands of local drivers (mothers and others) help each other choose safe routes and avoid hazardous conditions, are just the tip of the iceberg of the potential of MCC to download love from the Social Media cloud to strengthen our local Ithaca community. 

Donation dedications welcome:

We invite you to honor a mother or another beloved person with a dedication of your donation.

Please include the name you'd like us to display in your donation form comments.

You are welcome to share a bit about what this person means to you.

Mama's Comfort Camp was founded in 2012, and has been serving mothers from around the world and across the street for 8 years. We are a project of the Center for Transformative Action, a nonprofit incubator affiliated with Cornell University. Donors participating in this GiveGab campaign will receive a receipt for their tax-deductible donation via email. 

Do you prefer donating with a check rather than a credit card? Mail your check to the Center for Transformative Action, 119 Anabel Taylor Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853. Please mention Mama's Comfort Camp on the memo line of the check.
All donations will be acknowledged on this fundraising page unless specifically requested to remain anonymous.

Whether you choose to make a donation today or not, we thank you for reading and thank you for caring about the well being of mothers.

Are you a mother but not yet an MCC member? Click here to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mamas.comfort.camp/

“I was deeply hurt in an online parenting group that was supposed to be supportive but felt like the mommy Olympics, and I was never measuring up. Mama's Comfort Camp is the only online forum where I feel safe and loved so I dare share my real challenges, my losses, and my wins. I posted at MCC while in bed in the middle of the night, in the waiting room at a doctor’s appointments, and from the school parking lot... It's literally always within reach! I rarely have to wait more than a few minutes before the loving responses start coming. I am so grateful for this resource...”

        ~Ann

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