May 10, 2009
Happy Mothers Day for Peace & Justice
By
Katherine Dodds
Take Back Mothers Day with the spirit of peace and justice that Anna Reeves Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis Jr. intended!
What’s a mother really worth? Last year, the National Retail Foundation predicted Mother’s Day to be a $15.8 billion industry in the US alone. One could be forgiven for suspecting retailers to be the engineer of such a commercial bonanza, a thought that would have its activist foremothers rolling over in their graves.
Watch an animated her-story of Mother’s Day and access the online press kit at: www.TakeBackTheDay.ca
Inter Pares, a Canadian organization working internationally with activist groups for peace and justice, has launched a provocative online campaign to “take back the day,” right down to its signature flower. The true origins of Mother’s Day in North America stretch back over 150 years and lie in women uniting in social activism, brought to being by three extraordinary women.
Says Samantha McGavin, Inter Pares Communication Director, “We saw a lot of similarities in what these women were trying to achieve and our own goals, so the campaign is a perfect fit. Mother’s Day was meant to be a celebration of women everywhere working to better all our lives.”
Yet with many people feeling the pinch of recession on their wallets, this year’s Mother’s Day may enjoy a resurgence of honouring Mom the way its founders intended. With charities everywhere facing budget shortfalls while the world itself seems ever more in need, alternative giving campaigns like these are a win-win.
Alternative giving, where a donation is made in lieu of a traditional gift, has been gaining in popularity, especially around the holidays. Tough economic times are only magnifying its appeal, and non-profits are looking to offer the mall-weary a more meaningful experience. Tribute card campaigns like Take Back The Day and its Christmas counterpart, Give Something Big (www.GiveSomethingBig.com), combine the donation process with gift cards that capture the spirit of giving, while also reflecting the work of the organization. People can both give to Mom and give back to their communities, and it’s all just a mouse-click away.
Tag(s):
Alternative Economics,
Blogging,
Campaign 4 Corporate Harm Reduction,
Hello Cool World,
Marketing,
Social Marketing,
Strategy
Recent Blogs by Katherine Dodds:
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Katherine Dodds AKA "Kat" is the founder of Good Company Communications and HelloCoolWorld.com. Trained in renegade advertising & branding through her work with Adbusters in the '90s, Kat's early induction into the possibilities of the web-world was inspired by the term hypertext, which she immediately found comforting. She is dedicated to cause-related communication and to the development and use of tools that promote democratic processes.
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