Take Five, Please: 5 Quick Posts I Hope You’ll Read, & 3 Quick Ways to Learn More
Today, our family celebrates yet another birthday milestone: my daughters are 5. Was it really 5 years ago tonight I sat in a hospital staring into the face of two
tiny newborns trying harder than I ever imagined trying to get through the first of so many milestones we’d accomplish together — the crazy adventure of tandem breastfeeding?
Luckily for me, I had the benefit of an incredible support system, family, friends — and the world’s most incredible lactation consultant — to get me through that 
first milestone, and all of the others that followed. And I have the luxury — at every milestone like today — of getting to spend time creating even more memories for them: Breakfast in bed. Sushi with a candle in it for dinner. Double Scoops of Ice Cream. And tomorrow, I’ll begin thinking about what I can do to give more, be more, and do more for my kids, and the world around them, in the coming year.
The tough truth that we all know — but seem to easily forget — is how many moms in our communities, and around the world, don’t get to experience any of these milestones. Because many of their children are not surviving their own childhood. Every 20 seconds, children are dying simply because they don’t have access to life-saving vaccines against against pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, and polio. That’s just not ok.
That’s why I’m proud to be part of a growing UN Foundation movement, Shot@Life. (I recently blogged about my recent experience at the UN Foundation Shot@Life Summit here).
It’s also why I stepped back today and reflected 
on all of this — honoring a promise I made to my daughters on their 4 1/2 birthday —to slow down and try to reflect more. I can’t promise I’ve been perfect (far from it, in fact) but it got me thinking today, and also inspired me to catchup on some reading I’ve been wanting to do.
And so, in honor of my girl’s 5th birthday, I have 5 quick posts I hope you will read today (or soon!) from a few of the many champions who are getting behind this growing movement….
- Kathy Calvin, CEO, United Nations Foundation (that’s us to the right!) shares in “Inspiring Women” her experience last year in Liberia with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first democratically elected female president of an African
nation, and Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women and former president of Chile. As she notes, “The example of these two women inspired me to think more courageously about a future where women are safe, healthy, educated and can prosper.” She also introduces a new infographic, “The Reality of Her Day, Every Day” which I think is a great visual to help tell the story of our growing global health crisis.
- Peg Willingham, Executive Director, Shot@Life Campaign, also shares some great perspectives from her recent trip to Honduras in “Remarkable. Dedicated. Strong. Global. Women.” I had the honor of getting to know Peg at our Summit and am truly inspired by the work of her incredible team. That’s us below with Myrdin Thompson…
- In “A Shot@Life From Mexico To The Rest Of The World”, Felisa Hilbert shares her first-hand perspectives in Mexico in a community where access to vaccines was limited. Her post is a tiny window in the kind of passion and
dedication she brings to every challenge she takes on. I’ve had the honor of working with Felisa as a fellow Mom Congress delegate; she is literally Unstoppable. (Did I mention she recruited me to join the Oklahoma PTA? To be clear, I am a preschool parent in Oregon. But she’s that good!).
- I also love the message of another fellow Delegate, Myrdin Thompson, in ”How Do You Change The World?” Myrdin has in incredible outlook on the simple steps we can all take,
daily, to give kids in our communities and around the world a shot at everything they deserve. Thank you, Myrdin!
- In “What Following My Mother Through Graveyards Taught Me“, Chrysula Winegar, shares her story which I can relate to — as the fellow daughter of a genealogist. Her blog, “When You Wake Up a Mother” is an inspiring resource to follow!
- And finally, I was inspired to read about Dimitri Godur, an 8th grader who saw an ABC News Segment about the campaign and is organizing small efforts like smoothie drives & candy-grams — which have already helped immunize 80 kids against polio and measles. That’s impressive, for sure. But to me, the even more powerful message here is the engagement and connections he is creating among students and young teens. I look forward to following his journey and hope it inspires other students, too!
Interested in learning more? Here are 3 Ways:
- Join the Shot@Life Twitter party tomorrow, Wednesday, March 14th at 6pm PST/9pm EST. Hashtag #shotatlife!
- “Like” Shot@Life on Facebook and Follow them on Twitter for more news and updates.
- You can also visit my personal Shot@Life campaign page if you are inspired to make a donation of any amount towards my goal of immunizing 40 kids against polio & measles by Global Vaccination Week in April…
Thanks for listening! More to come on this in the weeks ahead…
