On the second Sunday in May, moms across the country are deservedly showered with attention on Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, while most moms are being treated to breakfast in bed or having flowers delivered to them, tens of thousands of women spend their Mother’s Day living in shelters due to homelessness or as a result of escaping from domestic violence.
To aid mothers in crisis, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® created its Movers for Moms® program, a community-based initiative working with neighborhood schools and organizations – such as Thomas Jefferson Middle School and Jackson Elementary School locally – to collect essential items to donate to women in shelters on Mother’s Day. The program began as a statewide effort in Michigan in 2008 and will run in 31 states in 2013 to support more than 100 women shelters, including The Caring Place Advocacy Shelter in Valparaiso.
As the program continues its rapid growth, expanding from 18 franchise locations to 113 in the last three years, the moving company hopes to surpass its 2012 collection of 115,000 items by donating more than 200,000 supplies to community shelters assisting mothers in need this spring.
“Statistics show that one in four women in America will be the victim of domestic violence and these women often find themselves without basic resources, such as soap and shampoo,” said Randy Shacka, president of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®. “It’s heartbreaking to think of moms forced to live in shelters and potentially having to go without essential items like toothpaste. Movers for Moms® helps stock the shelves of wonderful shelters that are doing phenomenal work so that they have the materials they need on hand when victims arrive. We are grateful to our community partners for supporting the collection.”
The local TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® invites additional community partners to join the cause in 2013 in hopes of eclipsing its collection objective. Schools and other organizations interested in supporting the Movers for Moms® program should visit www.twomenandatruck.com to locate the franchise nearest them.