Some years ago, two mothers met with their local government representative, urging his support on a bill to boost funding for children's education. He was an ardent fan of the bill but said, "I can't vote for funding because we just passed a tax cut." The friends sat there and thought, "Hmmm…if there were hundreds of mothers crowded in this office, his answer would be different..."

Many earnest attempts at organizing that throng of mothers followed; snowy vigils which only their best friends and relatives could stand to witness, letters to the editor and even a Website. All of this eventually led the growing band of mothers to write the Mothers Acting Up mission statement, "We recognize we live in a world that does not prioritize or protect our children's wellbeing and this will not change without each of us finding the courage and commitment to speak out on their behalf."

They began to talk with other mothers, people who perhaps didn't consider themselves political but were passionate enough about their children to publicly take action. Then they discovered Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Declaration! This gift from an Internet search became the inspiration to reclaim Mother's Day as Julia originally envisioned it: a day set aside for mothers to unite for the wellbeing of mankind. So after a mad dash to the locally owned hardware store for all the hot glue guns in aisle 9, the first Mothers Acting Up Mother's Day Parade of the 21st century was launched. Over 100 people in Boulder, Colorado, some walking on stilts, celebrated mothers as a powerful political force to protect the rights and wellbeing of children all over the world. By the following spring, in 2003, there were 10 parades across North America held in cities from New York to Los Angeles, with the numbers of Mothers Acting Up continuing to grow every year since...

Today, the mavens at MAU Central continue to write the Website, research issues and actions, produce numerous materials to help spread the movement and encourage other MAU Mavens to ACT UP however the spirit moves them.

And the rest is history . . . that you — that we — are making.