Let Me Count the Ways to Thank You

Thank you all for your help and support to make our No Mothers Day a great success! We set ourselves a goal this year to break through the noise of Mother’s Day and use this one day when people think about mothers the most to raise awareness about global maternal health. I think we can say that we achieved our goal and then some.

The cornerstone of the No Mothers Day campaign was a short film that featured moms asking fellow moms to spend the day in silence – no phone calls, no gifts, or no Facebook as an act of solidarity to bring awareness to the hundreds of thousands of women around the world who die as a result of complications from pregnancy and childbirth each year. Maternal mortality is not an issue at the top of most people’s radar screens, hundreds of thousands of women continue to lose their lives each year. What’s worse? Nearly all of those deaths are preventable. But only preventable if we come together and make this issue a priority. The silent actions you took on No Mothers Day showed just how much a mother is missed when she is gone and honored those families impacted by maternal mortality.

In total, the No Mothers Day film was viewed by more than 1.7 million people. A total of over 7,000 Facebook fans signed up to participate on our Facebook page and more than 4,000 additional people signed up to be part of the Every Mother Counts community. A full media analysis can be found here but we also know word was widely spread on Facebook, Twitter and in the traditional news and print media (check out a sampling of stories below)

This is the sort of momentum that is going to help us reach our goals and see an end to needless maternal deaths. Our aim is to inspire 5 million actions for maternal health so that we can demonstrate just how many of you are behind this issue. Our latest video, Every Action Counts, introduces Every Mother Counts' new focus to encourage creative actions to benefit maternal health. Our commitment is to continue to provide new and meaningful ways for you to get involved. Already this year you have taken 2.4 million actions: In 2012 alone, you have shared over 850,000 stories; viewed or shared our educational films nearly 900,000 times, donated over 3,000 used mobile phones to developing nations’ maternal health programs; ran or walked over 200 miles in marathons, half-marathons or 5Ks; purchased over 600,000 products benefitting Every Mother Counts; and 138 new donors have contributed over $12,000, which will go directly to programs addressing maternal mortality.

If you’d like to keep the momentum going, please check out our website to find specific actions you can take. Thank you again for making every mother count.