ELMHURST, Ill., May 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mothers & More, a national non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of mothers, aims to cure invisimomibility this Mother's Day season. Invisimomibility is a chronic, pervasive condition in which mother's unpaid caregiving work is undervalued, leading to an inability to successfully fulfill one's caregiving, civic and paid work responsibilities and leaving primary caregivers vulnerable to social and economic risk.
For decades, the unpaid caregiving work mothers do has remained hidden and uncounted. Finally, in 2003, the federal government introduced the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), which showed great promise as a remedy for invisimomibility. An annual survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the ATUS is the only source that tracks how Americans use all of their time: paid work, caring for children, doing chores, volunteering, eating, sleeping, etc.
The proposed FY2009 budget eliminates funding for the ATUS. In response, Mothers & More is launching a national letter-writing and public education campaign to save the ATUS and raise awareness about the importance of counting mothers' caregiving work. Throughout May, life-size "InvisiMoms" will be appearing at local fairs, public libraries, in front of grocery stores, at baby expos, and farmers' markets across the country to invite mothers to make their own caregiving work and time usage "visible" and call attention to the importance of the ATUS. For those who can't make these live events, Mothers & More is offering mothers a virtual opportunity to create "VisiMoms" by signing a letter to save the ATUS.
"All the work mothers do is vital work, essential to our families, communities, economy and society as a whole," says Joanne Brundage, executive director of Mothers & More. "Saving the ATUS is a critical first step toward ending invisimomibility and ensuring all the work mothers do is counted."
Without the ATUS, businesses, policymakers and researchers will lose critical information that can improve the quality of life for mothers, children, families and society as a whole.
Show mothers you care, help wipe out invisimomibility. To learn how, visit http://www.mothersandmore.org.
In existence for over 20 years, Mothers & More has over 6,000 members and 140 chapters coast to coast. The organization addresses mothers' needs as individuals and members of society, and promotes the value of all the work mothers do.
248-756-8108, [email protected]
SOURCE Mothers & More
