Bring your friends and join us for this month’s HYPC build day in Charlotte, NC! Habitat Young Professionals will be doing sheathing and 15-20 volunteer are needed. All photos will be posted on PledgeForMoms.org on Sunday evening after the event. Please check back or subscribe to the RSS feed for fast notification and cool site updates. Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte transforms lives by partnering with families and local communities to create and preserve affordable home ownership solutions. All help is welcome!

“The iodine stung bitterly. It pooled in the divots of my neck where I remember the prongs of the fork broke skin; it’s orange tendrils soaked into locks of wavy hair and dripped down my back onto the cold, exquisitely pale marble floor. I looked in the mirror. A black eye; a couple of scratches; a puffy lip. I was irritated that I couldn’t find any peroxide, and made a mental note to replenish the first aid kit. I think I forgot to walk the dog. Shit. That might have to wait now… It was just another routine day in my life.”

I am pleased to announce that the site has been updated with some great new features to help you keep up with news and artwork from PledgeForMoms.org. Check out the RSS button to subscrie via your favorite feed compiler, the RSS button to subscribe via email, and the the eMail link for any questions or comments. The tutorial on setting up these buttons on your own site will be coming up in May, 2009 – Stay Tuned! As a little bonus, I will also include info on how to add the glow :onhover effect ;)

This month’s Artists for Moms tags are dedicated to Sexual Assault Awareness (green/blue ribbon – President Obama Declares April to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month on April 8, 2009! See the official Presidential Proclamation here), Maternal Mortality awareness (white ribbon) , and the support of our troops (yellow ribbon). Do you have a tag request or need help with your own awareness campaign? Contact me for tips on how to get started with WordPress, Photoshop, Illustrator (and advice on CSS, HTML, MySQL, and Search Engine Optimization)!

Welcome to the Button Project! Every month I will come out with sets of fun buttons that can be easily posted on any blog or MySpace.com page. Currently, I am still working out the functionality of the text area (as it seems to be interfering with my Shadowbox plugin, and wreaking all kinds of weird havoc). Right now all buttons will automatically link back to PledgeForMoms.org so that any one who is interested can get their own. Of course, any user is welcome to change the link to one of their favorite Charity.

Lately, it is impossible to avoid the President’s name in casual conversation, or to turn a corner without seeing the iconic blue and red vector of his demeanor on a T-shirt… Were it any other politician, I think that the message of hope and unity would have rung empty, trite, and insincere; but I have faith that with the new administration, programs such as Mothers Day Every Day and the United Nations Population Fund can flourish and truly make a huge difference in the lives of moms both here and abroad. WRA, CARE and a bipartisan group of civic leaders and Members of Congress…

Take a moment to peruse the current news headlines on Maternal Mortality around the globe – unfortunately, women in many under-developed countries continue to die of diseases cured by modern science decades, if not centuries ago. The World Health Organization, AllAfrica.com, and UNICEF report on the state of the fight for better health standards with the following, chilling headlines: “The available statistics indicate that the maternal mortality rate in Mozambique dropped from 692 to 408 deaths per 100,000 live births between 1997 and 2002…”