American Mothers and Mrs. ND International 2021, Emily Brooks
My Platform is
American Mothers Inc.
My platform is American Mothers
Inc. (AMI). After recovering from postpartum depression, I had the desire to
support other women with issues unique to motherhood. In 2018, I was honored with the North Dakota Mother of the Year
title by AMI for my contributions to my community, which has given me the
ability to share this support on a greater scale. I’ve gotten very involved
with this amazing organization with roots dating back to Eleanor Roosevelt in
the 1930s. I currently serve AMI on the Board of Directors, Executive
Committee, as North Dakota Chapter President, and Co-Chair for AMI’s
participation in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
For
the past two years, I’ve worked to build a local chapter of AMI in North Dakota.
Last fall, our ND Chapter of AMI received our official Charter for meeting all
of the national requirements. It’s such a blessing to join together with other
amazing women in North Dakota to do good works. In the short amount of time
that we’ve been volunteering as a group, our Chapter has: helped clients select groceries at the Emergency Food
Pantry, packed food for Feed My Starving Children, held a book drive for Little
Free Libraries, collected clothing to benefit the Foster Community, written
Hope Notes for the North Dakota Boys & Girls Ranch, supplied a birthday
party for Box of Balloons baked and delivered Valentine's cookies to our
local first responders, and helped set up and decorate for several fundraisers
benefitting local non-profits.
American
Mothers has not only given me a way to connect with other moms in my state to
make a difference but the opportunity to connect with women all over the United
States and internationally. Attending the national AMI Conventions in
Washington DC has provided an amazing way to meet dynamic moms who are making a
difference in each of their own lives. I’ve met women who have started diaper
banks when they found out that baby care needs weren’t being met through other
resources, women who have founded non-profits to benefit children that have the
same disabilities as their own, and women who have invented products to suit
the needs of their families when they couldn’t find what they wanted elsewhere.
What do all of these women have in common, they all saw a need that wasn’t being
filled and used their maternal energy to find a solution. I draw so much
inspiration from all of these women’s stories!
For the past two weeks, I’ve had the honor of attending the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women as a representative for AMI. Previously, I had the chance to attend this event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. This year the event was moved online due to the pandemic, but this new way to attend allowed me to view even more panel discussions. The speakers for the panel discussions shared really powerful first-hand stories, information, and statistics affecting women all over the world. I’m looking forward to sharing the information I gained from these panels nationally as a speaker during the American Mothers’ Convention on May 1st.
The amount of gratitude I feel for AMI is very deep. This historic organization whose vision is that every mother has a voice has given me just that; a voice to share my life experiences in a meaningful way with others. The friendships I’ve made along the way are something that I treasure.
Sharing a mother’s love,
Emily Brooks
Mrs. North Dakota
International 2021