What's in a name? Well, a lot of confusion. Over the past week, a group named "One Million Moms" has campaigned against Ellen Degeneres and JC Penney for appointing her as its spokesperson. Yesterday, Ellen spoke out against One Million Moms on her show and mentioned the comments against her on their Facebook page.
Ellen's massive fan base promptly went online to take a stand against One Million Moms. They went to Google, Facebook, and Twitter and typed in "million moms." Hours later, One Million Moms deleted their Facebook page, and those searching for the group instead landed on the Million Moms Challenge -- a global health initiative founded by the UN Foundation, ABC News, and dozens of leading humanitarian organizations to raise awareness and funding to help mothers and babies around the world live healthy, happy lives. These two groups are similar in name, but not in mission.
Mistakenly, the Million Moms Challenge has been flooded with messages from hundreds of people expressing their disapproval of One Million Moms on Facebook and Twitter. The Million Moms Challenge Twitter handle is @AMillionMoms -- it can get confusing.
A week ago, when the comments began, the Million Moms Challenge was confused. As an initiative that backs access to proper nutrition, healthy pregnancies, training midwives to assist in safe deliveries around the world, why were we getting so many angry comments? Along with its community of blogging moms, the initiative and its world-renowned partners -- including ONE, Mercy Corps, CARE, March of Dimes, Baby Center, and Save the Children -- has worked hard to spread the word that these "Million Moms" are 100 percent focused on global health.
Luckily, every cloud has its silver lining. The mix up has directed thousands of new people towards pages promoting maternal and child health, and the number of Million Moms Challenge supporters is beginning to climb once again. Comments are beginning to say things like "Keep up the good work. Glad I found you looking to leave a comment on another page with a similar name!"
Let's take this opportunity to build on this momentum by raising awareness to promote healthy moms and babies everywhere. Learn more about the important work of the Million Moms Challenge at www.MillionMomsChallenge.org and let your social networks know that not all Million Moms are the same because you don't have to be a mom to help a mom, you just have to be one in a million.
Tweet me: The www.millionmomschallenge.org stands for healthy pregnancies, health births and healthy kids all around the world @amillionmoms