[Sosfbay-discuss] Selling Lemonade at NBC11 Festival for Independence

[Edward]

Would we like to be some of the first to test out a new, national MomsRising project?  The idea is that lemonade and/or bake sale items could be sold with a twist.  Reflecting real-world wage differences (although donations of any amount would be accepted), they'd provide us with a suggested price list on which items would cost a different amount of money depending on where the buyer falls in the wage gap scale. Only this time moms get a break!  
 How does the suggested cost structure work?  Single moms would pay only 60 cents per item, moms would pay 73 cents, women without children would pay 90 cents, and men would pay $1.00.  (This is the actual wage gap that's alive and well in our nation).  They'll have signs we can just print out available for kids to decorate. And, don't forget that donations of any amount could be accepted so we don't have to stick to this cost structure.  The cost structure is mostly a great conversation starter, as well as a fun way to spread the word about shared issues.
INTERESTED IN BEING PART OF THIS TEST PROJECT?  Email moms at momsrising.org  with "Early Bird Baker" in the Subject line and they'll send us materials, including some how-to tips, and look to us for our feedback on what works and what doesn't work for this project.  

(They plan to roll this program out in full in October, timed with the State of Our Nation speech by their President.  So if we don't have time do this project now, we'll have another opportunity later. Early Birds will help them create the best possible program to roll out later by letting them know what works well to make our efforts together even better.)

What's the purpose of having a bake sale with cost differences?  Well, there are multiple purposes: To have fun, and to create understanding that there is a significant wage gap in our county that can be fixed.  As people are buying items, many will ask, "Why the gap?"   This is an opportunity to build public support for making our nation truly family-friendly because the short answer is: "The wage gaps aren't nearly as wide in countries with family-friendly policies in place like flexible work options, paid family leave, and subsidized childcare?and we are frankly behind the rest of the world when it comes to supporting families. We think it's time to catch up!"  They'll give us a handy sheet with common questions and answers, that have researched back up data in case we have a really tough customer.
FYI: Moms in Montana have already tested out this bake sale idea with great success!  In the Spring, they set up a bake sale table at their state capital, and over the course of the day talked to legislators, staffers, and other folks about the terrible inequities in pay for women in America.  They reported that it was a terrific day--where they made a difference and a little money, along with having a great time hanging out with friends and kids at the table.  Email moms at momsrising.org for more about how they did it!

       
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