Denver, CO

Here are a few Mother’s Day activities that go beyond just individual families:

Mother’s Day Brunch for Darfur Saturday, May 12th 11am at the Mercury Cafe in Denver. Live music, poetry readings, and a champagne brunch. Mercury Cafe is located at 2199 California Street, Denver, CO 80205.

Wellington Walk-a-thon in Wellington, CO, which is actually about 70 miles outside of Denver, but a good event never the less. Wellington Junior High School staff, students and friends, 100 strong, will walk 10 miles in an effort to raise money and awareness for Project Education Sudan. Collectively we will walk 1,000 miles, the same distance each refugee had to walk to try and find safety in Ethiopia.

A word of caution: Mother’s Day weekend is a time for the family to relax and mom to have a day off. My family usually goes out to eat on this day, and this year I thought, why not go eat some great food at the Mercury Cafe and contribute a portion of our bill to others who are not as fortunate and find themselves in life and death situations every day? Like the millions in Darfur that have been displaced. With this in mind, I must be careful not to cause my family to feel overly depressed and guilty over the unfortunate situation. Instead, I am going to work at helping my family realize that we are so very lucky to have been born here in the U.S.A. and to have all the things and opportunities that we do. It really puts things into perspective; to realize that middle class in America may have some bumps and daily grinds, but had we are fortunate to not have to experience true pain and fear everyday, like those born in Darfur. Many mothers in Darfur will not be able to enjoy this holiday, so we must remember our good fortune and provide some to help those less fortunate.

Proceeds from these events go to support savedarfur.org an organization that strives to raise public awareness for the genocide and displacement taking place in Darfur, Sudan. Please visit their website at http://www.savedarfur.org. Even small donations go a long way!