Moms in need get a boost

Movers for Moms collects items for women in shelters in Dane and Rock counties.
Jason Busch, Online Editor,

From the pages of In Business magazine.

Mother’s Day is supposed to be a beautiful time for the women in Greater Madison. However, for too many mothers the holiday is spent in homeless shelters, driven there by domestic abuse.

This spring, local businesses will be doing something to make the holidays a little brighter for mothers in shelters on Mother’s Day.

Movers for Moms is an annual drive from TWO MEN AND A TRUCK that raises essential care items to make life a little more comfortable for mothers in need.

In 2017, more than 125 businesses across Dane and Rock counties served as donation locations and collected 21,000 items to benefit moms in shelters.

To make this year’s drive even more successful, the company is seeking additional donation locations in the community. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK employees will deliver branded boxes shortly before the drive begins, along with posters and window clings, and take care of all campaign promotion. Donation sites simply need to host a box and raise items.

“Movers for Moms’ impact has continued to grow every year,” notes TWO MEN AND A TRUCK General Manager Lisa Paley. “This year, we’re hoping to continue that by growing the donation base to 135 businesses. With so many generous businesses already on board, adding new businesses will help reach the goal of 23,000 donations.

“More businesses participating in Movers for Moms means more people are made aware of homelessness for mothers in our community,” Paley adds. “Homelessness is unfortunately very real in our community, and each new donation site spreads that message to more people.”

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Businesses across Dane and Rock counties can participate as donation locations. TWO MEN AND A TRUCK hopes to have 135 businesses participate this year with a goal of 23,000 donations collected.

The 2018 drive will run from April 4 through May 9, with donations delivered the Friday before Mother’s Day. This year’s recipient shelters will be Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS), YWCA Madison, and YWCA of Rock County.

People may donate soft goods such as:

  • Women’s pajamas, sweatpants, and sweatshirts;
  • Body spray;
  • New or gently used kitchen utensils;
  • New bath towel sets (body and face);
  • African-American-friendly hair care products;
  • Laundry baskets/hampers;
  • New mops and brooms;
  • Paper/plastic products (plates, bowls, cups, cutlery, and extra spoons);
  • Gas gift cards;
  • Metro Transit bus passes;
  • Major retailer and grocery gift cards;
  • Twin size bed sheets;
  • Twin size mattress covers;
  • Pillows;
  • Baby products, including diapers, wipes, rash cream/ointment, lotion, shampoo, and powder; and
  • Non-perishable food items.

“These items are essential to supporting women in shelters not only today, but for tomorrow,” says Paley. “They make life more comfortable and help provide women with resources to get and keep a job. In addition, such a large volume of donations allows the YWCA and DAIS to allocate their resources to other projects and maximize their impact.”

Companies wishing to be donation sites can contact Michael Fiez at (608) 669-9022 or email him at Michael.Fiez@twomen.com.

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This article appears in the March 2018 issue of In Business Madison.

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