With the theme of Soaring to Greater Heights, the Motherless Daughters Foundation will hold its 3rd Annual Fundraiser Gala and Silent Auction on Friday, July 31, 2015. The semi-formal affair will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Georgia International Convention Center at 2000 Convention Center Concourse in Atlanta.
Riverdale Mayor Dr. Evelyn Wynn-Dixon will serve as keynote speaker. Special guests will include Atlanta First LadySarah-Elizabeth Reed, an affordable housing developer who serves as brand ambassador for Motherless Daughters, along with Motherless Daughters honorary mother Xernona Clayton, CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation, Inc.
WALR KISS 104.1 FM’s Public Affairs Director Twanda Black — host of “Business in the Black” and “Good News Gospel” — will emcee the gala, which is sponsored by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The event that serves as the nonprofit’s major fundraiser will kick off with a walk down the red carpet and include a seated dinner, entertainment, and silent auction of exciting items such as travel, cultural and dining experiences, autographed memorabilia and unique treasures.
Celebrating its third anniversary this spring, the Motherless Daughters Foundation provides a mentoring program for girls ages nine to 15 living without support of their natural mothers as a result of unforeseen circumstances. Through Motherless Daughters, girls are paired with relatable mentors, and also have an opportunity to participate in summer camps plus year-round educational and enrichment experiences. Girls receive scholarships and donations of clothing and school supplies and more. President/executive director Rassalyn Willis — a community activist, entrepreneur (owner of Xclusive Hair Studio and Spa in historic College Park), wife and mother of four — founded Motherless Daughters. “Motherless Daughters is dedicated to the self-empowerment of our young ladies,” says Willis. “Our life skills and educational development programs develop girls into confident young women through education and exposure, giving them endless opportunities.”
Individual gala tickets are $65; tables of eight are $500. The 2015 goal is $50,000 to go toward providing scholarships, career development programs, school supplies and clothing, computer purchases, housing for homeless individuals participating in the programs and transportation to personal enrichment events. For tickets, go to eventbrite.com. For more information, go to motherlessdaughtersfoundation.org or call (404) 957-4300.
Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful mother Mrs. Alice May Holness, whom I have written about in “Alice May, It’s Your Day (Happy Mother’s Day to All Mothers).” The older I get, the more I appreciate all that makes her uniquely her. Her no-nonsense Jamaican sensibilities tempered with her fierce love for her family and church family. Her interest in modern pop culture (she knows who Nicki Minaj is by watching “American Idol”) and commitment to seemingly old school values like cooking almost daily for family AND friends. Her commitment to femininity (one of her beliefs is that every woman must have a scent) and devotion to working out hard in the gym (her trainer has praised for her strength although she is one of the older ones in her group).
I am always happy to celebrate my mother on Mother’s Day!…And yet for many others, Mother’s Day is not necessarily happy…Because I want to honor all experiences on Mother’s Day, I’m devoting today’s blog post to those who may be divided about celebrating today or who would skip this day altogether if they could…Below are seven stories about these types of experiences…
1. “An Open Letter to Pastors (A Non-Mom Speaks About Mother’s Day)” by Amy Young
Excerpt – A pastor asked all mothers to stand. On my immediate right, my mother stood and on my immediate left, a dear friend stood. I, a woman in her late 30s, sat. I don’t know how others saw me, but I felt dehumanized, gutted as a woman. Real women stood, empty shells sat. I do not normally feel this way. I do not like feeling this way. I want no woman to ever feel this way in church again. – See more at: timewarp.com.
2. “My Baby Was Never Born. But I Was a Mom, Too” by Blane Bachelor
Excerpt – I’ve never been a huge fan of Michelle Duggar, but when she made headlines last year by holding a memorial service for her stillborn daughter, complete with images of the baby, I felt a certain solidarity with her. I’m sure her motivation wasn’t to shock people or stir up controversy; instead, she was simply validating the existence of her daughter to the world. Isn’t that the least we owe our lost children? See more at: washingtonpost.com.
3. “How It Feels To Not Have A Mom On Mother’s Day” by Madison Tate
Excerpt -Before she passed, I hadn’t considered myself to be a heavily religious person. I was always driven by curiosity, and facts and science answered my questions. However, as soon as I lost her, I knew I had to have faith. See more at elitedaily.com.
4. “#ThisIsWhatBlackMotherhoodLooksLike: Why I Gave My Child Up for Adoption” by Aprille Franks-Hunt
Excerpt – The dark cloud of acceptance in the instances of unwarranted shame that comes with being called a, “birth mom.” Which by the way, something about that term, “birth mother/mom,” seems so dismissive to me. As if, we’re no longer mothers because we chose to allow another woman to become one. See more at ebony.com.
5. “Muslim daughter and Christian mother celebrate unity on Mother’s Day” by Colleen O’Connor
Excerpt – When Alana Raybon converted to Islam, her mother, Patricia, — a devout Christian — was devastated, feeling that she had failed her faith and family. She also felt very angry at her daughter for fragmenting their family. See more at: denverpost.com.
6. “Recovering From a Nightmare, One Mother’s Day at a Time” by Rick Hampson
Excerpt – On the first Mother’s Day after her husband killed their two young children and then himself, several questions faced Zoey Mendoza: How do you survive a mother’s worst nightmare? How do you be a mother to kids you can no longer hug or kiss? How do you endure a holiday that honors something so precious that was torn from you so suddenly? See more at usatoday.com.
7. “Black Women and Mother Loss: 5 Steps for Getting through Mother’s Day” by Liz Alexander
Excerpt – There isn’t adequate language to describe the pain of mother loss and the permanent void it leaves. In fact, Hope Edelman, author of Motherless Daughters, reminds us that the pain and the void experienced differs depending on several different factors: the type of relationship the daughter and mother had while the mother was living; the age of the daughter when the loss occurred; and the actual cause of the loss (such as physical illness, suicide, abandonment, mental illness, etc.) Nonetheless, mother-loss has profound effects on a daughter’s identity, self-esteem, faith, and the overall quality of her life. See more at forharriet.com.
In last week’s episode of Mary Mary’s reality show, Tina was still tripping about Erica wanting to do her own thang but unlike in previous episodes none of Tina’s huffing and puffing could blow Erica’s solo plans… and the Marys couldn’t really avoid each other because they were confined to a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean…
Warryn’s Birthday Bash
This week’s episode begins with the final preparations being made for a birthday party for Warryn, Erica’s husband…As the party was being set up outside, the wind knocked the cake that had been placed on a table to the ground, leaving Erica’s sister Goo to find another cake just an hour before the party…But a while later, everything is set up, Goo was able to find an even better cake that than the first one and people are enjoying themselves, eating, laughing and all of that. Warryn and Erica’s daughter Krista sings a sweet song to her father for his birthday. In the midst of this, Erica and Warryn suddenly realize that Tina & Teddy are M.I.A. (Missing In Action).
Tina & Teddy
Guess where Tina & Teddy are? They are in the studio with Grammy Award-winning producer Aaron Lindsey. Although Tina is grumbling about being forced to embark on a solo career, she starts to move forward and decides to meet with Lindsey to help her with a new song. Erica calls her sister during the session and asks her why she and Teddy are not at the party. It is only then that Tina realizes that she scheduled her studio session on the same day as her brother-in-law’s birthday party. Instead of dropping everything and heading to the party, Tina tells her sister she is going to stay in the studio and learned to be that way from Erica as Erica missed other family events in the past due to her career. “You pushed me out of Mary Mary,” she declares.
Meet Me in St. Louis
Honey Atkins
It is now time for the Marys’ last show in St. Louis. The only problem is that Honey, Erica and Tina’s mother, who happens to be joining them for this performance has no idea what’s been going on with her feuding daughters…Erica, who has gotten sick of Tina’s constant testifying, has some advice for his sister about their final show. “Steer clear of the stabbing and murdering…Stick to the victorious part of your testimony.” And y’all know Tina…She’s not bowing down to anyone. “My life is my life. If you have a problem with that, then you are just going to have a problem.” Prior to the show, Mary Mary is interviewed on “Afternoons on 11” on KPLR in St. Louis about their final show and Erica’s solo album. During the interview, Tina sounds like she is also excited about pursuing a solo career, but Erica wonders if “Interview Tina” is the real Tina…Time will tell…
Cry Together
Back in the hotel room, Erica starts talking about the show and lets it slip that their St. Louis show is Mary Mary’s last show…Honey blurts out, “I didn’t know. Oh my God. You’re about to make me cry.” Erica explains that Tina has a lot going on with her book, a solo album, an R&B album with Teddy, etc. and that she has a lot going on too. “I’ve been overwhelmed and overworked, and I want to focus on me for once.” Shortly after, Tina comes into the room and gets mad at her sister. “Why you got Mommy crying, dummy?” Goo starts tearing up too and admits that she doesn’t like the news either. In spite of the tears and name calling, Erica is not moved. “I know it’s a hard pill to swallow for my family, but I’m not backing down.” Well, she said that!
Solo Sound Check
Although Honey is sad about the news that her daughters are splitting up their group, she comes to the sound check to get a preview of the final performance. Instead of being a sound check for Mary Mary, however, Tina dominates the sound check and Honey gets to hear Tina’s solo music. Tina begins to sing her new song “Destiny.” Although it is just a sound check, Honey stands with one arm in the air, swaying, like she is a member of an audience, instead of nearly standing alone among empty chairs. “If that don’t reach somebody and touch somebody, I don’t know. They wasn’t listening.” After listening to Tina , Honey begins to change her mind about her daughters’ solo music. “What she dealt with, what she overcame, the world needs to know that.” But Goo worries that if Tina and Erica become strictly solo artists, the music industry will cause them to compete with each other…Goo has a point…Prayerfully, that won’t be the case…
The Show
The time for the last Mary Mary show has finally arrived…Although Tina is late, she does up and it’s show time…Before her performance, Tina testifies as you know she would about struggling with unfaithfulness in her marriage and explains how the song “Destiny” came to be….And then she sings…”I’ve got a destination in my view. The road may be bumpy there, but I’m pressing through.” The humbled resolve in her lyrics is so compelling that even Erica realizes that she was wrong to try to censor her sister’s testimony. “I take back everything I said.” Although Honey saw Tina sing the song in the sound check, she is touched again. “Her attitude. Her disposition. She is a new person.”
Cancer Schmancer
During last week’s episode, Erica gets a mammogram and is told that she needs to go back to the doctor’s office for further testing. As her family has a history of cancer, she is justifiably concerned. After she gets home back in L.A. after the St. Louis concert, she finally hears back from the doctor. Her doctor tells her there was a mix up at the lab, and the results of her test were actually negative. Praise God for sure, but what is going on at that lab that allowed test results to be mixed up??!! You can’t play with people’s lives like that…Still Warryn is so relieved and happy, he decides he will check out Erica’s lady lumps for himself now that the doctor is done with them….LOL…
Reunited
No, Mary Mary didn’t decide to reunite but Tina may be reuniting with Mitch. Yes, that Mitch. The Mitch that Mary Mary fired and the Mitch that sued them…She meets him at a restaurant and tells him about her plans about recording a solo album…Apparently, she has already written 12 songs although she wasn’t originally planning to be a solo artist. “All of these songs started coming to me.” Mitch is excited for her and says, “You are one of the biggest stars I’ll ever meet in my life even though you don’t care about being a star.” That is a poignant and incredibly sweet statement. Maybe Tina’s destiny is to be a solo star…And maybe Mitch can be forgiven….Jesus does tell us to forgive seventy times seven times sooo maybe Mitch can be forgiven…Maybe…
Will Mary Mary stay apart? Will Mitch reunite with Tina?
Hopefully, these questons will be answered in next week’s episode because that’s all I’ve got for this week 🙂
