Purposeful Perspectives: Mother’s Day

Like many holidays this day can bring many emotions. Mother’s Day can be a day filled with happiness and family. Mother’s Day can bring grief for a lost loved one. It can be a day filled with regret or challenged relationships. It may emphasize the longing for a child who has not yet come into your life. Or it could be a day to celebrate friendship and families created out of love instead of blood. There are a few lucky people who only know happiness and family, but for many of us, the vast idea of ‘motherhood’ can bring any mix of these emotions.

I know that I am so lucky. My mom was amazing. She was bright and funny, a person that everyone in the room gravitated to. She was love. Love for me and my brother. Love for my dad, her husband of 25+ years. Love for her family and friends. She was giving. Giving in the traditional way, sure. But maybe more importantly, giving in her love and support. She gave love, wisdom, and stability to me and my brother. She gave her time to our community. She gave humor and trust to her friends. She gave dedication and leadership to her career. She gave care to everyone she met. She was intuitive. She could tell if someone was having a bad day and needed a hug, a joke, a batch of cookies, or a shoulder to cry on. She was the person you would call if you needed someone. Her name was Pam.

What about those kids who don’t have a Pam?

I have the honor of sitting on the Georgia CASA Board, and when I think of my “why” it’s because I know there are children out there who do not have a mom like mine. Perhaps they have lost their mom, or they have a mom who is not willing and/or able to pour the love and support into their child(ren) at this specific time in their life. Every family and every story looks different. In an ideal world, every child’s story is a success story. Statistics show that children in the foster care system with a CASA volunteer are more likely to reach permanency in a shorter time period. I can’t give every child a ‘Pam’, but I can try to give children in foster care an advocate. A person to bring them love, wisdom, and stability when life has shown them that it does not exist. I hope that one day they can celebrate Mother’s Day with a family that continues that support.

In 2024, in Georgia, 15,491 children came through the foster care system. Of those, 8,367 children were supported by 2,522 CASA volunteers. With your support we can do more. We can give more kids a ‘Pam’ to help get them through this Mother’s Day and all that are in their future.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, no matter what you are celebrating, remembering, grieving or hoping for.

As an organization dedicated to supporting children and families in crisis, we recognize that holidays can be a delicate and nuanced time for many. In this series, Purposeful Perspectives, we asked our staff members to select a season, month, or day that is meaningful to them to share with our CASA community. Thank you for joining us as we take a deeper look behind the celebrations that fill our lives.