Simple ways moms are helping families torn apart at the border

By Genevieve Shaw Brown

"Everyone can do something."

That's the message Glennon Doyle, the activist and best-selling author wants to make clear when it comes to the separation of children from their parents at the border.

Under President Trump's new "zero tolerance" immigration policy, the children of men and women caught crossing the border illegally are placed in government custody while their parents await prosecution in ICE detention centers. On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order that he says will keep immigrant families together.

Since the policy went into effect, more than 2,200 children have been isolated from their parents and many are now housed in crowed shelters -- which has prompted fury from religious leaders, immigrant rights advocates and child health specialists alike.

And though Doyle has a tremendous platform and is the founder of the non-profit Together Rising, she's not nearly the only mom whose figured out a way to help.

Elana Berkowitz of Brooklyn, New York, and mom of an 8-month-old launched a site on Wednesday called StandsForKids.US. The site, she told "Good Morning America," helps people find a lemonade stand this weekend in support of kids separated from their families at our borders.

Money raised at the stands goes to a group of 14 organizations working at the border.

Lemonade stand customers, she said, can also get a free cookie for taking action.

"They can sign up to take part in the major national day of protest on June 30 or they can write a letter or postcard to a kid being held without their families," Berkowitz said, "which National Domestic Workers Alliance will help us deliver."

She and her collaborator Avani Agarwal wanted a way to take action for whole families, in a way that would be appropriate for kids and they would undertand.

Agarwal's 6-year-old son wrote the note that will be shared at the stands.

Elana Berkowitz

This sign will be at the lemonade stands designed to raise money for organizations assisting families separated at the border.

"Everyone is grappling with this and I think sometimes the pain others are experiencing can overwhelm people into inaction," the note said. "This isn't the time to be a passive citizen. So this is our little, small contribution."

Staci Wasco of New York City is another mom who wants to make a change in any way she can. She used Resistbot to contact her representatives.

"Text RESIST to 504-09," she said. "It will help you find your reps and auto-draft letters for you. You basically need to give them your address and a sentence or two about why separating families is cruel. Then it will auto email the reps and also can tweet for you, even if you don’t have Twitter."

A group of photographers, some of them parents, have come together to offer family photo sessions for a donation to the ACLU in lieu of their fees. The amount varies by photographer.

The Families Belong Together site links participating professionals with people who want to help by making a donation. Photo sessions will take place in July and there are participating photographers in 18 states so far.

Doyle has raised $1.5 million with Together Rising to fund a legal team for children detained in Arizona detention centers and their families, according to the organization social media pages. She wrote on her Instagram page about a talk she gave last week in Falls Church, Virginia.

She posted a photo of two young girls who were hosting a bake stand to raise money for Together Rising.

Everyone Can Do Something. At one of my town hall meeting in Falls Church, VA last week, a mother stood and said: "How do we talk to our children about what’s going on at the border? How do we tell our kids that babies are being stripped from their mothers’ arms?" ——— I answered: "I can tell you what I tell my kids. You know the story about what Mister Rogers’ mother told him? She said, 'When scary things happen: look for the helpers. There will always be helpers.' I tell my kids that story. And then I take it further. I tell them that it’s not enough to look for the helpers. We must BECOME THE HELPERS. I tell them we will not surrender to despair. We will not wallow in heartbreak or anger without taking action. Heartbreak without action might as well be apathy. No. As for us and our house: We will not stand for terrified babies being torn from their mothers’ arms. As for us and our house, we will not just feel sad -- we will feel and then ACT." ——- This weekend, a Love Warrior mama sent this photo to us. She wrote: "I wanted to share that my first grader and her little sister recently held a bake sale to raise funds for your emergency Love Flash Mob to reunify children separated at the border." ——— These fierce Love Warriors raised $248.50 in one hour for Together Rising. Every penny we receive from them is going to boots-on-the-ground advocacy and reunification of the border families. Thank you for raising The Helpers, Mama. Brava! LOVE, G & @together.rising We are still accepting tax-deductible donations for lawyers and social workers for detained children. As always, every penny we receive goes toward advocacy for and reunification of the families separated at the border. Please give at the link in my bio ????www.togetherrising.org/give

A post shared by Glennon Doyle (@glennondoyle) on Jun 19, 2018 at 8:19am PDT

"How do we talk to our children about what’s going on at the border? How do we tell our kids that babies are being stripped from their mothers’ arms?" she said she's been asked.

"I answered, 'I can tell you what I tell my kids. You know the story about what Mister Rogers’ mother told him? She said, 'When scary things happen, look for the helpers. There will always be helpers.' I tell my kids that story. And then I take it further. I tell them that it’s not enough to look for the helpers. We must BECOME THE HELPERS,'" Doyle wrote.

"I tell them we will not surrender to despair. We will not wallow in heartbreak or anger without taking action," she continued. "Heartbreak without action might as well be apathy. No. As for us and our house: We will not stand for terrified babies being torn from their mothers’ arms. As for us and our house, we will not just feel sad -- we will feel and then ACT.'"