“I wish I could be volunteering for more organizations and causes I care about. I have really had to focus my time and energy on one organization.”

There are so many wonderful organizations working on some of the most pressing social issues of our time. These were some of the causes and organizations moms said they care about. Sign up for email lists, listen to calls to action, and give time and resources (if you can). Many of the organizations listed have chapters and affiliates around the country. Find yours!

But first, please watch this genius video from the one and only Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the biggest buzz word in progressive politics: The Green New Deal. This is arguably one of the most important policy priorities of our time.

Gun Control

• Everytown for Gun Safety grew out of the horrific school shooting at Sandyhook Elementary

• Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America includes tools and opportunities for becoming a gun control advocate from the perspective of a mom

Reproductive Justice

• NARAL Pro-Choice America is a political advocacy group focused on fighting for women’s reproductive rights and freedom

• Planned Parenthood is the country’s leading sexual and reproductive healthcare provider

• Center for Reproductive Rights is the world’s foremost legal advocate for securing women’s access to quality reproductive health care

Paid Family Medical Leave

• A Better Balance is advancing paid leave laws around the country so that all workers can securely savor the joys and weather the inevitable crises that life delivers without worrying about how to pay the bills 

• PL+US is a working to win paid family medical leave for all families

• National Partnership for Women and Families is working with lawmakers and advocates across the country to support a range of innovative proposals to make paid family and medical leave available to all working families

• MomsRising is working on a #paidleave campaign

Note: Many states are pushing legislation at the state and local level. Find an organization in your state that is fighting for you.

child advocacy

• Friends of the Children pairs children with a salaried, professional mentor from kindergarten through high school graduation—12+ years, no matter what

• Children’s Defense Fund provides a strong, effective and independent voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby or speak for themselves

• MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership is a national organization that fuels the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships for America’s young people

• Zero to Three Is an advocacy organization that promotes policies that improve the lives of events and their families

• No Kid Hungry fights childhood hunger through innovative school meal programs

• The Trevor Project is a great organization for supporting youth in the LGBTQ+ community

• Children’s Institute believes in starting early because investments in young children’s education, health, and safety are proven to improve lifetime outcomes

• Darkness to Light is a non-profit committed to empowering adults to prevent child sexual abuse

Health Care

• American Academy of Pediatrics is the premiere organization advocating on behalf of children’s health

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is changing the health culture in America

• Kaiser Family Foundation is one of the leading organizations for health policy resources

• Families USA is the leading voice for U.S. health care consumers

Environmental Justice

• Sierra Club Foundation promotes climate solutions, conservation, and movement building through a powerful combination of strategic philanthropy and grassroots advocacy

• World Wildlife Federation’s mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth

• Environmental Defense Fund is fighting to defend air, water and the climate future

• Natural Resource Defense Council works to defend our air, water, communities and wild places

• The Nature Conservancy is tackling some of the toughest problems facing people and nature today, replicating good ideas to save many places and improve people’s lives

Other ORGANIZATIONS DOING great WORK

• Supermajority is a shiny, new membership-based organization co-founded by former Planned Parent Federation of America president Cecile Richards whose sole purpose is to engage women in causes they care about

• Moms Rising is “Where moms and people who love them go to change our world”

• Every Mother Counts is fighting to make sure women around the globe have a safe and healthy birth experience

• RAICES for if you are outraged at how our country has been systematically violating the rights of families at the U.S.-Mexico border

• Indivisible is a grassroots organization grown out of anger from the 2016 presidential elections

• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) advocates for victims and attempts to change policy surrounding domestic violence

• National Organization for Women (NOW) is an activist organization, foundation and PAC that advocates for equal rights for women

• Mental Health America is a national advocate for overall mental health and well being

• National Women’s Law Center has worked for over 40 years to enact policies and laws on behalf of women and families

• Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the leading voice for the LGBTQ+ community and the fight for equality

• PFLAG supports families of loved ones in the LGBTQ+ community

• Color of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization

• Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is the country’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, which operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE)

This list could go on forever…so many great progressive organizations doing really meaningful work! If you don’t see a cause you care about, check out Guidestar and Charity Navigator, two groups that grade nonprofit organizations on myriad of criteria.