Mother’s Day ideas: 11 amazing things you can do to help moms right now

This Mother’s Day, you can send your mom flowers, take her to an overpriced brunch in a crowded restaurant, try to revive the pasta necklace trend—or you can give her something much more meaningful.

Here are a few organizations that make a real impact on the lives of mothers around the world. We can thank moms everywhere by supporting an organization that helps them succeed by supporting them or their children.

Every Mother Counts: Donations here help ensure safe pregnancies and births around the world. Projects include training birthing assistants in Haiti, providing pregnancy care in Tanzania, helping indigenous women become midwives in Guatemala, or providing prenatal care for low-income women in New Mexico and Florida. One hundred percent of proceeds from these rose chocolates go to Every Mother Counts, so while Mom is nibbling on dark chocolate-salted caramel and peanut butter candy, she’ll be helping moms around the world. Donate here.
Operation Shower: Since it was founded in 2007, this organization has worked to make the lives of military families a little easier, one baby shower at a time. They send baby shower supplies and newborn baby boxes to military families preparing to welcome new members while their spouse is overseas serving in the U.S. military, on active duty herself with a group that is deploying, been injured during deployment, or have a partner who was injured during deployment. It’s just one way of saying thanks to the men and women of the military. Donate here
National Bail Out Day: Mothers account for approximately 80% of the women behind bars. Additionally, many women are held in jail simply because they can’t afford to pay bail, locked up for being poor. In the lead-up to Mother’s Day, SONG (Southerners on New Ground), the Movement for Black Lives, and other partners are organizing a Mother’s Day bail-out to help mothers nationwide pay their cash bond and spend the day with their families. Donate here
Carry the Future: This organization relies on donations and volunteers to bring humanitarian aid to refugee families around the world. Donations go to things like child carriers, baby beds, diapers, and survival items to refugees trying to raise their families in camps. Donate here
International Rescue Committee: This group works around the world to help women and children. This Mother’s Day, it is offering newborn supply kits, healthy pregnancy kits, years of schooling for young girls, and more, all of which can purchased in your mom’s name. They’ll even send a card she can open on the big day, showing that she helped provide healthy and safe deliveries, blankets for newborns, and adequate medical care to mothers in need. Donate here
Mothers Against Police Brutality: This group unites mothers nationwide to help victims of police brutality and deadly force. Not only do they support families affected by police violence, but they also fight for civil rights, police accountability, and policy reform, while urging better police training. Donate here
Heifer International: Heifer International works to provide mothers with the gift of self-reliance. The idea is that if you buy a woman a cow, a goat, honeybees, or the titular heifer, she’ll be able to farm, trade, and feed her family. Heifer also teaches mothers the entrepreneurial skills they need to provide for their families and contribute to their communities for years to come. Donate here
Save the Children: Save the Children works in a variety of ways to make lives better for mothers. They offer micro loans for women to start their own businesses, provide newborn babies with care packages, help moms start a garden to feed their families, or buy a health center something as simple as an accurate baby scale that can help save children’s lives. Donate here
Newborns in Need: This group focuses on babies in the U.S. It distributes diapers, clothing, and baby gear to hospitals, shelters, and families across the country in the hopes of giving every child a good start in life. It also helps grieving families say goodbye to their newborns who have passed away. The group is always looking for donations to continue their good work in the form of cash, goods, or hand-knit clothing. Donate here
Global Midwife Education Foundation (GMEF): This group works to reduce maternal and infant mortality in remote, rural areas of the developing world. They train women to provide childbirth assistance and newborn care in their own communities. GMEF also helps provide access to clean water and sanitation. Donate here
The Homeless Prenatal Program: In the shadow of Silicon Valley, hundreds of babies are born to women living without homes. This nonprofit helps them through pregnancy and childbirth, and provides housing help, prenatal education programs, parenting and child development support, financial education classes, domestic violence and substance abuse help, and emergency support to families in or on the brink of homelessness. Donate here