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"Because I can&amp;amp;#8217;t be with my mom on Sunday&amp;amp;#8212;she&amp;amp;#8217;s in Southern California, I&amp;amp;#8217;m in Brooklyn&amp;amp;#8212;and I wanted to do something to mark the day, I accepted an invitation to... volunteer this week at a special Mother&amp;amp;#8217;s Day event at Help U.S.A., a family domestic violence shelter in Harlem. The mothers, who&amp;amp;#8217;ve survived so much abuse, were going to be pampered, the kids were going to be jumping double-dutch and doing crafts. How could I say no? Typically, shelters like this one try to keep a low-profile to protect the women&amp;amp;#8217;s identities and whereabouts, so I had no idea what to expect&amp;amp;#8212;and I was more than a little intimidated by the confidentiality clause I had to sign at the security desk! But once I was in, I was surrounded by vibrant, smart, gossipy, women indulging in cake and brownies and waiting their turn for mini spa massages while their children played upstairs, making gifts for their mothers and putting stickers on everything they&amp;amp;#8217;d stick to&amp;amp;#8212;including my nose. One of the older girls, a bright nine year old who dreams of being a fashion designer and taking her mom to Italy, was painting a flowerpot as her Mother&amp;amp;#8217;s Day gift. She said that even though they were scheduled to leave Help U.S.A. in a few days, she was going to ask her mom if they could stay longer since she loves it at the shelter and feels happiest there. My heart broke, hearing her longing for any kind of stability&amp;amp;#8212;but with the career counseling and housing assistance the shelter provides, and the super-strong bond between this mother-daughter duo, I know that they will not just simply survive&amp;amp;#8212;but thrive on their own. And I guess that&amp;amp;#8217;s the thing about all mothers, and why they deserve our total praise this Sunday: They can suffer, sacrifice, and literally live through a hell of life-threatening abuse, and still tell their children, in all honesty, that everything will be okay. Thanks to the resources Help U.S.A. and other organizations offer, these mothers can make sure it is. If you want to help, go to helpusa.org for info on how to donate or volunteer. What&amp;#x27;s the most inspiring Mother&amp;#x27;s Day you&amp;#x27;ve ever had? Would you ever consider volunteering with your mom on Mother&amp;#x27;s Day? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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