Movers Work to Give All Moms a Special Day

At Thanksgiving we collect items for food banks, at Christmas, gifts for those in need — but what about moms who are spending Mother’s Day in a shelter after fleeing from an abusive partner?

Two Men and a Truck is on a mission to make Mother’s Day a little bit better for these women. In 2008, the organization launched Mover's for Moms and began collecting essential items — toiletries, soaps, lotions, baby products, and other basic items most mothers take for granted.

In 2010, Movers for Moms collected over 20,000 items which were distributed to 14 shelters across the country. This year, they hope to surpass 50,000 items. Locally, this is the second year that the Norwalk-based Two Men and a Truck franchise has been involved in Movers for Moms. Last year, they collected over 2,000 items.

“It was awesome, the thought that we were putting a smile on people’s faces, we really enjoyed it,” Yara Almodovar, office administrator at Two Men and a Truck in Norwalk told Patch. “Being a mom, I love being involved in something like this.”

Two Men and a Truck has partnered with to collect items for the Stamford Safehouse.

"The timing is so great," Cyndy Goldberg, the Domestic Violence Crisis Center's director of safehouses in Norwalk and Stamford said. "When we say that this was donated from the community for you because of your children — that means more than anything."

Stamford Safehouse relies almost entirely on donations and is always in need of the basics — fresh twin-sized sheets and blankets, pillows, laundry detergent, socks, and underwear. Basic kitchen items like oil and sugar are also in-demand.

"The women who come here, they come with nothing," Goldberg said. "They rely on us for baby bottles, sugar for their coffee — to duplicate a routine at home, even in a minor way, requires so much."

Items for the children in the shelter may be the most important thing to many mothers — toys, supplies for craft projects, little things to help lend a sense of normalcy to their situation.

"When you ask a mom anywhere in the world what matters most to them, it's their children," Goldberg said.

Donations to Movers for Moms can be dropped off at Scofield Magnet School through May 4 and at Two Men and a Truck locations in both Norwalk and Port Chester through May 6.