As God is my witness . . .

Today is for all those single parents and struggling families trying to raise children out of poverty. Trust me I know, it’s a little like trying to grow a rose in concrete. But today is your day. It’s Red Nose Day - inspired by the entertainment industry and celebrities around the world to raise money and awareness to empower people to break free from poverty. I’m far from famous but this effort strikes me at my core and I urge you to support it.

You see, I’m one of those roses, thorns and all. Thirty years ago I was a single mother on welfare living in subsidized housing. Nothing I have came easily for me but I have been blessed with three things; amazing family support, powerful intellect, and a fighting spirit.

The first day I walked into a welfare office with my infant son in tow I ended up siting on a social worker’s desk demanding to be treated with dignity and refusing to move until that happened.  Bureaucracy and ignorance would prove to be a formidable beast but from that day I focused on biting and scratching my way out of that hole like Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With The Wind:

“. . .  as God is my witness they’re not going to lick me. I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again.”

I’m pretty sure if Vivien Leigh were alive today she would be wearing a red nose. I applaud the entertainment industry for being champions of this cause and using celebrity to draw attention to what is perhaps the most important effort we can focus on, raising children to be good citizens of the world. And that cannot happen without giving parents the tools to do it.