Coral Ridge Moms on a Mission

EASTSIDER FEATURE
September 1, 2005

By TANYA REY
SPECIAL TO THE EASTSIDER
Three different moms have come together in Fort Lauderdale to fulfill one common goal: to help others in the community.

From a variety of backgrounds and geographical locations, Ferial Youakim, Kitty Barran and Tina O'Keeffe all have managed to land in Fort Lauderdale and agree on the need for change and assistance among lesser-known local charities.

And it is from these seeds that "Moms on a Mission" grew, founded in Fort Lauderdale in January.Lebanon native Youakim originally started "Mums on a Mission" in 1996 in Sydney, Australia, where she had been living since she was 17.

Beginning small with a grass-roots organization, the group of eight women eventually started a movement that picked up momentum, leading to the collection of hundreds of thousands of Australian dollars for various charities, and a lot of publicity for the moms; including a feature in New Idea magazine. Youakim even received a nomination for "Australian of the Year" in 2004.

Two years ago, however, when her husband's job caused them to relocate to Fort Lauderdale, Youakim closed up shop and continued her work as an image consultant for her firm, Always In Style.

Enter Barran, a public relations and media professional with experience in volunteer and nonprofit work. Moving to Fort Lauderdale from England and around the globe two years ago, Barran met Youakim at a church function where Youakim was the guest speaker, talking about her work with "Mums on a Mission" in Australia during her speech."I couldn't listen to anything she said after that because I just kept thinking about what a great idea ["Mums on a Mission"] was," Barran said.

After the speech, Barran approached Youakim about starting something similar here in Fort Lauderdale, and the two went from there, recruiting Barran's friend, English native and local real estate agent O'Keeffe for help.The local "Moms on a Mission" troupe now has eight women who sit on the board and help the organization put on lunches, coffees and brunches for local, lesser-known charities and organizations.

By organizing everything from home and using their own resources to cook and put together the events, "Moms on a Mission" manages to put forth 100 percent of the donations received for the respective charities.

Their inaugural event was April 4 for Sunland Park Elementary School's Parent Teacher Associa-tion, and raised $810 for supplies, desperately needed by the school, which serves some of the area's most under-privileged children.The objective for "Moms on a Mission" is simple and effective: to bring women of all ages, backgrounds and origins together to help generate interest in charity.

All of the women are full-time workers and mothers and serve as proof that people with children and full-time jobs can show support for nonprofits."If you just take that money that you were going to spend on lunch or coffee and let us do your lunch, then we can give it to a worthy cause," Barran said. "The only failure we have is in not trying."

Slowly gaining attention from some local businesses, the moms have managed to enlist various companies, like Eurobread, Whole Foods, Le Hair Club, and The Little Seamstress, for donations. Some local restaurants will be donating pastries, bagels and coffee to future events, beginning with the next event at 10:30 a.m. Sept. l2, where Eurobread croissants will be served.The event will be a brunch at Youakim's home in Coral Ridge and costs $20 per person, to benefit the Broward Children's Center in Pompano, a residential facility for children with special medical needs.

And as O'Keeffe excitedly said, "There's going to be chocolate at the next event, so tell all your girlfriends -- home-made chocolate!"

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