Global Soccer Mom: 'Start Right Where You Are'

Wheaton author Shayne Moore jokes that you could imagine her strutting in D.C. in her Armani suit and Jimmy Choo shoes acting like she owns Capitol Hill; after all, she has actively lobbied for the past nine years for legislation that helps protect the poor and disenfranchised in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has written letters to Congressmen and women, sent emails and called the White House. But her wardrobe? More like sweats and slippers. 

“That’s what’s so fun about this,” Moore said from her suburban home. “I can make a phone call and then change the laundry. Or I can pull up an article about malaria nets and read it in the carpool line.”

In her book Global Soccer Mom: Changing the World is Easier Than You Think—which she'll sign in Glen Ellyn Thursday, Feb. 24—Moore suggests a new model for women today who want to raise their children, but also have voice and influence in the world.  

“We, as women, sorely underestimate our influence. And it is absolutely appropriate that when we have small children, our worlds are really small. I love that it was me doing the crafts and sitting on floor with puzzles. I love my job as a mom. I’ve come to realize it’s not an either/or situation; that I can be the mom, and it doesn’t influence my effect on the global level when it comes to issues of global need. I can raise my voice whether it’s in my own group of friends, in my community of faith, with the rotary club, with my town, or with my congressman.”

Moore’s journey started in 2002 when she decided to join The One Campaign, a grassroots advocacy organization that centers its efforts on fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease, mainly in Africa.

“They don’t want your money; they want your voice,” Moore said. “[One] raises awareness and puts pressure on our domestic and world leaders to keep their promises to the world’s poorest people.”

During her first few phone calls to legislators, Moore recalled there were voices besides her own. 

“My kids were little,” she laughed. “I had a little kid in an exersaucer, making noise in the background.”

Nine years later, Moore continues to be active with One, and has added other agencies to her list of organizations that help further the fight against global poverty and disease. Now a proud soccer mom of three children (a ninth grader, sixth grader and a third grader), Moore has found a way to balance her carpool schedule with her devotion to educating herself and others about making a difference in the world and thinking globally.

 HIV/AIDS is ‘Decimating Communities’

After making countless calls to advocate for AIDS relief, Moore traveled to Africa in 2005 to see for herself the devastation of the disease. While visiting a Kenyan hospital, Moore shadowed a nurse. A particular mother caught Moore’s attention, as she watched her take her small son to a pharmacy counter, a makeshift plywood counter, and receive medicine.

Curious, Moore asked the nurse, “Are those her ARVs?”

“Yes,” the nurse answered.

Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), Moore knew, could be life-saving medicine for a young mother with HIV. “A Mom on ARVs can live for 20 or 30 years,” Moore explained, “so she can raise her children—as opposed to a mother who has full-blown AIDS who would probably die within a year.”

Moore became excited, because she knows ARVs are extremely hard to come by. And this was rural Kenya.

The nurse continued. “The Kenyan government just got a grant from PEPFAR. Do you know what PEPFAR is?”

Moore exhaled. “I’m standing in Africa, and I’m thinking, ‘Do I know what PEPFAR is? Yes!’”

PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, is an initiative of the U.S Government to help save lives of those suffering with HIV/AIDS.

“President Bush signed it into law in 2005 and it was the largest amount of money committed to a specific region for a specific problem in history. And I lobbied for PEPFAR. I made a phone call. I called the White House. I’d never called a congressman or the White House before for any political reason. Here I am, the first time calling the White House, and it’s for PEPFAR because I think this is a good idea that we get some money and we help the AIDS pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

“That experience in ’05 was the full circle of my advocacy efforts,” says Moore. “I supported that funding. It rained down on me. Wow, I’m her lobbyist. That was a very pivotal moment for me to realize, as a person of faith, this is a really tangible and real way to be the voice for the voiceless.”

Editor's note: This is the first of a series of two stories. The next one, on Moore's thoughts on getting started as an advocate and living in Wheaton. Moore will be signing copies of her book, Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. at The Bookstore, 475 N. Main St., in Glen Ellyn. RSVP to (630) 469-2891 or justbook475@yahoo.com.