Behind the Initiative
Meet the Mulligans
Hello and thank you for being here! I'm Emily Mulligan, Founder and Chief Enthusiast behind this loved-up initiative. My gorgeous daughters, Daisy and Polly are its inspiration.
In 2020, I felt like I'd finally found my purpose in life. I was revelling in motherhood with then-one-year-old Daisy and had decided to grow our family on my own terms, using a sperm donor. I was overjoyed when I found out I was pregnant with Polly, but I hadn't expected how much I'd start worrying about my own mortality:
What if something happens to me during childbirth or while the girls are growing up?
I wished I could guarantee both my children a lifetime of access to my love, support and wisdom, but the sort of resource I was envisioning just didn't exist.
Tragedy Unfolded
Already inundated with news of the pandemic, along came another sobering reminder of life's unpredictability.
I'd been closely following the pregnancy of an American solo-mum-to-be on Instagram, when her daily stories stopped. She must have had the baby, I assumed delightedly. Then the devastating reality broke: she'd died giving birth to her beautiful little star, Nova.
In that woman's honour, I resolved to create the very thing I had been searching for - a means to ensure my girls would always know my love and pride, even in my absence.
"While we may not be invincible, our love can be."
Emily Mulligan
Sharing it with the world
Three years into compiling my personal Project, I came across this heart-wrenching post in a Facebook group:
Many mums had responded to this woman with their ideas: video recordings, heart-beating teddy bears, inscribed jewellery, and wedding day gifts. It struck me how significant a template like my own Project could be in lessening her burden.
Having already laid the tech-groundwork and put such thought into the times a child needs their mother's love, I could make this keepsaking process straightforward. Plus it would be manageable during times of treatment when she had her phone handy.
I shared screenshots from my Project in the comments, and offered to create something similar for her. To my surprise, the next morning, my inbox was full of requests from other mothers wanting their own Love Mum Project. They were amazed by the concept, calling it genius.
By the end of the weekend, I had committed to creating a project for over a hundred women. I didn't know how I would accomplish it, only that a new dimension of my life's purpose had just unfolded.
Listen to more of the story here...
Organisations I love
Dying to Know Day is an annual campaign that empowers all adult Australians to be strong self-advocates for their own personal planning when it comes to their future.
A site aimed at facilitating conversation and providing resources for grief management & end of life discussion.
A for-purpose organisation that delivers evidence-led professional therapy and support services to children and families who have experienced or are at risk of harm.
Supporting, empowering and enhancing the lives of all young women affected by cancer and severe chronic and terminal illnesses.
A not for profit organisation which aims to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their finite lives.
An Australian charity supporting grieving kids and teenagers to heal after a death. They provide free camps, programs and resources.