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Mom Mentors

Parenting Organizations Nurture Mom and Family

By Jackie Perrin

The purpose of MOMS (Moms Offering Moms Support) Club is to provide a social outlet for mothers who are at home with their children. These groups meet only during the day, as the organization believes in reserving night and weekend time for the family. Although many members initially join for the benefit of their children, the group is focused on meeting the needs of moms. "We do have children's activities, but our purpose is to support the moms," says Linda VanDerStarre, MOMS Club NY assistant regional coordinator. "Children are welcomed to all our events and activities, except for a once-a-month MOMS Night Out."

Activities of a typical MOMS Club are planned according to member interests and might include babysitting co-ops, field trips, craft groups, weight-loss groups, book clubs and playgroups. Unique to MOMS Club is a formal community service component. As part of the chartering contract, each chapter agrees to perform a service project to benefit children and families.

Over time, a mother may move from one parenting support group to another, since different groups meet the needs of moms at different life stages. That's what Tracey VanDewerker, a 34 year-old mother of two, discovered.

VanDewerker, former president of the Penfield/East Rochester, NY, MOMS Club, was an active member for five years. "As my kids started school, I realized that there were many ways to get involved through the school, and that I no longer needed the MOMS Club," she says. "However, the mothers that I knew from the Club were till a big part of my network. We were still there for each other to help with baby-sitting or any other support we needed. We grew together as our children grew."

Then, VanDewerker's husband accepted a job in Ohio, and she had to start anew. One of the first things she did was to contact the nearest Moms Club. "I didn't know much about the area – what the good neighborhoods or school districts were, so I made a call to the VP of Membership in Dayton," she says. "I got some really great information and she told me to call her when I got to town."

VanDewerker did call her MOMS Club contact when she arrived in town, but she doesn't plan to join that group. "Their Moms Club has mostly babies and under 3's, so I am not interested in that," says VanDewerker, whose girls are 5 and 6. Now, she is looking into Mothers & More, which offers a program for parents with school-aged children.

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