Hey Seekonk Moms!

Have you recently had a baby and want to meet other moms with new ones? Do you stay home with your little ones, but want to get out during the day? Would you like to meet other moms like you? Have you recently moved to the Seekonk area and want to meet new families?

If you've answered "Yes" to any (or all) of these questions, then join the club—the MOMS Club that is.

What is the MOMS Club you ask? It's Moms Offering Moms Support, and it's also a nonprofit organization started 30 years ago by Mary James, a stay-at-home mom in California. She was tired of being home alone with her kids (can you blame her?) and wanted to find friends for her baby and preschooler as well as meet other moms. After a disappointing search for moms groups/organizations that worked for her and her little ones, she decided to start the first MOMS Club chapter.

The first club chapter had great success, and Mary thought that other moms might be interested in the club too. She and other mom volunteers helped start up MOMS Club chapters all around the country and even in other countries! There are now more than 2,100 chapters in the United States alone, and internationally they have been spreading like wildfire!  

The MOMS Club can mean something different to each member. It can be a cup of coffee and some venting while the kiddos play together, organizing a party for the holidays or making a dinner for a family with a newborn. 

I never knew this organization existed until I moved to Seekonk and I read an article on a neighboring chapter in the local paper. It was just after I had my second child, and was officially a stay-at-home mom. Learning about how these moms living in the same town had come together to bond, had their kids playing together, made friendships and took various turns at giving back to their community made me want to be a part of their group.  

In the Moms Club chapter I joined, we did a lot to give back. We had food drives and fundraisers through different businesses as well as donated money to a women's shelter or provide backpacks to underprivileged kids for the new school year.

One fundraiser in particular made everyone happy. The kids would draw a picture and then order an item, like a coffee mug or trivet or oven mitt (it was a wide variety of different items), and the picture would be put onto their choice(s).  A portion of the funds raised would go to charity, The Tomorrow Fund. How wonderful to do something that brought us all together and helped others! We also had playgroups based on age groups, and my 8-year-old is still friends with a few of the kids from his playgroup, while us moms still stay in touch and go out for a rare Moms Night Out. 

During holidays, we would have parties, sometimes at someone's home (of a willing volunteer) and many times at the local library. There were lots of fun, positive experiences for everyone and a lot of friendships formed, bonds tied—and those continue. We may not have a coffee gathering, go to the mall walking or stroll through the park with our toddlers now, but we have those memories and more to make in the future!

Some of the best friends of my entire life were the wonderful women I met thanks to Mary James' idea for the club. I feel like I know where I belong when I see the faces of moms club past. So, there's nothing like the present to start anew!

Go here for more information on the MOMS Club.