mother's day
Group gives area moms opportunity to socialize
Thursday, May 08, 2008
MONROE — The Moms Club of Monroe and Middletown is an active group that offers support and a bunch of activities for working mothers and their children.
The nonprofit group, which began four years ago, was launched by a group of moms who were attending a story time at the Middletown Public Library when they decided they should get together, said Darlene McKnight, president of the group.
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Moms Club of Middletown and Monroe members and children pose for a photo during their play outing at Monroe Community Park Tuesday, May 6, 2008 in Monroe, Ohio.
Moms Club of Middletown and Monroe member Michelle Noble helps her daughter Zoe down the slide during their meeting at Monroe Community Park Tuesday, May 6, 2008 in Monroe, Ohio.
Zoe Noble, 14 months, plays on the ground as Amamda Helfrich-Kuhn, left, Bridgette Dobrozs, middle, and Michelle Noble talk during a Moms club of Middletown and Monroe play outing.
Get latest headlines via RSS feedsOne of the women had heard about the international organization called the "Moms Club" and encouraged the group to start its own chapter. The group is open to moms who either work part-time, at home or who are a seasonal worker, McKnight said. Membership dues are $25 a year.
The club, which meets the first week of every month at the Monroe Church of The Nazarene on Macready Avenue, consists of 36 members who live mostly in Monroe and Middletown, she said. The average age of the moms is 30, and the children range in age from newborn to 7 years old.
"We offer a wide variety of things for both mom and child. We try and squeeze in as much as we can and offer as much as we can throughout the month for both the kids and the mom, and then they can pick and choose what they want because some work," McKnight said.
"We try to offer things through the day for the younger ones — moms — then that way, they have their nights available to be with their kids, and the ones that are older and have older kids, they can be home with their older kids to be able to do homework, sports or whatever."
Some of the activities the group offers include a once a month moms' night out. That includes attending a movie or dinner, which is alternated with a couples and a family night.
There also are play groups geared toward every stage and age of child. The outings include a visit to Cincinnati Zoo, local parks and Barn-n-Bunk Farm Market in Trenton. "We try to really frequent a lot of places and get them out there," she said.
The only real requirement of the group is to conduct one service project per year, McKnight said. Projects have included work at the Dove House, a shelter for abused women and children, a book drive for the Monroe Lending Library and a necessities drive for the Ronald McDonald House of Dayton, she said.
McKnight said the club has done a lot for her family since she joined the group three years ago.
"When you're at home, and you don't have any activities, it's hard to meet people. I had been home about three years with my oldest and had never met another mom," she said.
"I found this moms club. Not only did it give me something to do and got me out of the house, but it gave me a friendship. It got me around people with kids, it got me around people with the same life and interest, and kids of the same age. This really became a great community atmosphere for me and my child."
For more information, visit www.
momsclubmiddmonroe.org or e-mail McKnight at midd_monroemoms@yahoo.com.
Contact this reporter at (513) 483-5219 or dewilson@coxohio.com.
