Special Needs Moms for Moms: An Engaged Community

SpecialNeedsMomsforMoms.com was launched in October 2o11 for mothers of special needs children to connect, find information, share and offer support and be inspired to engage. In just 4 short months the site has grown to 278 members. Every member of this social network is building a stronger special needs community by engaging with other mothers on a similar journey.

I want to highlight the strengths on Special Needs Moms for Moms and build upon what they do best. The members are a diverse group of mothers who share authentically.

Building Community One Year at a Time. Grand Valley Moms for Moms earns media attention at one year anniversary milestone.

Lindsay Ellis and Grand Valley Moms for Moms celebrated a wildly successful first year on Wednesday and deemed a spotlight on ABC’s KJCT Channel 8 Evening News. In the past local mother, Lindsay Ellis had tried her own hand at blogging about things to do with kids in the Grand Valley, but struggled to reach an audience. One year ago she discovered Moms for Moms Communities™ and learned of the opportunity to run her own social network for mothers. In just 365 days, 579 mothers joined the site, discussed 190 topics on the Forum, and created 34 niche interest Groups.

GrandValleyMomsforMoms.com launched on February 1, 2011 and has been called a “superhighway of local mom information” and become the “go to local community resource for mothers” in the Grand Valley.  

Sisterhood of Motherhood, Moms for Moms Communities celebrates the launch of HuffPost Global Motherhood

Mamavist, [ma-ma-vist]: noun. 1) someone who is vigorous advocate of causes pertaining to mothers.

Surprisingly mamavist wasn’t listed in the dictionary, this is my own definition of the word. With all the amazing, strong, dedicated mothers around the world who are making a difference, educating, supporting and furthering the causes of whole health and well-being of mothers, it seems we should have an official word to recognize them. As an aspiring mamavist I was elated today to read of the launch of HuffPost Global Motherhood,

Global Motherhood will go beyond matters of physical health to address the full spectrum of issues affecting mothers and their babies…

Now we have a global online news source to educate, inform and connect mothers on issues important to all of us.

Flavored Milk in Schools? Bend Moms for Moms members earn media attention for school milk discussion

A recent discussion on Bend Moms for Moms garnered the attention of the local news media and put several moms in the spotlight on an issue that is near and dear to their heart: the prevalence of flavored milk in the Bend La Pine School District. One simple post from a concerned mother encouraging others to write the school board, PTAs and nutrition services should they be interested in joining a fight to switch to all-white milk, led to the most popular discussion on the site in its one-year history. Moms on both sides of the debate joined in on the honest, and sometimes controversial discussion, and several have started a group to actively petition the school board.

“This is what it’s all about,” said Sarah Daily, Bend Moms for Moms owner. “Encouraging open and honest debate about the issues we as mothers care about and are invested in for our children.

Lindsay Ellis from Grand Valley Moms for Moms teams up to lead diaper drive

Imagine having to clean out and reuse a soiled diaper on your baby because your family has to choose between placing food on the table or buying diapers.

Learning that mothers in her own community are faced with that decision, Lindsay Ellis, owner of Grand Valley Moms for Moms, was moved to action. In the Moms for Moms Communities spirit of inspiring mothers to engage in their local community, Lindsay promoted a Diaper Drive through her social network to stock their local food bank with diapers for families in need.

I immediately knew that I had to get Grand Valley Moms for Moms involved.  We are after all,  “Moms for Moms,” here to support each other. I felt the need to rally the support of my members in this cause.