by Cori Hilsgen
news@thenewsleaders.com
“I joined MOMS Club one-and-a-half years ago when my kids were 4, 7 and 11,” said Sartell resident Dena Heen, who is also the MOMS Club membership vice president for the Sartell/Sauk Rapids Moms Offering Other Moms Support Club. “It’s very important to me to be able to get out and socialize with other moms. The ladies in MOM’S Club are very kind, supportive and are always willing to lend a helping hand to another mom in need. I have made some wonderful friends.”
The Sartell/Sauk Rapids MOMS Club chapter invites other area at-home moms to join them for meetings and other activities. The club meets from 9-10:30 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month at Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell.
Heen of Sartell said the club welcomes any mother from Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Stephen, Rice, St. Joseph, Avon or Albany who is at home during the day. The club has a monthly calendar with events such as Book Club, Potluck Party, Member Social, and Chat and Play where children are always welcome.
“Most of us are full-time stay-at-home mothers, but some of us work part-time or different schedules,” Heen said.
The group also has one MOMS Night Out (MNO) per month at a restaurant, activity venue or a member’s home with varying themes. Most moms choose to leave their children at home during the MNO, but every once in a while a nursing mother will bring her baby along.
Other rotating activities include park play dates, holiday parties, tours, gymnastic gyms and other mom/children-friendly functions.
A couple of the other mothers shared why they joined the club.
“I joined MOMS Club after moving to the area so I could meet other parents who were home during the day,” said Katie Schad of Sauk Rapids. “I’ve made great friends over the years. Aside from having fun activities to attend with my children, the thing I enjoy most is the service aspect of MOMS Club. During my time in MOMS Club we have completed service projects benefiting Anna Marie’s, Sartell and Sauk Rapids (Early Childhood Family Education), Catholic Charities, Earthquake Relief and Project Linus.”
“I joined MOMS Club six years ago when my kids were 2, 3 and 6,” said Mary Weitzel, also of Sartell. “Being at home during the day was very isolating as most everyone I knew worked outside the home or had grown children. It’s very important to me to be able to get out and socialize with other moms and gather with our children during the day. My children are all in school now, but I stay active in the club by being on the executive board and helping to plan the activities calendar each month. I have made life-long friends in this group.”
The annual dues to be a member of the club is $25 and covers office supplies, party supplies, advertising and promotions, and more. Any funds left over at the end of the year are donated to charities supporting women and children.
The club is a registered non-profit so members are also able to have fundraisers that benefit women and children. Recent fundraisers have included supporting Anna Marie’s Alliance, New Beginnings, Sauk Rapids Community Education, Project Linus and Supportive Housing for Youth.
The club also put on a spaghetti-supper benefit for one of its Sauk Rapids members, Mette Kirsch, who underwent a stem-cell transplant after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Doctors later discovered she was suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome, a pre-leukemia condition. She received a bone-marrow transplant.
MOMS Club started in 1983 when Mary James, an at-home mother in California, decided she wanted to get out and meet other at-home mothers and find other at-home children for her children to play with.
When she couldn’t find any organizations that met during the day, she decided to start a brand new organization just for at-home mothers.
Because the chapter she started was so successful, she was soon helping others start MOMS Clubs across the country and around the world. There are now about 1,500 chapters in the United States with more than 100,000 members.
The Sartell/Sauk Rapids MOMS Club has been an active chapter since 2002. They now have 30 members, with 23 members from Sartell, six members from Sauk Rapids and one member from Rice. Their club boundaries include Sartell, Sauk Rapids, Rice, St. Joseph, Avon and Albany.
St. Cloud also has a chapter of the MOMS Club that started in 1996. Its chapter boundaries include St. Cloud, Waite Park, Foley, Clearwater and Clear Lake.
For anyone who does not live in any of those cities, visit the International MOMS Club website at momsclub.org to find a local chapter in your area or receive tips on how to begin a new chapter.
If interested in joining the Sartell/Sauk Rapids MOMS Club or for more information, contact the club at ssrmoms@gmail.com or by its Facebook page.
Children share a story at a Sartell/Sauk Rapids MOMS Club kindergarten kickoff event held at Celebration Neighborhood Park in Sartell.
