MOMS Club Offers Support

Melissa Piccola almost cannot believe her good fortune.

After moving to the Snellville area, she and her husband looked around and realized that they didn't know a soul. With a new baby, the family wanted that isolation to change.

Enter MOMS Club of Snellville.

"We’ve gotten to know people, and now I have friends who support me,” said Piccola, smiling as she held her daughter on her hip and looked around at her new friends.

Piccola's sentiment is echoed by all the moms gathered on the playground at Snellville Christian Church on a recent sunny Wednesday morning. While they talk, their eyes are constantly scanning the playground, watching out for their own children as well as their friends’ children.

These ladies have just concluded their monthly general meeting of the MOMS Club of Snellville, and they’re taking a moment to chat while letting the kids burn off a little energy on the playground before heading home.

Laura Wolff, incoming president of the MOMS Club of Snellville,  said the organization has changed her life.

“It’s so important to me to have these friends who understand what I’m going through," she said. "And we really trust each other."

According to www.momsclub.org, The International MOMS Club is a nonprofit corporation and a 501(c)(3) publicly supported charity organization that was founded to provide support to mothers who choose to be at-home parents. There are nearly 2,000 chapters worldwide, including the Snellville chapter. The official website lists these goals for the club:

• To provide a support group for mothers who choose to stay at home to raise their children
• To provide a forum for topics of interest to mothers
• To help children in the community
• To perform at least one service project yearly helping needy children

Wolff said the Snellville group of moms goes beyond the required once-a-year community service project. Each month, the group tries to do a good deed, she added. 

“Right now we’re collecting items for birthday bags for the Southeast Gwinnett Co-op," Wolff said. "We’ve collected cake mix, frosting, candles, plates, napkins, cups and a small toy for each bag, and the co-op will give them to families who otherwise wouldn’t have the supplies needed for their child to have a cake on their birthday.”

Wolff laughed and added, “We expected to do ten, but with the way these women are donating, I think we’ll have at least double that number.”

The club's next scheduled project is a yard sale on April 23 in the parking lot next to Zaxby’s on Highway 124 in Centerville. Sellers keep proceeds, but the $10 space fee collected for each group will be donated to the . The group also raises money for the Mother-To-Mother Fund.

According to www.momsclub.org, The Mother-To-Mother Fund is the only official MOMS Club charity, and it is supported exclusively by donations from the local chapters. The Mother-to-Mother fund provides grants for emergency living expenses to mothers all over the country who have been affected by natural disasters or other tragedies.

In addition to providing connections between moms and a way to do good work in the community, the Snellville MOMS Club also offers field trips and other outings for moms and their children. Ashley Kean, who leads field trip efforts, found the club when she was looking for support for a friend.

“I dragged her to the meeting, and I ended up joining," Kean said. "I was like, ‘Hey, it’s only $20 a year (for annual dues), and we get to travel as a pack and do all this neat stuff… and I get out of the house and don’t go bonkers sitting at home by myself? That’s kind of a no-brainer.”

Laura Wolff, the incoming president, said she also has the same sentiments.

"I know on a day when I’ve had enough, I can call them and say, ‘Will you please watch my kids for a few minutes? I just want to take a shower by myself!,'" she said, "and I know they’ll be there for me.”

If you would like to learn more about the MOMS Club of Snellville or would like to participate in their upcoming yard sale, please contact them at snellville_momsclub@yahoo.com.