Growing moms clubs reflect national trend





By Sophia Fischer
sfischeracorn@yahoo.com

Agoura Hills moms looking for play dates for their children and interaction with other moms are invited to join a new chapter of the MOMS Club.


The first official chapter event is Fri., March 18, at 10:30 a.m. in Old Agoura Park. Healthy snacks will be provided. No RSVP is necessary; just show up.


Sue Jacobs and Kelly Fish, two local moms, decided to form a new Agoura Hills chapter after the original chapter disbanded. The duo hopes to attract other stay-at-home moms who are looking for support. Other events the group is considering are field trips, mom’s night out and community service projects.


"So many times people need a play date for their children," said Jacobs, who has a 4-year-old daughter and 13-month-old son. "Through this group, they can call each other up and get together."


Jacobs hopes the chapter will have weekly play dates, but members can choose what is convenient for them. "It’s an alternative to mom and me classes which can be so expensive," she said.


Besides the new Agoura group, there are MOMS Club chapters in Calabasas, Westlake Village, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Oak Park. The average chapter has 50 members.


"We don’t have one in Moorpark, but there’s a huge need," said Laurie Hoffman, Southern California regional coordinator. "We have several people talking about forming one."


The growth of area MOMS Clubs reflects a growing trend in the number of mothers choosing to stay home to care for their children.


According to a 2001 U.S. Census Bureau report, 59 percent of mothers with infants worked full time in 1998. By 2000, that number had dropped to 53 percent, the first time ever in 30 years.


A March 2004 Time magazine article reported that 22 percent of women with graduate or professional degrees are staying home with their kids. One in three women with an MBA is not working full-time. According to the article, 51 percent of Gen X moms were home full time, compared to 33 percent of boomer moms.


MOMS Club membership seems to reflect that trend. In Southern California alone there are currently 210 chapters with about 10,000 members and that number keeps growing, according to Hoffman, a stay-at-home mom whose children are 9 and 6.


More than 1,100 moms attended the annual regional luncheon last week in Anaheim. The national office gets about seven applications each week for new U.S. chapters. In total, the organization has 1,500 chapters in seven countries.


"We have more than 40 volunteers in this region working one-on-one with chapters to help them form," Hoffman said.


For Hoffman, a former lending officer, the choice to stay home meant no new cars, no expensive vacations or daily trips to Starbucks. In the Conejo Valley where the cost of living can be expensive, many moms work part-time or from the home.


"That all adds up," Hoffman said. "You make sacrifices, but every situation is different and each family has to make its own decision."


Staying home after years of being in the workplace is an adjustment, Hoffman added. This is where the MOMS Club can help.


"When you’ve worked for a long time, staying at home with a baby is a little scary," Hoffman said. "Thank God I had the MOMS Club because it saved my life."


For more information, visit www.momsclub.com or e-mail momsclubofagoura@aol.com.



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