Yesterday marked the sixth birthday of The Motherhood Collective, this organization that I hold so dear. Each year I recall the freezing cold temperatures of January 10, 2011 and the lack of experience our small team of five possessed as we launched our first program in a warehouse (temporarily without heat); we had 12 women in attendance that first day.
We couldn't have given you a mission statement, a catchy tagline, or a polished elevator pitch, but we each knew something had to change. We KNEW someone had to improve the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of women from preconception to postpartum. Our small team of five saw a need, and we embraced our responsibility. We might not have known it at the time, but we were pioneers.
Slowly but surely, women came to us with their needs and desires. As they felt safe, they expressed their insecurities, frustrations, and regrets. The more we listened, the more we learned. Soon we found that the women we serve are our greatest teachers and vision casters. Our mission became simple: Provide rich, evidence-based education and unwavering social support, allowing women to become equipped, educated, and empowered; at all times, assuring each woman that she is not alone and that she is, indeed, the best mother for her child.
So friends, the mission statements, taglines, and elevator pitches all came in due time. Volunteers, business partners, and board members arose, each taking responsibility, in their own unique ways, for the maternal health of THEIR community. Now, six years later, here we are, preparing women in our own unbiased, unpolarized, and judgement-free way, for a venture unlike any other: MOTHERHOOD.
So happy birthday, TMC. I love you and the women we serve so very much. This year, may our team purpose to prepare, provide, and pioneer in new and provocative ways. May the women that we serve continue to be our greatest teachers.
Thank you for all you have given me.
