volunteer

'Tis the Season: Volunteer!

Christmas-14 In this season of giving and holiday cheer, I wanted to write a bit about some local nonprofits and groups that could use your help. The weather is getting colder and going without is even harder in the winter months. Combine that with the holidays, a time when we often count our blessings and reach out to those with less, and this is a popular time of year to volunteer.

How to Get Involved

If you're looking for a place to start, consider starting here! The Motherhood Collective is a nonprofit, volunteer-run organization. If we have aided in your journey as a mother (or mom-to-be, or grandmother, or whatever journey you are on), then we are thrilled. Our group is constantly growing and changing, and we have several roles that need to be filled in 2015. If you have found a passion in motherhood and would like to help others along their way, please contact us, we would love to hear from you.

The Motherhood Collective was fortune to be awarded 5th place in the recent Giving Back Awards by Lynchburg Living. We were in the company of some amazing nonprofits that are bettering our community in so many ways. Some notable organizations recognized in the Giving Back Awards that could use your help are listed below.

Why You Should Volunteer

In addition to the obvious benefits of helping those in need, volunteerism is also a wonderful thing to do for yourself. Often mothers find themselves suddenly spending their days without adult company or intellectual stimulation (babies are cute, but not great conversationalists). While going back to work full time may not be an option, volunteering a few hours a week can be a welcome relief for stay at home moms. It is an opportunity to spend some time away from your child, helping them gain independence and giving you a chance to miss them and better enjoy the time you have together. Even in times of struggle (and we have all struggled as parents), helping others brings a sense of pride and perspective that can give you strength.

Whether you work or stay home with your children, volunteering sets a great example. We all want to raise good, helpful children and leading by example is the best way to achieve that goal. Older children may be able to go with you to volunteer as well, and learn the importance of helping others. This time of year is especially ripe with opportunities for kids to give back:

I hope you find an organization that can benefit from your strengths and kindness, and that you both prosper. And remember, these groups need your help ALL year long. Start now, and continue your involvement throughout the new year!

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Meet The Motherhood Collective© Staff: Danielle Hunter

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Ever wonder who’s behind The Motherhood Collective? Over the next few weeks we’ll be introducing you to our dedicated team of volunteers. These women are all mothers – once, twice or many times over. While they come from different backgrounds and have various approaches to pregnancy, birth and parenting, each one is dedicated to creating a place where ALL mothers can find education and support. Meet  Danielle Hunter. She is quite possibly one of our greatest supporters, sticking with us through thick and thin. She currently serves as our "New Mama" Gift Basket Coordinator, but Danielle has worn many hats with us as we've grown.

Danielle found us the way many did, through our original outreach, The Motherhood Café.  Yet many might not know that she was the founder of our Playgroups. Week after week, she drove 30 minutes into town to "host" our Playgroups.  These gatherings provided an opportunity for our local mothers to connect with each other outside of our Café setting.  Some amazing friendships were formed between these early playgroup participants and has greatly strengthened our organization. We are so thankful for her vision and the hard work she poured in to create this valuable program.

One of our favorite aspects about serving on The Motherhood Collective© Staff is that we acknowledge the seasons of motherhood and strongly encourage our mothers to put their families first. We love to use Danielle as an example. Her "roles" with us have changed, but her support has never waned.

Currently serving as our "New Mama" Gift Basket Coordinator, Danielle hand-assembles small congratulatory gifts for our mamas upon the birth of their babies. This volunteer role is one of love and attention to detail, and we are thankful to Danielle for her constant commitment to the care of our mamas.

On Café mornings, Danielle distribute the Gift Baskets and then you will find her leading and facilitating the Pregnancy and Birth Small Groups. She is a wealth of knowledge and is a most gracious listener. We know you will enjoy your mornings with her!

Thank you, Danielle, for serving the women and families of The Motherhood Collective©, and for quietly reminding us of our simple mission to "Nurture the Mother to Grow the Child."

PS – Interested in donating a hand crafted item to Danielle's Gift Baskets? Fill out a volunteer form here and specify your skill in the "special skills and qualifications" portion! We will put Danielle in touch with you!

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Meet The Motherhood Collective© Staff: Kayla Becker

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Ever wonder who’s behind The Motherhood Collective? Over the next few weeks we’ll be introducing you to our dedicated team of volunteers. These women are all mothers – once, twice or many times over. While they come from different backgrounds and have various approaches to pregnancy, birth and parenting, each one is dedicated to creating a place where ALL mothers can find education and support.022 Meet Kayla Becker! Kayla has worn many hats in her years with The Motherhood Collective©, but currently she serves as the other Managing Director, Workshop Coordinator, Info Booth Administrator and Bump Club Director. (sheesh... )

Kayla was originally brought on as our Treasurer due to her fantastic skills with numbers, but has transitioned into the many roles above as her dreams for our organization have grown.

The mother of two, Kayla visited our Café after the difficult birth of her first son and found much more than she expected. She likes to tell of the healing she found and the relationships she developed with mothers of the Collective© - both of which helped transform her second pregnancy and birth.

Passionate about our mission and focused on serving women through education and support, Kayla works daily to sharpen our focus, develop new programs and increase awareness in the community as a Managing Director.

Kayla has two exciting projects debuting in the New Year; the Info Booth and Bump Clubs. The Info Booth will serve to further connect women attending our outreach programs to the greater efforts of The Motherhood Collective©. The Bump Clubs (official name TBA) are still in development, but are the solution to the pleas we have heard from you, our mamas, to deepen relationships with mothers walking through the same milestones of motherhood.

We are so excited for our upcoming 2014 Workshops and Kayla is, yet again, the force behind these wonderful evening events!

Come January, on Café mornings you will find Kayla behind the Info Booth in the first hour, then actively participating in the Pregnancy Small Group during the second hour. She looks forward to connecting you to this collective group of mothers!

Thank you, Kayla, for serving the women and families of The Motherhood Collective©.

PS – Interested in helping serve as a volunteer on one of Kayla’s projects? Fill out a volunteer form here and tell us so!

Meet The Motherhood Collective© Staff: Debbie Perdew

Ever wonder who’s behind The Motherhood Collective? Over the next few weeks we’ll be introducing you to our dedicated team of volunteers. These women are all mothers – once, twice or many times over. While they come from different backgrounds and have various approaches to pregnancy, birth and parenting, each one is dedicated to creating a place where ALL mothers can find education and support.0010 We’re so excited to introduce you to Miss Debbie! She is our Lead Childcare Worker and spends her Café Monday mornings lovingly caring for the children of our local mamas.

Miss Debbie has transformed the Childcare we offer on Monday mornings at the Café. As a mother to many, her years of experience as a mama and grandma probably have something to do with this.

Greeting the little ones, ages 1 – 4, with a warm smile and big hugs she works with her two assistants (Miss Amanda and Miss Abby) to bring fun and order to the two hours she spends with the children.

By limiting the childcare number to 15, Miss Debbie and her assistants are able to provide careful attention to allergies, special needs and requests. In addition, Miss Debbie creates an environment that is warm and welcoming for many of our little ones who are experiencing their first childcare situation.

Children spend the morning in a room directly adjacent to our Café meeting space. During check-in, mamas fill in detailed name tags, complete with allergy information, age and nickname. The children are then welcomed into a room with a soaring ceiling and lots of light, and filled with age appropriate toys, books and activities.

Our Cafés meet the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Registration for our Café Childcare opens at noon on the Monday before a scheduled Café. Registration is available on a "first-come, first-served" basis and closes after reaching 15 spots or at 7pm the Sunday before the Café (whichever comes first).

If you are local and have utilized our childcare, we hope you will take the time to thank Miss Debbie for her excellent care of your children. She has filled a very specific need most beautifully.

Thank you, Miss Debbie, for serving the women and families of The Motherhood Collective©.

Click here for additional details regarding our Café Childcare can be found here.

Meet The Motherhood Collective© Staff: Maria Hayden

Ever wonder who’s behind The Motherhood Collective? Over the next few weeks we’ll be introducing you to our dedicated team of volunteers. These women are all mothers – once, twice or many times over. While they come from different backgrounds and have various approaches to pregnancy, birth and parenting, each one is dedicated to creating a place where ALL mothers can find education and support.0012 Meet, Maria, one of our Managing Directors, who might best be described as the "Swiss Army Knife" of The Motherhood Collective©.

Without Maria we’d be all over the place. She has many job responsibilities, and somehow, they all seem to involve keeping us in line.

Her main focus as one of our two Managing Directors is serving as our Non-profit Consultant in everyday, behind the scenes “business” work. Running an organization such as ours is not all hugs and coffee, and we are very thankful for the hours Maria spends on the not-so-thrilling tasks that make our time with you more enjoyable.

Maria also handles the placement of our volunteers as our Volunteer Coordinator. We are extremely fortunate to have women rise up continually to serve with us. These volunteers help on both large and small levels and they come to us with differing skill sets and available time. Maria works with these women to find ways they can best contribute and give back.

On Café mornings you might never see Maria, because once again she is holding us together - this time as our Café Morning Stage Manager. She assigns morning tasks to the leadership team, checks us in on arrival, runs the soundboard and gathers donation dollars... all so we can serve you better.

Maria wandered into a Café one morning; pregnant and unsuspecting of the role she would one day play. Now the mother of a beautiful toddler, she shares her joys, struggles, and lessons learned in an honest and refreshing way.

With big dreams for the year ahead, Maria brings us years of management experience, a "peppery" frankness and a dry sense of humor that will make anyone smile.

Thank you, Maria, for serving the women and families of The Motherhood Collective©.

 

PS - Interested in volunteering with The Motherhood Collective©? Contact Maria at: volunteer@themotherhoodcollective.org.

Meet The Motherhood Collective© Staff: Liz Cook

Ever wonder who's behind The Motherhood Collective? Over the next few weeks we'll be introducing you to our dedicated team of volunteers. These women are all mothers - once, twice or many times over. While they come from different backgrounds and have various approaches to pregnancy, birth and parenting, each one is dedicated to creating a place where ALL mothers can find education and support.0015 Meet, our fabulous Liz! She's our Webmaster, Photographer and Designer!

Ok to start, this site that you're on right now, would not exist if not for Liz. From the stripes, color and font you see to all the behind the scenes "code", Liz did it all. We are so grateful to her for making our web presence so beautiful, welcoming and FUNCTIONING.

Liz joined us, as many have, by simply attending our Café outreach as a first-time mother. But it didn't take long at all for her to go from receiving to giving back.  Honestly, one of the best ways to describe Liz is "immensely giving".

By trade, our Liz is a photographer. It is her photos that you see beautifully capturing the love between mother and child on every piece of Motherhood Collective promotional material. We benefit from her gifts again and again with each new project.

When she's not keeping this website afloat, designing new products (like our t-shirts she's wearing in the photo above!) or photographing our mamas, she can be found behind the sound-booth on Café Mondays. Keeping our panelists audible can be quite the challenge over our vocal audience of chatty babies.

With dedication, enthusiasm, a constant fresh outlook and an infectious laugh, Liz  has a passion to keep us, "nurturing the mother to grow the child".

Thank you, Liz, for serving the women and families of The Motherhood Collective©.

Meet The Motherhood Collective© Staff: Mauresa Guelzo

Ever wonder who's behind The Motherhood Collective? Over the next few weeks we'll be introducing you to our dedicated team of volunteers. These women are all mothers - once, twice or many times over. While they come from different backgrounds and have various approaches to pregnancy, birth and parenting, each one is dedicated to creating a place where ALL mothers can find education and support. Meet our Primary Email Correspondent and C0-Founder! Mauresa helped shape who we are today.  We think you'll agree, she's pretty awesome!

0006Without our Mauresa, The Motherhood Collective would not be here. Her dedication to women in our community is simply noteworthy. Over the years, wherever there has been a need, she has served: book-keeper, location liaison, proof-reader, content writer, database analyst, brainstormer, problem solver, party host, blog contributor, group leader, and currently Primary Email Corespondent... the list goes on and on.

On top of the above, she has been raising two beautiful toddlers of her own, both of whom have been fodder for her creative writing on our blog and honest insight in Cafe morning small groups.

Currently Mauresa serves as our Primary Email Correspondent; meaning, if you were to contact us via our main email address, SHE would be the on the receiving end. She'll connect you to whomever you need or answer you herself. She is the perfect woman for this job, since she is one of our original founders and one of the best at explaining what we "actually do". She also scripts our bi-weekly "email blasts" updating those on our subscription list with all of the events, activities and blog posts coming up!

With an Italian directness, down-to-earth reasoning, and genuine kindness, Mauresa consistently, and with a quiet strength, brings our team back to our ORIGINAL vision of Nurturing the Mother to Grow the Child.

Thank you, Mauresa, for serving the women and families of The Motherhood Collective©.

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Have questions about The Motherhood Collective? Would you like to subscribe to our email blasts to be "in the know"?  Email Mauresa at contact@themotherhoodcollective.org. We would love to answer your questions or add you to our list of friends!

Meet The Motherhood Collective© Staff: Barbie Sutton

Ever wonder who's behind The Motherhood Collective? Over the next few weeks we'll be introducing you to our dedicated team of volunteers. These women are all mothers - once, twice or many times over. While they come from different backgrounds and have various approaches to pregnancy, birth and parenting, each one is dedicated to creating a place where ALL mothers can find education and support. Meet our Café Monday Mama and C0-Founder! Barbie helped design who we are today, read on to get to know her!

0009Barbie is a mother to many; both physically and emotionally. Encouragement exudes from her and she has walked many of us through our delicate transition into motherhood. When we began the process of forming this organization we knew we would need Barbie at our side. Through our initial days of dreaming and grunt work, she has been a needed voice of reason. Her dedication to women in our community is beautiful.

While her own children are almost all completely out of the home, Barbie continues to remain active in the lives of women in their childbearing years. A registered nurse, event planner, health and childbirth advocate, Barbie is a beautiful soul who delights in enjoying this life to its fullest.

Currently Barbie serves the women of The Motherhood Collective© on Café Mondays overseeing activities in our Café kitchen and continually thinking up new ways to serve our mamas. She consistently sits as a panelist and often leads our small group on Parenthood offering advice that is tempered by her many years of experience.

With an open heart, optimism and constant support, we truly could not imagine this organization without our Barbie.

Thank you, Barbie, for serving the women and families of The Motherhood Collective©.

Meet the Motherhood Collective Staff: Carrie McGinn

Ever wonder who's behind The Motherhood Collective? Over the next few weeks we'll be introducing you to our dedicated team of volunteers. These women are all mothers - once, twice or many times over. While they come from different backgrounds and have various approaches to pregnancy, birth and parenting, each one is dedicated to creating a place where ALL mothers can find education and support. Meet our Director of Hospitality! Carrie is such fun, you should get to know her too!

0002We met sweet Carrie after the birth of her first son, and had the privilege of walking alongside her during her second pregnancy! After observing all the ways in which she naturally encouraged and supported her fellow mothers, we asked her to come on board as our Director of Hospitality in the Spring of 2013.

Carrie's most important task is the organizing of Postpartum Meals. She interviews mothers who have requested this special service; then, upon the birth of their child, sets up a "train" of meals. These meals are provided by other women of The Motherhood Collective© and are tailored to the needs of each postpartum family's needs. She also volunteers her time on Mondays at The Motherhood Café, serving as a Group Leader and an oh-so-valuable Kitchen Worker.

With a mischievous sparkle in her eye and free-flowing laughter, Carrie's creative thinking, hard work and professionalism bring such value to our team!

Thank you, Carrie, for serving the women and families of The Motherhood Collective©.

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Are you a cook? Would you love to serve by bringing a meal to those in need? Do you have a heart for mothers figuring out the postpartum stage of motherhood? Would you like to send a gift card from afar? Email Carrie at hospitality@themotherhoodcollective.org. We would love to add you to our hospitality team!

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