Frequently Asked Questions

 

How will I find out the details or directions for each activity?
We go through the Evites website to send out the details of our upcoming activities each week, as well as providing an easy way for our members to RSVP. This is especially important for any members hosting an activity to prepare themselves for how many people to expect, as well as giving us an idea of who to contact if we need to cancel an event at the last minute.

 

After signing up, you’ll receive a reminder 2 days prior to the activity if you have answered “Yes” or “Maybe”. If you choose to create an account at Evites you can log in at any time to view all the upcoming events, even if you’ve deleted them from your email. If you do not receive your Evites within a few days of joining, email our Administrative Vice President, Leslie, and let her know.

 

What playgroup does my child fit into?
Here’s the basic break down of our age appropriate playgroups:

Creepers: babies 1 and under
Ankle Biters: babies and toddlers under 2
Curtain Climbers: preschoolers and toddlers over 2
After School Crew: preschoolers on up

However, we only break these playgroups down to different ages to be sure that there are plenty of activities that are suitable for each age group. For example, the Ankle Biters (AB) generally meet in members' homes so that the babies and toddlers have a safe, clean place to crawl around and explore.

While all Creepers are still Ankle Biters, that age group was recently developed because many of our members with babies could not attend the AB playgroups (usually held mid-morning) because of their babies' morning naps. This group also meets in members' homes.

Soon after they hit 2 years, the children may have more energy to burn off and have less of a desire to share indoor toys. That's where the Curtain Climbers (CC) come in. The CC playgroups usually have activities planned or take place at parks or playgrounds.

The After School Crew (ASC) is pretty self explanatory. During the school year, they meet on Wednesday afternoons (which, BTW, works well with the schools' early release times), and have fun activities that school aged children might enjoy, such as bowling, pool parties, or park dates.

As I mentioned, we broke the groups down simply to be sure that each age group had some appropriate activities planned. All moms are welcome to any activity, regardless of the age of their children. This is especially important to our members who have more than one child. Also, don't forget any of our other "All Ages" activities. For a full list, visit:
www.momsclubofdeland.org/index_files/activities.html

So, feel free to attend any activity that works well into yours and your children's interests and schedules. When you mix it up, you will be able to make a lot more connections with some fabulous women than if you just stick with just our own age group.

 

 

How many members are in the club?
There are over 2,000 MOMS Club chapters in the US alone with over 100,000 members. Our own chapter varies in size each month depending on new members or renewals, but has averaged between 60 and 70 in the past few months.

 

While we do have many members, even our most well attended activities (like our holiday events or annual picnic) bring out about half the membership. Because we plan so many activities at various times each month, it gives our members an opportunity to pick and choose what works best with their family’s schedule and interest. With the exception of our business meetings, most activities average an attendance of anywhere between 3-10.

 

 

How large can a chapter get?
Once a chapter approaches 80 members, they are strongly encouraged to sister. This basically means that the group would be geographically split into two smaller chapters, allowing for more room to grow in each. Of course, each chapter is allowed to decide for themselves when they are ready to sister. Depending on the percentage of active members, some clubs may feel overcrowded and begin the process closer to 60 members, while others may decide to continue on past 80.

 

 

What is the Gather Group and how do I join it?
The Gather Group is a private web board we created just for our club. In a nutshell, it's an easy way for our members to share anything they'd like to with other members. The club takes the fact that our members trust us with their personal info seriously, so anything sent out as a mass email to all the members has to be approved by the president to make sure that it's not commercial in nature and that our members don't start feeling as though they are getting spammed. In any case, we started the web board so that everyone could share as often as they'd without filling everybody's inbox.

 

Email Cassandra if you are interested in joining the Gather Group. To protect our member’s online safety & privacy, the group is set up to be private. You’ll need to be sent an invitation to view the web board. After you receive it, just follow the link to join.

 

After joining, you can change the settings in your Gather account so that you receive a notice when members post a photo or article.

 

 

How can I stay in touch with the club if I have slow or no internet access?
Our chapter relies greatly on technology as a means of easy and affordable communication within the group. If you have slow internet access or do not have access to a computer, you can request to receive our monthly newsletter & rosters in the mail. If you are planning on attending any of the activities listed, you can contact a coordinator or board member to RSVP or find out directions. While it is not mandatory to RSVP for each activity, if we know you are coming, we can contact you if plans change at the last minute.

 

 

Can I send email messages to everyone in the club?
While the club is a great way to make contacts with other moms in the area, we really try to avoid having our members send mass emails to everyone in the club. As large as our club is, it would be easy for emails to get out of control, especially for members who do not check their email very often.

 

If you have any information you’d like to share… garage sales, sales parties (Pampered Chef, PartyLite, etc), product warnings, looking for advice, help wanted, and so on…, you can either post it on Gather (see above), or submit items for the upcoming newsletter. Classifieds are free for members, and we send out a Members Services page every other month with the newsletter where you can post an ad free of charge. The cutoff for submitting items to the newsletter is the 20th of each month.

 

 

Who organizes all the activities?
Board meetings are held on a monthly basis, and that is when most of the upcoming month’s activities are planned. While the meeting is open to only board members, coordinators, and prospective board members, you can send us any input or suggestions via email prior to the meeting.

 

 

How can I help or become more involved with the leadership of the club?
Each MOMS Club chapter has a board consisting of 5 members, as well as various coordinators to help plan each month’s calendar. While the board is elected by the club each year (elections are held during our June Business Meeting), coordinators hold their positions as long as they are willing and able to help and do not require a vote.

 

This club exists because of all the women who have volunteered their time and efforts along the way. If you and your children benefit from the MOMS Club and would like to continue seeing it grow, email Cassandra to see how you can become more involved.

 

 

Are all members required to host activities?
Because we hold so many activities each month in member’s homes, we definitely like to encourage anyone willing to host if they can. However, the decision is completely up to the members and we don’t force anything.

 

Each of our homes vary in size, so there’s no need to feel uncomfortable if you think your home is too small to host. If you are worried about having too large of a group show up, we can always include a cut off when we send out the Evite.

 

 

How can I volunteer to host a playgroup?
The most direct route is often the best when volunteering to host an activity. Contact a board member or the appropriate playgroup coordinator if you’d like to host. Because the calendar is planned at our monthly board meetings, be sure to let us know before the meeting. The date of the Board Meeting is included on the monthly calendar.

 

We also send out a monthly “Survey Monkey” to the members of the club as an easy way for you to submit items to the newsletter, as well as contributing ideas to the club or volunteer to host a playgroup. Also, if you volunteer via Survey Monkey, be sure to include your name when you submit the form. Submitting your name is optional in our monthly survey/feedback, so that members can remain anonymous if submitting a personal question or answer to the newsletter.

 

 

Can I be reimbursed for providing food or other items when hosting an activity?
We are happy to reimburse for some items that are necessary for club activities (2 board members must approve any reimbursement). However, our chapter is only permitted to spend 15% of our dues income on members only activities. That includes fees associated with our end of the year family picnic held each summer. For this reason, we don’t usually reimburse for basic snacks offered during playgroups (which is up to each host and not necessary), and try to go potluck for lunches or other food-related activities.

 

*The 15% rule for our budget comes down from the International MOMS Club level, to ensure that we have enough money for things like office supplies/printing, giving back to the community, advertising and activities that are open to other moms in the community (business meetings, etc), as well as maintaining our eligibility for non-profit status.

 

 

Why are most of the activities scheduled during the daytime?
Our club was created to support at home Moms and their families during working hours (when they need it the most). While we do plan a monthly Mom’s Night Out, we avoid scheduling too many evening activities so as not to take away from valuable family time. Occasionally we can make exceptions for Family Nights or Couples Nights.

 

 

Can I bring my child to Mom’s Night Out?
Our monthly Mom’s Night Outs have been a longstanding tradition in the club. It’s great to have the opportunity to let your hair down each month and enjoy some grown up time with the girls before returning to “Mommy Mode” the next day. That being said, this is the only activity where we do discourage bringing our children along, with the exception of nursing infants.

 

Can Stay at Home Dads join the MOMS Club?
It is up to each chapter to decide whether they would like to allow SAHD’s to join. Our chapter recently approved the application of our first SAHD.

 

 

What happens if I cannot afford the yearly dues?
We understand that making the choice to stay home with your children can put strain on your family’s finances. That is why we keep the cost of our dues so low… just $20 for an entire year. However, if you still cannot fit that into your family’s budget, you can contact a board member about the possibility of waiving the dues for that year.

 

 

Does the club have any policies on discipline or bringing sick children to activities?
It is up to each parent to control their child’s actions while attending MOMS Club activities. If you see that a child is behaving in a manner that is destructive or dangerous to others without any action from the mother, we ask that you discuss the matter with the parent before involving the board. As of yet, we have not had any situations warranting a formal discipline policy within our chapter.

 

The same thought applies to bringing sick children to indoor play dates. We ask our members to respect the health and well being of our other members and their children by keeping them home if they are sick or coming down with a cold. Germs spread quickly, especially when young children are in a confined space and sharing toys.

 

If your child has been diagnosed with a contagious illness shortly after attending a play date, please contact a board member as soon as possible so we can alert the other moms who attended the group to be on the look out for possible symptoms.

 

 

Can I invite friends to MOMS Club activities?
You are both welcome and encouraged to invite your friends to our monthly Business Meetings or Park Days. However, in order to protect our members from issues of liability, guests are only allowed to attend activities that are held in public places. This also applies to family members not listed on the application/liability form you completed when joining the club.

 

If you are inviting a friend in the hopes that they might join, please be sure that they live within our club’s boundaries. If they live in another area with it’s own MOMS Club, encourage them to look into their own chapter first. (See below.)

 

 

Can I join a chapter outside the city that I live in?
The MOMS Club of DeLand serves the following areas…Cassadaga, DeLand, DeLeon Springs, Lake Helen and Pierson. Moms living in an area other than that listed, can visit www.momsclub.org to find a chapter near them. We are strongly discouraged from taking members from outside our designated area for several reasons. New members may naturally flock to a larger more established group which may not allow the chapter in their own area to grow. Accepting members from outside a chapter’s boundaries may cause a premature over-growth of that chapter, causing them to sister too soon. Members who live outside the neighborhood are likely to be less active, and there may be a lower turnout to activities they host because of the distance.

 

If a mom wishing to join does not have a chapter in her area, she may visit one of our chapter’s open activities to see if she may be interested in starting a chapter in her area. However, the national club’s bylaws state that she cannot join our chapter. Women choosing to start a chapter will get lots of support and direction from area coordinators.

 

If the prospective mom does have a chapter in her area (the MOMS Club of Deltona, for example) and wishes to join ours instead, the rules state that she must visit both chapters and present a request in writing to our area’s primary coordinator. After approval from the primary coordinator, the mom may join as long as both chapters are healthy and have room for members outside their area.

 

 

There seems to be a lot of rules passed on from the International level.
Are they all necessary?
In a word, yes. Some rules are set up simply to ensure that everything runs smoothly within the club. However, because we are under the umbrella of MOMS Club International, it is important that we stay consistent with the values & goals that the club was founded upon. If we stray from these guidelines, our club could be placed on probation.

 

Although there are thousands of chapters around the world, MOMS Club International does a very efficient job on keeping tabs on each one by assigning an area coordinator (aka “Big Sister”) who reports to a regional coordinator and so on. We keep our Big Sister informed of all our goings on through monthly emails and our newsletters which are also passed on up the line. This relationship allows us access to advice and information from a larger perspective, while giving the upper levels of the club inside information of how our club is doing. We also file detailed end of the year reports each summer that include, among other things, all financial records.

 

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