As a special Mother's Day tribute, MothersClick.com is proud to honor the International MOMS Club, a network of over 2,000 local chapters, with more than 100,000 mothers across the U.S. and international.
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 13, 2007 -- On this Mother's Day, the fresh flowers have been cut, the greeting cards written, and many boxes of chocolate are being opened. That is tradition. But MothersClick.com (www.mothersclick.com), the first online service provider and free social network exclusively for active moms and their groups, wants do to something a little different this year by recognizing a very special organization that helps moms worldwide.
MothersClick is proud to honor the International MOMS Club, a network of over 2,000 local chapters, with more than 100,000 mothers across the U.S. and international. The non-profit organization was founded in 1983 by a stay-at-home mom in California.
"Often times, the Internet gives the illusion of creating communities," states Mary James, founder and chairman of the International MOMS Club. "It cannot take the place of person-to-person contact, but many people and organizations are allowing it to do just that." MothersClick shares the same opinion and, from its start, the site has emphasized the importance of preserving and promoting real life group-building for moms.
"What MothersClick offers online, the MOMS Club compliments offline - and you need both," states Andra Davidson, co-founder and president of MothersClick. "We bring moms together to strengthen their community by helping them connect locally and share knowledge globally." After announcing the launch of a newly-designed and enhanced website earlier this week, it's clear that MothersClick is committed to its mission.
- The Importance of Real Life Groups -
"The MOMS Club has been my support system for the last 5 years!", states Suzanne Griffiths, VP of Membership for the MOMS Club chapter in Beaverton, Oregon. Sadly, it was family tragedy that originally brought her to the club.
"My mom passed away about 2 weeks before my first daughter, Celeste, was born. I was thrilled to finally become a mom, yet obviously grieving for the loss of my own mom. I think that I'd still be on the couch - talking back to Regis & Kelly - if a neighbor hadn't told me about the MOMS Club. It was reassuring to meet stay-at-home moms who were so supportive and ready to share their knowledge.
Real life groups for new moms are extremely important because it is so easy to become isolated as a new mom." MothersClick agrees.
- Moms Going Online to Grow Their Communities Offline -
As a mother of two baby girls and an active supporter of her local moms' groups, Davidson knows the value of getting together with fellow moms offline. "We visit regularly to catch up with each other, swap stories about our new lives, and share the bonds of motherhood. We also really love to see our kids socialize! That's why the Internet can never replace real community."
But moms are increasingly turning to the Internet and the trend cannot be ignored by existing groups seeking to grow and stay relevant by keeping pace.
In a study last year, eMarketer reported 32 million moms online in the U.S., and the number is growing. The report states: "More than any other demographic group, mothers seek out other mothers for support and advice."
MothersClick exists to help more moms connect and grow their community through group-building and knowledge-sharing. By aggregating the collective wisdom of moms online, MothersClick is helping members to create a valuable parenting resource.
"There are a lot of moms online. They're getting very savvy. They're not the quote-unquote newbies anymore. They're not just going online for basic needs, they're going there to learn and explore," observes Debra Aho Williamson, a senior analyst for eMarketer, as reported by a media publication last summer.
By using the web and leveraging the latest technologies, MothersClick provides new and existing mothers groups with a set of easy tools to improve communications and better organize their membership activities. The site also introduced the world's first geo-mapping system specifically for mothers groups, which puts local clubs on the map and allows more moms to find them. This feature helps generate new membership for both existing clubs and MothersClick because they serve each other.
- The Tools of Technology For Building and Improving Groups -
While some larger and more established moms' groups started many years ago, they have not yet taken advantage of new technologies to improve their intra-group communications and organization. So, how do many of these groups communicate today?
"About 90% of the time via email," notes Griffith. "Our members often have questions - anything from recommendations on plumbers to kid-friendly restaurants. The problem is that if you don't respond to the email right away - you tend to forget the question."
And that is precisely one of the big problems MothersClick is solving. In fact, it was the original inspiration for starting the website.
"I also used to spend a lot of time online searching for answers to many questions," says Davidson. "Many moms, including me, were always complaining about our group email system because it's difficult to track, search for and quickly find information, and good comments were always getting lost! Consequently, a lot of questions and answers are often repeated and - as those who are familiar with the same story know - with a big group, this quickly leads to a lot of emails cramming your inbox and is very difficult to keep up with. In other words, it's unmanageable."
After joining MothersClick, many groups are finding it easier to manage the flow of information, to stay organized, and having fun while helping each other - both privately within their group and publicly, by participating within the greater global community of moms online.
"I like that it's a very accessible, user-friendly site," says Griffith. "I like to peruse the Q&A section just to see what the hot topics might be." Information-sharing is local and global, and that's what makes it so useful.
Referring to the convenience of being able to ask questions and get answers from moms everywhere, she wonders: "Any tips for a Disney Land vacation?"
About MothersClick
Inspired and co-founded by first-time mom, Andra Davidson, MothersClick is the first social networking site and online service provider designed exclusively for organizing and managing real-life moms' groups. The site introduced the world's first geo-mapping system to help moms locate existing mothers' groups in their local areas and globally. MothersClick also provides the free tools and services for improving group communications, events and activities, such as playgroups and co-ops, and - most of all - the site helps maximize the value of moms' time spent online by tapping into collective wisdom: Asking questions and finding answers to the experiences of motherhood and parenting. For more information, visit www.mothersclick.com.
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