‘Mommy and Me' seeks to provide assistance by arranging a variety of activities for families
By RYAN LANCASTER
Staff Reporter
Every day dozens of moms around the Spokane area meet up with kids in tow, maintaining a network of support formed five years ago by one woman and an internet connection.
Thi Streeter started the group after she and her husband moved to the Spokane Valley from New York. While living there she had been part of a collective of mothers that arranged play dates and other activities via Meetup.com, a website that allows users to create community groups around a common purpose.
Her group, called “Mommy and Me,” has now grown to accommodate about 50 women and their kids who live all over the place, from Streeter's neighborhood to the West Plains. Most are stay-at-home moms and all have at least one tyke under kindergarten age, which is the point kids graduate out. Streeter herself has children aged nine, six and one, all of which she's brought up with the support of others.
The website's welcome page touches on the importance of this “parental networking” in the job of motherhood. “We realize that we are but a small part of a larger community, but we have power in our numbers,” it reads. “We commit to reaching out in our neighborhoods and beyond to create joyful living for others and our own families.”
So far the group has held more than 3,300 meet-ups, ranging from family pizza nights to scavenger hunts in the park. Streeter and three other organizers get together once a month to hash out ideas for new activities, with the goal of holding at least two events per week in each part of town.
“One of the best things about this group is that it's not just a segregated area, it's unified,” Streeter said. “Northside moms drive out to the valley or vice versa. They become connected and they might form really strong friendships.”
Along with meet-ups, Streeter maintains a message board where moms can post topics and get advice on everything from breastfeeding to diaper training, but it's not all about the kids. She said once a week there's a “mom's night out” somewhere in town, when women can get together to unwind and compare notes over a meal or drinks.
Before joining the group moms must first fill out a preliminary online application that gathers basic info, including what part of town they live in and their children's ages. Streeter then screens applicants with a phone call and, if all goes well, sets up a time to meet with them and their kids. New members pay a $24 fee that helps cover costs of activities throughout the year and then gain access to the online activities calendar and message board, which is kept private for the sake of security.
All members are required to organize at least two events a year and attend at least one event, which Streeter said helps facilitate new friendships and keep things safe. “There's a lot of personal information on the site so we like to know that the folks who have access to it are committed,” she said.
Screening new members, tracking attendance and organizing the group has become close to a full-time job, but it's one Streeter said she'll stick with for a while yet, at least until her youngest grows up. After that she plans to hand it off to someone else, keeping the network alive.
For more information visit http://www.meetup.com/The-Mommy-and-Me-Meetup-Group.
Ryan Lancaster can be reached at ryan@cheneyfreepress.com.
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