The history of the International MOMS Club® The MOMS Club began in 1983 when Mary James, an at-home mother in California decided she was tired of being alone at home. She wanted to meet other at-home mothers and she wanted to find other at-home children for her children to play with. When she discovered there were no other organizations that met during the day and allowed her to come with her baby and preschooler, she decided to start a brand new organization just for at-home mothers, and the MOMS Club was born. The chapter she started was so successful, she knew mothers in other areas must need the MOMS Club, too. Soon she and other volunteers were helping mothers start MOMS Clubs across the country and around the world! Now there are over 2,000 chapters and over 100,000 members! New chapters are starting all the time. To reach the International MOMS Club just email them at MOMSClub@aol.com or visit their website at www.momsclub.org. Our beginning... Now in our third year, the MOMS Club® of Edwardsville, IL was formed in January 2004 by our founding member, Liz Watters. Like many moms, she decided to leave a full-time job in 2001. However, being the only SAHM in her group of family and friends, she soon felt alienated from other adults and her community. So, after the birth of her second son in 2003, she began to search for local moms and kids groups. Unfortunately, there weren't many to choose from and of the few that existed, none seemed to be quite the fit that she was looking for. Then, a friend from out of state mentioned that she had just joined a local MOMS Club chapter and urged Liz to check into it herself. Liz contacted the International MOMS Club for more information, and this time she was not disappointed. MOMS Club offered her a wide variety of opportunities, from playgroups for kids, to activity groups for the moms, field trips to local places of interest, and a monthly MOMS Night Out. Another key component to her decision to form a local chapter was the MOMS Club's commitment to family and community in the form of annual service projects and other activities. With events being held during the day, the evenings could be kept free for family time. The MOMS Club provides an amazing support system for its members, and because of this, we hope that you will consider joining our "family" too!