Mocha Moms Give Each Other Support
Mocha Moms Give Each Other Support: "Brown Angels
Mocha Moms Give Each Other Support
The founders of this month's Brown Angel organization decided to create a support network for Black at-home moms
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Do You Know Someone Who Is a Brown Angel?
It isn't easy to go from being a full-time working professional to being a full-time parent. Previously you may have had clear-cut responsibilities and hours, people reporting to you, a title, and a paycheck. Now your everyday tasks are changing diapers, cooking dinner, and running a household--all for free.
So states Jolene Ivey, cofounder of Mocha Moms Inc., a mutual support group for Black at-home mothers. Started in Prince George's County, Maryland, five years ago, the nonprofit organization now has 78 chapters nationwide, each chapter with an average of 30 members.
Mothers of all races have some things in common, such as the pleasure of sharing the small, precious moments of their children's development--and the pain of social isolation. Moms who left professional careers often face a lack of approval and understanding from family and friends, who tend to see them as having wasted their hard-earned education by quitting the labor force.
Black women face additional pressures, such as the challenge of raising Black boys, notes Ivey, a former television producer in Washington, D.C., who also has five sons.
The Mocha Moms concept began in 1997 as a newsletter put together by Ivey and former computer programmer Karla Chustz, a stay-at-home mom of two boys who lives in Austin, Texas. The goal was to connect with other at-home moms and to encourage them to feel good about their choice.
Later that year, Ivey and Chustz teamed up with Cheli English-Figaro, a Maryland lawyer, wife, and mother of two. English-Figaro helped organize the first meeting of at-home moms in her area--a group that eventually became the group's first official chapter--and also helped turn Mocha Moms into a national, and incorporated, group.
Now Mocha Moms members meet weekly to discuss everything from toddler tantrums to homeschooling. There are also monthly mom-only outings, which include book club discussions, movie dates, and spa treatments.
The mothers help out one another by doing chores such as baby-sitting and creating "meal trains" for members who are ailing or who have just given birth. Mocha Moms doesn't discriminate, either; there are a few White members--mostly women in interracial relationships--and even some Mocha Dads.
While members choose not to work full-time outside the home, a number of Mocha Moms do work part-time, whether during weekends, night shifts, or flex hours. In fact, half of the moms are home-based entrepreneurs and independent contractors. Members range in age from their mid-20s to late 40s; the majority of them are married, but there are single moms too.
English-Figaro describes most members as former career women who made real financial sacrifices to stay home and raise their children. Many had to adjust from having a dual-income household to living off their husband's salary, she notes.
NiaOnline acknowledges the Mocha Moms organization as this month's Brown Angel because of its advocacy and support of the needs of at-home mothers of color. Here, English-Figaro talks about why the group is so important."
Mocha Moms Give Each Other Support
The founders of this month's Brown Angel organization decided to create a support network for Black at-home moms
Related Stories
Do You Know Someone Who Is a Brown Angel?
It isn't easy to go from being a full-time working professional to being a full-time parent. Previously you may have had clear-cut responsibilities and hours, people reporting to you, a title, and a paycheck. Now your everyday tasks are changing diapers, cooking dinner, and running a household--all for free.
So states Jolene Ivey, cofounder of Mocha Moms Inc., a mutual support group for Black at-home mothers. Started in Prince George's County, Maryland, five years ago, the nonprofit organization now has 78 chapters nationwide, each chapter with an average of 30 members.
Mothers of all races have some things in common, such as the pleasure of sharing the small, precious moments of their children's development--and the pain of social isolation. Moms who left professional careers often face a lack of approval and understanding from family and friends, who tend to see them as having wasted their hard-earned education by quitting the labor force.
Black women face additional pressures, such as the challenge of raising Black boys, notes Ivey, a former television producer in Washington, D.C., who also has five sons.
The Mocha Moms concept began in 1997 as a newsletter put together by Ivey and former computer programmer Karla Chustz, a stay-at-home mom of two boys who lives in Austin, Texas. The goal was to connect with other at-home moms and to encourage them to feel good about their choice.
Later that year, Ivey and Chustz teamed up with Cheli English-Figaro, a Maryland lawyer, wife, and mother of two. English-Figaro helped organize the first meeting of at-home moms in her area--a group that eventually became the group's first official chapter--and also helped turn Mocha Moms into a national, and incorporated, group.
Now Mocha Moms members meet weekly to discuss everything from toddler tantrums to homeschooling. There are also monthly mom-only outings, which include book club discussions, movie dates, and spa treatments.
The mothers help out one another by doing chores such as baby-sitting and creating "meal trains" for members who are ailing or who have just given birth. Mocha Moms doesn't discriminate, either; there are a few White members--mostly women in interracial relationships--and even some Mocha Dads.
While members choose not to work full-time outside the home, a number of Mocha Moms do work part-time, whether during weekends, night shifts, or flex hours. In fact, half of the moms are home-based entrepreneurs and independent contractors. Members range in age from their mid-20s to late 40s; the majority of them are married, but there are single moms too.
English-Figaro describes most members as former career women who made real financial sacrifices to stay home and raise their children. Many had to adjust from having a dual-income household to living off their husband's salary, she notes.
NiaOnline acknowledges the Mocha Moms organization as this month's Brown Angel because of its advocacy and support of the needs of at-home mothers of color. Here, English-Figaro talks about why the group is so important."
posted by Barry O'Connell at 2:54 PM
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