New group aims to connect local mothers

Published 10:47 am Thursday, January 26, 2023

A new local organization is seeking to connect mothers from all walks of life with an ultimate goal of building stronger women.

“We welcome all moms,” said Lacunya Cooper, a local organizer for Moms Connect of Milly. “It’s a place of outreach, a place of support, a place for family engagement … We’re hoping to connect families.”

Moms Connect of Milly is a chapter of a larger organization, Single Moms Connect Inc., which began in Warner Robins back in 2014. Dzonrial McCrary, founder and CEO, was inspired to begin the organization when conversations with a fellow single mother sparked concerns over similar issues the two were facing.

“As we began to connect on a regular basis, I had concerns about things that we were seeing that we weren’t able to access in the community,” McCrary said.

The two realized that if they were having trouble, they couldn’t be the only ones. Their group began as a single mothers church ministry with just seven members. Together, the women looked at issues like dealing with financial instability, support from absent parents, career matters, access to public support and much more. Seeing that many mothers lacked information about available resources, McCrary made it her goal to create direct contacts with local agencies so that she could point mothers needing assistance in the right direction.

As interest grew, they eventually opened the group to the community and began having larger events. Today, there are six chapters throughout the state in Houston, Peach, Crawford, Pulaski, Bibb, Twiggs and Bleckley counties. There are also Moms in Business chapters in DeKalb, Henry and Clayton counties.

As a new chapter begins in Milledgeville, McCrary’s focus is much the same as it is in all of the other counties the organization serves.

“My overall focus in every county is the same. It’s building stronger women…,” she said. “When we focus on the moms and in the areas where they’re broken and where they’re weak, and we build them up in those areas, we will not only see better outcomes in them but also in their children and in our community as a whole.”

Cooper said the local chapter will be for all mothers, not just single mothers. Her hope is that the group will simply be able to connect moms. An upcoming “Meet N’ Greet” is planned for folks to hear more information about the organization, and she said it will ultimately be up to the mothers to decide the direction they want the group to take.

“Whatever they think that they want here in Milledgeville to take place, that’s what they need to let us know,” Cooper said. “A lot of [moms] have already said, ‘We just want to connect with other moms.’ Some say they do need help in particular areas, so it will be based upon their needs.”

Cooper is hopeful that the organization will eventually be able to host community events that connect families. In addition, the group could also serve as a springboard for new mothers who want to get to know other mothers or connect with moms who have kids of the same age.

“So [we are] trying to bring not only support but family engagement, connecting families together,” she said.

No matter the direction the organization takes, Cooper said she is hopeful that it will be a place where mothers can find support from one another.

“Everybody needs somebody to lean on,” she said. “Especially when you may be a single mom or a new mom or somebody just moving into the area or a mom who doesn’t have any family here, it may feel lonely. A lot of times some people find themselves in depression because they don’t have anyone to contact to say, ‘Let’s meet up for coffee and talk,’ and [let] that be a refreshment for them. We all need that connection with a friend.”

Moms Connect of Milly will hold a Meet ‘N Greet at the Mary Vinson Memorial Library on Saturday, Feb. 25 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more information, email momsconnectofmilly@gmail.com and join the Facebook group, Moms Connect of Milly.