Mommy Gossip

Changing the World One Mom at a Time

As you, my lovely readers and friends, are finding out, I have been a bit busy lately with a new endeavor called Mom It Forward. Some of you may be wondering what the heck this Mom It Forward thing is and why it would have so wholeheartedly caputred my heart and subsequently, my focus!

Mom It Forward is the newest trend in mom groups and makes giving back fun, sociable, accessible, and stylish—the new “in crowd” of moms where "mom" is a verb. IT RAWKS!!! Not only is it fun, has the benefit of forming new friendships, but it is all for a good cause.




With its unique niche, the Mom It Forward community is the perfect mommy gathering place or group—both online and in real life—to talk about something moms have in common—our passion for making a difference. Members of the Mom It Forward community join for strength and friendship—you know, the adult interaction all of us moms are craving—but leave with so much more... feeling strengthened, uplifted, excited, and with ideas for and a call to action to give back in fun, creative, meaningful ways all while balancing their role as a mom.

One of the many benefits of being a part of this group has been the benefit of meeting such great people and serving alongside them and on some occasions, serving together with our families. Attending the Blissdom Conference and subsequent Mom It Forward service project was one of those opportunities.

The most amazing part of Blissdom was seeing the old addage "all's well that ends well" taken to new heights with "all's extraordinary that ends extraordinarily."


I am referring to the Mom It Forward service project at the Nashville Rescue Mission sponsored by Scanpan (who donated 5 sets of high-end cookware to the Mission, nearly making me wish that was my kitchen—the pots and pans were AMAZING).



Five Fabulous Things About Momming It Forward Nashville Style

What was so extraordinary about this experience you may be asking yourself? Let me touch on five highlights:

1. Influence and reach is more important than numbers! We learned at the conference that blogging traffic is not as important as reach and influence. We experienced the same concept in a different way at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Our team was small in numbers—7 to be exact (Carissa, Kim, Josh and Rebecca, Ghennipher, Marie, and moi). But we helped prepare lunch for upwards of 1500 people. Now that is reach!
   
   
2. Shared meaninful experiences builds community. As we Mommed It Forward, our team experienced one of the most vital parts of building community: shared meaningful experiences. We may have been chopping vegetables or mixing in dressing on salads—ordinary tasks done daily for a mommy. But these ordinary tasks became extraordinary when we performed them while working together for a common goal and great cause—to help those who truly were not able to help themselves. It was an amazingly humble experience!
   
   
   
   
3. Stepping forward and out of your comfort zone is key to Momming It Forward. We got out of our comfort zones. Not only did we Mom It Forward in terms of serving, but we took a step forward from an area in which we may not have been entirely comfortable—from our comfort zones, helping us all to embrace a very important step to Mom It Forward—taking action!
   
   
4. Partnering makes Mom It Forward possible. This entire experience would not have been possible without a lot of creative connections. Specifically... the wonderful people behind the Blissdom Conference, who brought all of us together; the amazing Nashville Rescue Mission organization; our small, but influential team of Mom It Forward moms and dad who sacrificed sleep or fought headaches/sickness to participate; Nancy Martira, the lovely and brilliant PR professional and now friend, who introduced us to Scanpan; Scanpan for their generous donation and sponsorship (you've got to check out their cookware... as Alli Worthington of Blissfully Domestic says, "It's Lickable!"; Jessica Smith for introducing us to Nancy Martira; Abdul (I wish he had a blog I could link you to) for being our amazing taxi cab driver (no! he's no relation to Paula. I asked! LOL!); and most importantly, the people at the Nashville Rescue Mission—for their strength and goodness, however limited or ill understood.
   
   
5. The Mom It Forward mission is alive and kickin'. We have heard a few times that the Mom It Forward mission to "change the world one mom at a time" is lofty. What the Nashville Rescue Mission experience taught me is that it is possible. Mom It Forward can accomplish this mission one day at a time, one person at a time, one location at a time. We already are, including the partner that sponsored the opportunity, the organization that made it possible, the team members that provided the service, and the amazing people who received it.