Some New Chapter FAQs: - PDF Free Download

Some New Chapter FAQs: Why should I start a Holistic Moms Network chapter? Starting a new chapter within our organization is an exciting adventure! There are many fabulous rewards to creating a Holistic Moms Network chapter including meeting new moms who share your views and developing new friendships. You will be creating a positive environment where holistic moms can share their parenting experiences and natural health knowledge, without criticism and learning about any number of interesting topics, from each other or from alternative health care professionals who may serve as guest speakers at your meetings. In addition, by creating a community of natural health professionals along side members, you are helping to strengthen the network of holistic moms and alternative health care providers in your own backyard! Plus, you are providing valuable support to moms throughout your area who may be struggling to parent mindfully in the face of pressure from well-meaning family members, friends, or society at large. For many moms, starting a new chapter also helps them to satisfy their passion for educating others about holistic health and conscious parenting. Starting a chapter of the Holistic Moms Network differs from other moms groups not only in our emphasis to bring about change through support and education, but also because of the assistance we give to our leaders to help them along the way. The HMN Leadership Team provides support to chapters in terms of leadership training, access to chapter mentors, a step-by-step chapter leaders manual, and a wealth of resources including both online advice through our chapter leaders email loop and written materials. We are dedicated to helping make your chapter a success! We provide the tools to make your chapter possible! Please note: We are a community-building organization and abide by a non-solicitation policy within our Chapters. Some of our existing Chapter Leaders are holistic healthcare professionals or business owners whose purpose is to build a chapter and strengthen HMN Vision and Purpose. If you are a holistic business owner or healthcare practitioner looking to build your business, being a Chapter Leader is not for you. Our communities are not about marketing a specific product, company, or practice, but rather about building an authentic grassroots communities. Here is what some of our HMN Chapter Leaders have said about their leadership experience: I m just blown away by the wonderful people I am meeting through this group. It s such an enriching experience and I m so grateful that you ve created this opportunity! There is never enough time at our monthly meetings! The participants are interested and interesting and the conversations and dialogue have been rich and meaningful. We recently decided to do a follow-up Saturday meeting, as everyone had more questions and information to share. Now THAT is a sign that this type of forum is not only needed but is being embraced! Lisa, CT Chapter Leader I m getting really excited, thanks so much for making the whole organization run so smoothly and giving all of us such great opportunities I ve already found people who are becoming close friends and the support of the loop is precious. Lucy, NY Chapter Leader There are no holistic moms near me! How could I possibly start a chapter? Being an alternative parent is challenging and can sometimes make you feel like you re the only one who is breastfeeding a toddler, using cloth diapers, seeking out natural remedies, or living green. Chances are there are lots of moms out there in your community just like you! Many holistic moms are less than public about their choices after years of feeling like the only one or having faced pressure and criticism from friends and family. Remember the movie Field of Dreams where they said If you build it, they will come? It s true! Our chapter leaders have been amazed that once the word gets out that they are creating a new community for holistic moms; members seem to materialize from surrounding neighborhoods and towns. The HMN Leadership Team will also work with you to help publicize your chapter and to help you find new avenues for getting the word out. All it takes is for one mom to get the ball rolling!

But starting my own chapter sounds too complicated! Every successful and meaningful venture involves time and effort. There is some work involved in getting a new chapter up and running and the road is not always easy but HMN offers fabulous resources to assist you along the way. Know that you will not be alone! The leadership team of HMN will help you to start your chapter through our Chapter Leadership Manual a step-by-step guide to creating your own holistic moms community. Some of the tasks you will need to take on include learning about group leadership, finding a meeting location, and publicizing your chapter, and how to get it started and to continue your growth over time. As your Chapter grows and evolves, each and every member should play an active role and take on some of the responsibility of running your community. We encourage you to gather together a leadership team to work together as you grow and only to take on what you and your team can handle. Getting started is just the first step! Many moms will be grateful to you for taking the initiative to getting the chapter up and running and before long, you ll have plenty of willing helpers! Wow, it sounds like you have a set structure and format for your chapters. Why isn t it more free-flowing? It s true that we have worked hard to develop a structure for our chapters, from our tools for building local communities to procedures that help make your chapter a success. Why? For one thing, we want you to build successful and thriving communities. We have years of combined volunteer and non-profit experience on our team and have seen many organizations come and go. We believe that providing structure and ensuring quality are the keys to success for our chapters and for our members. Support groups that lack structure don t have much of a foundation to build on and often fall by the wayside. Building holistic communities in a society that doesn t always welcome them can be a challenge. By providing guidelines, we re laying the groundwork for the future. Without that level of commitment from us and our leaders, we couldn t count on our communities being around for very long. I already meet with a group of holistic-minded moms. Can we become a chapter? Absolutely! Becoming a chapter of the Holistic Moms Network provides you with an opportunity to join a larger community and to be part of our not-for-profit corporation. Our mother organization will help guide your chapter and will provide you with ideas for future activities, a website to attract new members, to keeping existing ones informed, and assisting you to set up your chapter s own email loop. All of our chapters have a great deal of freedom in order to meet the needs of their members, so if your existing group has some specific interests, you will likely be able to incorporate them into your HMN chapter. In addition, a significant portion of each annual HMN membership fee is actually returned to the chapter in order to fund its activities and cover local expenses, such as the costs involved in making fliers or renting out meeting space, if necessary. You will also become part of our national community and can join our National Email Loop and participate in HMN events and conferences. In addition to these benefits, you can invite new moms to your existing group and help out other moms looking for the support and friendship you have found within your own group. As moms, we all recognize how vital connecting with other parents can be for our sanity, as well as for success in our own parenting. Our mission is to serve holistic moms everywhere by offering support and education and to help them find their own local communities. Local chapters are the heart and soul of our organization! This is why we work so hard to help our moms start a local chapters. So what s involved in running a Holistic Moms chapter? As with any organization, running a chapter of the Holistic Moms Network brings with it certain responsibilities. We encourage all of our leaders to get a co-leader or some friends or other moms involved early on so that you can share your chapter duties with others. You will find that many moms will volunteer to get involved early on and will be more than happy to help out! To get the chapter started, you will need to set up a meeting location, date and time; select topics of interest to the group; advertise your chapter locally; and field inquiries from prospective members. The HMN Chapter Leadership Manual will help guide you through each of these steps. Once your chapter is up and running, you and your local co-leaders will continue to plan meetings, invite guest speakers, advertise your chapter, and manage your chapter funds. You may also add new activities to your chapter, such as playgroups, a book club, or a lending library, for example - but these are not requirements and you can add activities as your chapter grows. The more members you have, the more activities you may wish to offer - and to delegate to your members. Most importantly, you need commitment, passion, and energy to see your Chapter through to success. Getting your community going and seeing it thrive may not always be a smooth process. But our Leaders are dynamic and persistent, and are motivated to succeed. How much does it cost to start a chapter? All chapter leaders must also be members of our organization. Annual membership is $45 per year, a tax-deductible contribution to our organization. For just $45 (less than $4 per month!) you will receive lots of great benefits! In addition, chapter leaders pay an additional $25 for leadership materials, which includes the Chapter Leadership

Manual, leadership materials and trainings, access to our online resources, all which are towards the benefit of being an affiliated HMN Chapter Leader. Chapter Leaders are eligible to be reimbursed from Chapter funds for this Leader fee, once their Chapter has been launched and is in good standing. If, in starting your chapter, you spend money out of pocket for such things as photocopies, printing, or postage, you may be reimbursed from your own chapter funds as resources allow. Each chapter receives a portion of each of their member s dues back from HMN National to help with chapter expenses. However, since our membership fee is so low we advise all chapters to be frugal! How long does it take to start a chapter? All Chapter Leaders must be interviewed and approved by HMN National and are required to attend our Leaders Training Session (by Conference Call) and must complete our Leadership Commitment, Publicity Worksheet, and New Leaders Checklist before they can move forward. In addition, Leaders should have at least an additional month to publicize their chapter before they kick off with their Open House. Generally, it will take at least two months before you are ready to start your Chapter. Chapters that move forward too quickly tend to encounter more challenges than those that are well-prepared. I don t live near any existing chapters can I start a chapter in my area? Yes, yes, yes! The Holistic Moms Network began as a small, local support group in Northern NJ and has since grown to more than 100 Chapters across the United States. We welcome chapters from across the country! Our mission is to help moms form local communities that will be supportive of their parenting and healthcare choices and we know there are holistic moms like you everywhere! After all, New Jersey isn t exactly an easy place to get started. In fact, people often point to our state as the medical/pharmaceutical state. We figure that if Holistic Moms could make it here, we can make it anywhere (to paraphrase Frank Sinatra)! Okay, I want to get started! What do I do now? Great! First, take a moment to email us at info [at] holisticmoms.org and be sure that a new Chapter is not already in progress in your area. We are always opening new Chapters and if one is starting near you, we would be happy to connect you with the new Leader and invite you to work together as a Team! The next step is to complete our Quick Start Guide Request Form. We will email you our Quick Start Guide to give you some basic information about chapter responsibilities, our Chapter Leader Membership Form and Leadership Questionnaire, both which need to be completed and then returned by mail along with means of payment to HMN. You will then be interviewed by a Chapter Mentor about your interests, goals, and ideas for your chapter. This is the first step in our Leadership process. Once the application and approval process is complete, we will provide you with copy of our Chapter Leadership Manual, a step-by-step guide to creating your own chapter as well as give you an abundance of great tools to help you get started. With the manual and the support of our leadership community, you ll be on your way! For more information on starting a local chapter of the Holistic Moms Network, please complete our Quick Start Guide Request Form by clicking here. If you have any questions, contact us at admin [at] holisticmoms.orgor by phone at (877) HOL-MOMS. Thank you!