CLEVELAND — Two Northeast Ohio moms are on a mission to create a community for mothers. "The Village" started with its two founders, Mercedes Kelley and Brittany DiDomenico.
Now, with more than 500 members across Ohio, the fast-growing group demonstrates the need for a safe space for mothers and caregivers to vent, share ideas, and socialize.
"I think it's such a need, honestly. I'm on my third child, and every child of mine my postpartum gets worse unfortunately. I think that a lot of people don't really understand that unless they have children," said DiDomenico of Chagrin Falls.
The women connected on social media and quickly became friends, sharing the joys and challenges of motherhood. "The Village" started online first, and now Kelley and DiDomenico are expanding the connection to in-person meetups.
"I am sort of a younger mom, and I feel like a lot of my friends aren't in the same part of their life as I am, and it's really difficult to make plans and to keep plans," said Kelley of Wadsworth.
"The Village" makes it easy for moms to keep plans, organizing two low or no-cost get-togethers a month that anyone can attend. Children meet new friends and have fun at each event, and mothers have time to connect.
"It lets you know, I'm not the only person feeling like this. I'm not the only person going through this it's so nice. Even just for me to see that other people are also feeling that way because it's hard sometimes," said DiDomenico.
The online platform "CLE with Kids" has also seen booming interest since it started in 2019.
"It grew really fast. I think that people really love that we share so much free things and budget-friendly things to do and especially nowadays its really something that people are looking for," said Bethany Grodell, founder, "CLE with Kids."
With close to 70,000 followers on Instagram, moms like DiDomenico and Kelley use pages like "CLE with Kids" to help plan events for "The Village" and share ideas with their community.
"If we can be that easy place where they can come and find something easily to do and not be stressful, if we can do that, then that's what I love doing," said Grodell.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and DiDomenico and Kelley are proud of "The Village" they've created, and looking forward to it expanding in the future.
"I think it's so important to have people that are raising children in the same time that you are so they get it," said DiDomenico
The next get-together for "The Village" is a Galentine's Party on February 8 at The Tipsy Flamingo in Parma, 5775 Chevrolet Blvd. If you would like to grab a ticket,click here.
If you want to connect with "The Village" online, check out their Facebook page here."The Village" can also be found on Instagram @TheVillageOhio.
You can also follow along with fun ideas for your family from CLE with Kids here.
