Dear MAC Moms,

One of the biggest challenges for MAC over the past few years has been finding new Moms who are interested in becoming active members.  Attendance at our activities has been dwindling, and we would like to provide our members with better opportunities for socialization, friendship, and fun.

MAC will be merging with the Harrisburg West Shore Mom's Group (found on Meetup.com) in the upcoming months.  This group has an amazing internet presence which will allow new moms to find us.

We will continue to operate much like we have done in the past.  We will have a monthly calendar of activities, and members will be able to sign up and attend as many as they like.  MAC favorite activities like Story & Craft at Barnes and Noble and Visits to Bethany Village will continue to appear on the monthly calendars.

How does this affect the October and November MAC calendars?
The MAC Halloween party will be merged with the Meetup Halloween party.  We will have one party, and it will take place at Paula's house (instead of Meredith's house) at 10:00 (instead of 11:00).
The monthly MAC meeting for November will not be held.
Other than that, the MAC activities will show up on the Meetup calendar.  You will be able to sign up on the Meetup site.

What do I need to do?
Visit the meetup url at http://sahm.meetup.com/1649/ .  You will see our group's home page "Welcome, Harrisburg West Shore Moms" organized by Paula.  The group is private, so you will need to register on the website, and wait to be "approved" before you become a member.  So, answer the registration questions, and as soon as someone has read your registration, you will get an email that you have been approved.  As soon as you get this email, you can visit the URL to view the calendar, see a list of members, and view messages that members have posted on the message board.

How big is this new group?
The Harrisburg West Shore Mom's Group has about 50 members.  This number varies as members join or leave the group.  Of course, not every mom attends every activity.  An average activity would have 5-10 moms in attendance.

What will it cost me?
There is a "suggested donation" of $5 per year to belong to this Meetup group.  This money is mostly used to pay for the website (which costs about $10 a month).  There is a link on the "Our Home" page of the website that allows you to pay the organizer (Paula) online.  If you prefer, you can just give that amount to Paula at an activity.

How do I stay active?
MAC has always had requirements for "active membership" but we have never really enforced them.  When we merge with Meetup, we will also have some requirements for "active membership".  If you attend at least one meetup per month, you will automatically be an active member.  If for some reason, you cannot attend a meetup in a month, email Paula to let her know that you would still like to be considered active.  If you did not attend a meetup (and did not email Paula) then your membership will become inactive, and you will need to re-register for the group to see/sign up for activities on the website.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me (Sue Rizzo) or any of the MAC officers.  We would be happy to talk you through the new Meetup website, or address any concerns that you may have.  Our contact information is below.

Amy Leber (president) 697-0762 [email protected] 
Sue Rizzo (secretary) 502-8792 [email protected]
Maureen Mahone (treasurer) 766-1915 [email protected]
Meredith Thomas (vice president and activities coordinator) 761-0210 [email protected]
Amy Minarich (welcome coordinator) 612-8475 [email protected]