Iron Horse Mothers' Club Connects Danville Moms

At a typical morning play group of the Iron Horse Mothers' Club, moms from Danville and San Ramon gather around the play structures at Sycamore Valley Park in Danville.

Between feeding crackers into passing toddler's mouths, rocking a newborn baby in a sling and pushing children on the swings, moms share tidbits about their week.

One mother laments her newborn's acid reflux symptoms. Others swap recommendations of local kiddie gyms and birthday party plans.

Lisa Radden joined the Iron Horse Mothers' Club when she moved to Danville two years ago.

"When we moved, I quit my job and became a stay at home mom to my one-year-old daughter," said Radden. "We knew very few people in the area, we needed to rebuild our lives, build a network of friends and figure out how to keep our toddler busy."

Radden and her daughter have been in the same playgroup ever since, meeting weekly with many of the same families to play and chat.

"My daughter and I have formed some great friendships from our play group and had lots of fun along the way," said Radden.

Danville mother Danielle Lyons, joined the group about one year ago.

"My husband and I were the first people in our group of friends to have a baby and I needed to connect with other moms going through the same thing as me," Lyons said.

Besides the weekly playgroups, Lyons has taken advantage of a variety of activities sponsored by the club, including a mom's pampering night and a secondhand clothing and toy swap.

The Iron Horse Mother's Club has several other activities organized for moms with young children. Members provide dinners to other moms after the birth of their babies. They also organize mom's nights out, particpate in kids' socials, a speaker series and trade advice on a Yahoo! group.

The club has nearly 600 members, sprawling from Dublin to Alamo, with some moms coming from as far as Pleasanton and Walnut Creek, to connect with other families.

Melinna Gershik, co-director of the club and a mother of two, is proud of how the club helps moms in the Tri-Valley.

"There is not a day that goes by that I don't turn to 'the mothers' for advice, referrals, or information," said Gershik. "Our e-mail list provides a lifeline to new mothers, veteran mothers and everyone in between."

Gershik says the group also benefits the community, by supporting local businesses owned by the club's members and through field trips to local parks and restaurants.

"With 600 members, we have a strong economic footprint in the Tri-Valley area," she said.

To moms riding the rollercoaster of parenting young children, the club is a stable resource.

"Mothers' clubs are the new neighborhood ... we many not know our physical neighbors, but we know 600 mothers in the Tri-Valley area," said Gershik. "It's an amazing network—for friendship, for activities, for community building."

For more information, visit http://www.ironhorsemothersclub.com.