After the community pool in Yelm closed up for the season, stay at home mom Cheryl Davenport was left wondering what the afternoons would be like for her and her daughter when the weather turned dark and rainy.

"I needed other mothers to talk to and other children for my daughter to socialize with," Davenport said.

After weeks of searching, Davenport found out the MOMS Club of Lacey wanted to start a new chapter in Yelm.

The Lacey club offered some guidance to get started, and in June 2008 the MOMS Club of Yelm became an official chapter.

The MOMS Club, which stands for "Moms Offering Moms Support," is an international nonprofit organization committed to serving communities through offering support to mothers and children.

The organization has more than 2,000 chapters in the United States alone, which includes nearly 100,000 members.

The Yelm club serves to network and create a supportive community of local mothers who host play dates, crafts, moms nights out events, field trips and seasonal activities. It distributes a monthly newsletter with a full calendar of planned activities, usually around two per week.

"Members can pick and choose what they want to do depending on their schedule," said Davenport, the Yelm chapter president. "It has that kind of flexibility."

Since its inception in 2008, the Yelm club has grown from four to 27 members.

More than 75 percent of those mothers are military wives, Davenport said.

Stephanie Pritchard, a stay at home mom whose husband has been in the Army for 11 years, moved to Yelm three years ago heard about the club after picking up a flyer at her son's preschool.

"I had been looking to make friends for myself and children, so I e-mailed them and within a few days I got to meet some of the members," said Pritchard, who has a 3-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. "I was impressed so I joined and have been a member since."

While her husband has yet to deploy during his assignment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Pritchard's fellow MOMS Club members lifted her spirits last year after her son and husband had major surgeries a few days apart.

"The ladies of the club sent me flowers, a card and offered home cooked meals for my family," Pritchard, 32, said. "I recommend MOMS Club to every military spouse ... it is hard to make friends when you move to a new area, and the ladies of the club are so welcoming and friendly. We have been through deployments before and I wish I had the good support network as I do with the MOMS Club."

The club's service not only includes helping each other out, but also the community. It recently participated in the nationwide Great American Bake Sale, where members donated baked goods or their time the day of the sale. The proceeds went to support children in the community through summer feeding programs and after school activities. 

For more information on the MOMS Club of Yelm, e-mail momsclubofyelm@gmail.com.