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How fun it is to blog about MORE Mom Meetups making news in their towns!

Check out this great article about the thriving Mom Meetups of Fayetteville, NC.

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By Rochelle Williams
Staff writer

“I knew my husband and my children and a few people that I worked with,” said Schroeder, who is 32. “But that was it. I felt all alone here.”

Schroeder is a warm, outgoing woman, who says she is happiest when surrounded by a circle of good girlfriends, but she couldn’t figure out where to meet like-minded women in Fayetteville or how to forge meaningful connections in a transient military town.

She turned to meetup.com, an Internet site that helps groups of strangers organize monthly gatherings in public places. The purpose of the site, best known for mobilizing Howard Dean supporters during his run for the presidency, is to help people with like interests get off the computer and actually meet face-to-face.

In the past two years, interest in the company has surged, expanding beyond political supporters. About 2 million people are registered for groups that run the gamut of interests: Polish speakers, paintball teams, poker players, pug lovers, pregnant women.

Eleven meetups exist in Fayetteville.

In September, Schroeder formed a group for women in their 20s and 30s who want to make friends and hang out together. Other Fayetteville groups target scrapbook makers, pagans and entrepreneurs. Three groups revolve around parenting.

Jodi Wolfe and Mariann Doyle manage the Fayetteville Mom’s Meetup Group, one of the most popular. Membership in the group has swelled since it was created in March. The group has 52 members.

Doyle and Wolfe plan inexpensive or free events at kid-friendly locations so that moms can bond while their children play.

“Our group is getting big, which is exciting,” Wolfe said. “I think everyone is looking for things to do and for friends for their kids.”

Some local meetups are not as successful.

Robert Walker manages a coed singles group that has 14 members. Few of them have participated in events.

On June 8, Walker organized a group night out at On The Border Restaurant on Glensford Drive. Only Walker and one other person showed up.

Walker said he has attended jam-packed singles meetups in Raleigh and believes it is only a matter of time before his group grows.

“Everyone complains about how hard it is to meet single people in Fayetteville, so I know the interest is out there,” Walker said. “We just need a core group of committed people to join because those people will bring their friends, and it will go from there.”

Schroeder says the trick to maintaining a successful group is planning a variety of events and creating an open, welcoming environment.

On the Girls Night Out meetup page, Schroeder writes, “This group is for women who are SERIOUS about meeting other women and becoming long life friends. I don’t care if you are single or married, come on in.”

Schroeder has a core group of about a dozen women who regularly participate in events. The group has 32 members.

Schroeder and her friends meet for coffee, go to day spas, travel to Raleigh for shopping and concerts and gather for “Desperate Housewives” viewing parties.

On Wednesday, seven of them met at the Red Robin restaurant near Cross Creek Mall.

Three women were new to the group that night, but it was hard to tell. Everyone was eager to bond and willing to skip formalities.

They shared appetizers, cracked jokes, drank slushy cocktails and took bites from a single piece of ice-cream cake.

From a distance they looked like comfortable old friends.

Lindsay Hanf, who joined the group in April, said most of the women go out of their way to make each other feel comfortable.

“Some women will have a drink, and others won’t, said Hanf, who is 24. “Some are married with children, and others are single. But it’s OK.

“We all have the same goal: We are looking for people to connect with. Like everyone in Fayetteville, we are people looking for people.”

Staff writer Rochelle Williams can be reached at williamsr@fayettevillenc.com or 486-3557