Special to The Hays Daily News

Mothers of Preschoolers of Messiah Lutheran is kicking off "The Great Moms Walk" by walking in the Wild West Festival Fourth of July parade.

The "Great Moms Walk" is an event all MOPS groups have the opportunity to use so they can generate community awareness and also raise money for their local groups. MOPS is a nonprofit organization, and fundraising is done to help subsidize the MOPS and MOPPETS program budget, and, most importantly, to allow the group to take part in helping other community ministries and give back to others in need.

The group also is hoping to be able to send some of its MOPS leaders to the MOPS International Convention to receive leadership training. MOPS of Messiah Lutheran has the desire to reach out and help; it wants to become an organization that Hays looks at as a benefit and asset to the community.

MOPS is a Christian-based international program that exists to equip, educate and emotionally support moms through the daily joys, trials and tribulations of raising children ages birth through kindergarten. MOPS is a place where moms can be women, mothers and leaders all while networking with other moms of young children. Being a mother can be confusing, overwhelming and definitely unpredictable. MOPS can help.

While moms pour themselves into their kids, MOPS pours itself into the moms. MOPS believes better moms make a better world and affects more than 14.3 million people. More than 115,000 moms meet weekly, bi-weekly or monthly in more than 4,000 MOPS groups worldwide.

The local MOPS of Messiah Lutheran group formed in 2007 and has had an awesome welcome in Hays. The group has 26 moms and two mentor moms, and has accomplished many things. Last year, the group created a monthly newsletter to keep members informed and as a way to reach out to other moms.

MOPPETS, a volunteer sister program that organizes childcare during meetings, watched more than 50 children so moms could attend the meetings. It also planned the first Christmas bazaar for moms with home-based businesses to display their products and gain more contacts.

The MOPS group also completed several outreach projects this past year to include Operation Christmas Child, which sends shoe boxes to needy children and helped in a breakfast burrito fundraiser for a local mom who lost her newborn child and then suffered a stroke. All of these accomplishments, projects and events have helped raise community awareness, but the group still would like to reach out to more moms who need support and friendships.

Monthly MOPS meetings take place as a ministry at Messiah Lutheran Church for all mothers of preschoolers regardless of their religious affiliation. Meetings are on the third Saturday of the month, from September through May. The meetings start at 9:30 a.m. and last until 11:30 a.m. Childcare is provided by RSVP for meetings through MOPPETS. All MOPPETS caregivers are volunteers.

The 2009-10 theme is "Together on Planet Mom," because we truly are better together. The moms enjoy food, fellowship, craft activities, discussion and hear speakers on pertinent topics for moms. If you are a mom of young children, visit a meeting and become a member of our growing group of awesome moms.

We would like to extend an invitation to everyone in the community to walk with us in the Fourth of July parade. The group will hand out candy, coloring pages and an informational flyer about MOPS to as many people as we can, hoping to reach out to all mothers of preschoolers. The group will meet at 9:15 a.m. Saturday at Messiah Lutheran Church, 20th and Main.

Anyone wishing to lean more about MOPS can go to www.mops.org or e-mail mopsofmessiahlutheran@yahoo.com or call Messiah Lutheran Church at (785) 625-2057.