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| Bergen County Mocha Moms |
TEANECK — On Saturday afternoon at the Richard Rodda Community Center, the sound of children’s giggles intermingled with the warm greetings and soft words shared by unrelated women who call each other family.
Though it was the children who crawled under tables searching for boiled colored eggs and constructed floppy bunny hats out of paper, it was their mothers who seemed to be really enjoying themselves.
Tanisha Day, a human-resources consultant from Teaneck, smiled broadly as her 8-year-old son Nehemiah played, and friends asked about her week.
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| Mocha's Tanisha D and Kathy W. |
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| Chapter President Tiffany K and Family |
“The key word is genuine,” said Day, one of 55 members of the Bergen County chapter of Mocha Moms, a national group that describes itself as a sisterhood of women bonded by motherhood. “We like each other, and we have a lot of fun.”
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| Otise, Tanisha, Ivory and Patrice |
Eight years ago, Day separated from her husband and moved from Virginia to New Jersey alone, a transition that she said put her at her “lowest point.”
“When I needed help, I didn’t have to ask,” she said. “They saw me struggle with a lot of things.”
Day previously served as president of the local group, founded in 2006 as a chapter of the national organization originally designed as a support group for stay-at-home moms of color.
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| Mocha Dana reads to the kids |
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| Mocha Sisterly Love |
The Bergen County chapter is unique — most of its 55 members are working moms, and many are single, according to current President Tiffany Kerr of Wood-Ridge.
And almost all have settled in New Jersey from other parts of the country, said Vice President Otise Schuk of Bogota.
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| Mocha Shawana and Family |
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| Mocha's Michelle, Dana and Tanisha |
For Day and others, the support comes in many forms: offers to baby-sit, child-rearing tips, deep discussions about motherhood, stories about reentering the workforce and help seeking new jobs and career opportunities.
Schuk, who moved to New Jersey in 2007 from Atlanta, where she worked as an analyst for the federal government, said she got a recommendation for a job from a Mocha Mom.
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“Whether I know somebody who knows somebody, or somebody else does, the group has been really helpful,” she said.
The group’s events include monthly meetings at a Paramus library and celebrations like a Mother’s Day event next month.
As her 3-year-old daughter Alyssa toddled around with a friend, Teaneck Mayor Lizette Parker said she joined Mocha Moms seeking help with work-life balance and play dates for Alyssa.
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| Mocha Kids |
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| The Honorable Lizette Parker - Mocha Mom and Teaneck Mayor |
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| Program for the Day |
“It also provides great stress relief with events for just moms,” said Parker, who joined in October 2012. “It’s an opportunity to just enjoy each other’s company.”
Parker said she often peruses an online forum for members, who discuss everything from preparing lunches to handling temper tantrums. “If you need it, Mocha has it,” she said.
The chapter also has an informal group of Mocha Dads, who get to know one another and bond at chapter events.
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| More Mocha Moms |
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| Mocha Tanisha and Family |
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| Mocha's Ivory and Kathy |
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| Mocha Kathy W. |
Tanisha and Christian Alicea of Ramsey have attended chapter events for the past nine years, often bringing along their now-9-year-old daughter Olivia.
“It’s important for little kids of color to see their peers in a setting that’s positive,” Christian Alicea said.
The Aliceas relocated from New England, leaving behind a wide support system of maternal and paternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, he said.
“This has been an extension of our family that has allowed us to build our own family,” he said.
BY MARINA VILLENEUVE - Staff Writer, The record
BY MARINA VILLENEUVE - Staff Writer, The record
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| Mocha's Dana, Kathy and Lizette |
This article is courtesy of NorthJersey.com
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