What you'll find when you join the online community...
a peek inside the new SMP community on Mighty Networks
I’d intended March to be our Grand Opening month. I carefully (and uncharacteristically) planned a gradual, systematic move over to Mighty Networks from our pieced together online community that straddled this Substack, Zoom, and Google Groups/Drive and considering different subscriber levels, etc. Part of the reason for this was that I was very new to the MN platform and wanted to be sure those who made the move early were okay with and prepared to learn and grow with me as I (clumsily?) figured out how to navigate and create on this new (to me and the SMP) community site.
It would seem that moms were ready and eager for this community to launch, for a place to come and be seen and understood, to share their painful stories as well as their talents, ideas, resources, and support with each other. And as happens when you bring human mamas dedicated to a shared vision together in the same space, the community quickly came alive and is currently growing and changing and becoming something much bigger and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined on my own. If I’ve learned anything at this point in my life, it’s that we’re better and stronger together.
For those who are a bit more cautious and want a better idea of what they’re going to encounter when joining something new, this post is for you. It contains lots of screenshots from inside the community (though anonymity of the group members will not be compromised in this image tour of the space) so if you’re on an email platform that doesn’t download images, know you’ll get far more benefit by clicking into the Substack post.
Here are the features and (March!) events that currently await you, and I’m pretty sure this is only the beginning…
I love this feature of MN! When you join, you’ll discover a Welcome Checklist that walks you through the posts that will help you orient to the community guidelines, get acquainted with active members, and discover ways to quickly engage if you’re so inclined.
The Welcome Checklist will invite you to explore the Featured Section where you’ll find posts like a Helpful Resources share thread; Wins: big or small for those insights and growth moments you want to celebrate with community; Inspirational Gold where you can share anything you think might offer a lift for someone seeking one; and Random Ruminations for those thoughts occupying your mind that you believe others might also find interesting. These were member requested categories and there are additional thoughtful and beautiful member projects in here as well.
These are peer-facilitated book clubs that are available to any community member who wants to join (though facilitators can choose to cap the membership if it starts to feel too big.) These two are just getting started so you still have time to catch up on the reading and join the discussion if you get in there soon! (If you have a growth-oriented book that you think would benefit the community, feel free to request a room.)
Off of what is known as The Main Hall which is the primary feed for the community that all members have access to, are these resource/discussion rooms. Within these rooms are posted resources with discussion threads. These were recently added rooms and there are currently just a handful of resources in them, but I’ll be adding more rooms and certainly more resources!
Paid SMP Substack subscribers have access to these lessons that are known as helpful concepts along the way here on the Substack. Over in our Mighty Network, this is called The Foundations Course and it’s included in the basic membership of $24/month. ALL of the paid content on the SMP Substack will be made available to those who purchase an annual membership to the SMP Community on Mighty Networks.
And finally, to celebrate our Grand Opening, I am so very excited to share that we’re having two special guests join us for live events in March! Both of these events will be part of a series of live events that I’m calling The Power of Feeling Better Now: How both we and our kids benefit from processing our emotions and finding solid ground, with proven strategies to help us get there.
My good friend and long-time parent coach, Scott Noelle, and life coach and fellow non-affirming mom, Lisa Salamone have both agreed to return to support our community with these live events/Q&As! Here are my original podcast interviews with each, in case you missed them:
Be the Change You Wish to See -with Lisa Salamone
Unconditionality -with parent coach, Scott Noelle
Okay, that feels like a ton! I hope this isn’t overwhelming—the idea is that there’s something for everyone. My intention is for this community to be really responsive to member needs and for members to feel inspired to engage and supported to contribute. You can choose to participate in the offerings that resonate most for you and even make an offering yourself as long is it fits within the growth-oriented focus of the community. To learn more and discover how to join, visit the SMP Community tab or click here for the community landing page where you’ll also see some of the comments from group members (shared with permission.) If you’re ready to get vetted and get in, here’s a link to the application.
Questions welcome in the comment thread!