What is the history of Power of Moms Retreats?
Are these Retreats for new mothers, mothers with younger children or mothers with older children?
What topics and other elements are included in a Retreat?
How can I participate in or host a Retreat?
What do I need to do to bring a Power of Moms Retreat to my community?
How much does it cost to put on a Retreat?
Can I become a Power of Moms Trainer and run my own Retreats and Power of Moms Workshops?
What can Power of Moms Trainers do?
What is the history of Power of Moms Retreats?
Back in 2003, I (Saren) and my good friend Neylan McBaine, were discussing various professional development opportunities we’d had in our pre-motherhood lives. We talked about how great it is that members of most professions have the chance to plan and learn from each other at their annual company retreats and thought about the fact that moms (who are members of the world’s most important profession) also need a chance to “network” with other moms and share their ideas and experiences. This little seed of an idea kept nagging us and we decided to put together our first Motherhood Retreat at Bear Lake, Idaho in the fall of 2005 (with Saren’s baby twins in tow…).
That first Retreat was magical and meaningful beyond our wildest dreams and spurred several other Retreats across the country. Neylan and I went on to create a whole “Retreat Manual” to help mothers create their own similar events. But we found out that the best Retreats were headed up by mothers who’d been to a Retreat and had first-hand understanding of what a Retreat should be.
Based on the experiences and feedback of those first pioneer Retreat groups, April and I have taken the work that Neylan and I spearheaded many years ago to a whole new level (Neylan’s time is limited but she’s still on our Advisory Board and writes a column for us). We’ve developed a robust and replicable Retreat program that is providing wonderful experiences for many mothers.
Our vision is that one day (soon), we will see regular Retreats happening all around the world. These uniquely fun, meaningful and empowering events will give mothers the opportunity to step away from their regular lives to think, learn, grow and laugh as they gain new tools and ideas to become the mother and woman they want to be.
To bring this vision to pass, we’re looking for women who’d like to become Retreat Organizers and Power of Moms Trainers to lead Retreats and workshops for moms in their own community. Read on to learn more.
Are these Retreats for new mothers, mothers of young children or mothers of older children?
Power of Moms Retreats are for mothers of all ages with all ages of children. Grandmothers are also welcome to attend! Retreats will help mothers with babies and young children to chart successful life courses and enjoy a much-needed break from the daily workload. Mothers who have older children will appreciate the principles taught and be able to contribute their experiences to help younger mothers. Mothers with older children might especially enjoy becoming certified as Power of Moms Trainers, so they can use their experience, time, and more flexible schedules to strengthen other mothers around the world. One way or another, if you are a mother who would like to get away for a meaningful weekend focused on strengthening you and your family, a Power of Moms Retreat would be a great thing for you.
What topics and other elements are included in a Retreat?
Retreat subjects include:
- Effective Family Systems: Family Discipline Practices, Family Economy, Family Identity
- Taking Care of the Person Inside the Mom (physically, emotionally, mentally, socially and spiritually)
- Picking Our Priorities
- Mind Organization for Moms (our M.O.M. Program)
- Being Enough
- Moving Great Ideas into Reality
- Effective Parenting Partnerships with Our Husbands
Other Retreat elements can include:
- Great food
- Lots of laughter as moms stay up late together sharing stories and playing games (Our overnight Retreats will take you back to your best slumber parties and great times with college roommates)
- Activities like hiking, walking, swimming, hot tubbing, spa treatments, etc. (in the case of weekend Retreats – usually not time for this during a Day Retreat)
- Relaxation and opportunities to reflect
- Self-assessment (in a very friendly way), goal-setting and planning (so you can leave armed with REAL solutions that will really work for you)
- Take-away gifts and a network of ongoing support via our website that will help you really use all that you’ve learned at the Retreat
How can I participate in or host a Retreat?
We offer two ways for you to participate in an inspiring and rejuvenating Power of Moms Retreat:
- You partner with The Power of Moms to put on a Retreat. As a “Retreat Organizer,” you work with The Power of Moms to put together a Retreat in your community. You find the place (a large home donated by someone who’d love to contribute to the cause of motherhood is ideal but hotels can work very well too) and the participants (15-30 moms is optimal for a weekend Retreat, 50-80 for a day-only Retreat) and help with logistics (with lots of help and instructions from us) and we send in an experienced trainer or two (based on your numbers and preferences) to present high-quality, interactive and fun workshops. After helping organize a Retreat, Retreat Organizers can choose to become certified as “Power of Moms Trainers” and can then continue to organize and also conduct Retreats. Retreat Organizers and Power of Moms Trainers can provide wonderful opportunities for mothers while making a little extra money. To find out more: Details and Costs for Putting on a Retreat.
- You can come as an attendee to a Retreat that The Power of Moms or some of our certified Trainers have organized. If there’s a Retreat planned for a location near you, this is the easiest way to participate in a Retreat. The price to attend a two-day Retreat usually ranges from $250-$400 for the weekend (includes training, lodging and meals but not transportation) and for a one-day Retreat, the price ranges from $100 – 200. To learn about any currently planned Retreats, go back to our Retreat page. At many Retreats, special extra sessions are offered for attendees to certify as Power of Moms Trainers. Click here to learn more about our Trainer Program.
What do I need to do to bring a Power of Moms Retreat to my community?
Here’s how it works to create a Retreat in your area:
- To put on a Weekend Retreat in your area, we need a “Retreat Organizer” (could be you!). This person handles the local logistics for a Retreat using the “Retreat Manual” we provide and a lot of email support from an assigned Power of Moms Trainer. The manual and email support walk the Retreat Organizer through everything that needs to happen to set up a location, arrange for food and rooming, publicizing the Retreat locally and gathering a group of 12-30 moms to participate in the Retreat. We have one (or two in the case of a large group or a request for more than one trainer) of our trained and wonderful “Power of Moms Trainers” work with the local “Retreat Organizer” to coach her through the logistics and fine tune the workshops and topics to be offered. Then that same Power of Moms Trainer comes in to present the Retreat, introducing each topic, facilitating meaningful discussions and helping everyone at the Retreat share what they know and learn all they can from each other.
- To bring a Premium Power of Moms Day Retreat to your area, we again need a “Retreat Organizer” (which again, could be YOU). With support from our organization, you’d help us find an appropriate venue, help with recruiting and topic selection, etc. You’d develop your own little team of helpers to fill up the event and handle logistics (with help from the simple tried-and-true guidelines we offer and with our full support). Then we’d send in some of our top trainers and presenters to put on a fabulous day-long Retreat in your area.
How much does it cost to put on a Retreat?
While we’re certainly not in this for the money (we’re making big-time negative salaries so far), we do need to cover the costs of running our organization and ensure that our Power of Moms Trainers (who serve as Retreat Leaders) are compensated for all the time, money and effort it takes to prepare for a Retreat, pay for child care for their kids for a day or two, cover travel expenses and actually present the Retreat.
- If you’d like us to put on a Retreat in your area for your own private group, the fixed costs include $250 for the Retreat Manual and prep work involved in helping the Retreat Organizer (you) set everything up and $750 for the 2 days of professional training/coaching from one of our Power of Moms Trainers – so that’s a total of $1000. Then the group also needs to cover the Power of Moms Trainer’s lodging and travel expenses (we do everything possible to assign a Retreat Leader who lives somewhat close to the Retreat location to keep costs down). If you divide these costs between 15 people, it’s about $70/person for the two days of training (plus dividing up travel expenses for the Retreat Leader). In most cases, the Retreat Organizer charges all attendees a little extra (about $10/person) in order to reimburse herself for at least a little bit of the time that she puts in as a Retreat Organizer (so a Retreat Organizer ends up getting $100 – $200 for all her hard work).
- The variable expenses include food and lodging for Retreat attendees. In many cases, Retreat Organizers are able to secure use of someone’s second home or cabin for their Retreat. In this case, lodging can be free (or almost free – they usually pay for cleaning expenses or offer a gift to the owner). In other cases, a Retreat Organizer has her husband and kids take their own little vacation at a relative’s home or motel and uses her own home as the Retreat location. Sometimes a Retreat Organizer finds a great deal or a hotel or resort. There are many options. Food can be quite inexpensive if the Retreat takes place at a home or facility with a kitchen. The Retreat Manual offers easy delicious tried-and-true recipes and shopping lists to help make food simple, inexpensive and very good. Usually a Retreat Organizer has some of the Retreat attendees help her with food and logistics (suggested simple ways to divide up the work are offered in the Retreat Manual).
Can I become a Power of Moms Trainer and run my own Retreats and Power of Moms Workshops?
YES. Click here to learn all about our Trainer Program.
What can Power of Moms Trainers do?
A Power of Moms Trainer can put on Retreats in her own area plus travel to other areas to be the Power of Moms Trainer for a group that has requested a Retreat. She’s also certified to put on 2-3-hour Power of Moms Workshops (using curriculum, videos, discussion questions and materials provided by The Power of Moms) as often as she’d like for groups of 10-40 moms (in her own home or in another location).
Power of Moms Trainers are paid by participants for the training and Retreats they provide. As a Power of Moms Trainer, you can use your skills to make a real difference in the lives of many women (and their families) while making some extra money. For more information, check out our Trainer Program here.