By Lisa Spriggs and Alycia Grace

Chapter Development began just a few days after the Moms of Black Boys United, Inc. group was formed on Facebook. With a vast number of moms joining the private group and wanting to connect, we began to create state files so that moms in the same area could connect locally. This was an awesome idea, as many members began meeting all over the United States. We had moms getting together and bonding in New Rochelle and Staten Island, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Washington DC (DMV Area); Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, TX; Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles and San Diego, CA; and other cities. They were passionately discussing ways to protect our Black sons. More than 30 meetups were held across the country over this past summer. This was the unofficial beginning of our “Heels on the Ground” chapter development throughout the country.

Since then our group has grown exponentially and MOBB United for Social Change has moved off of Facebook to our own domain at www.mobbunited.org.

     Currently, we have moms who are ambassadors of MOBB United. We appreciate their volunteerism and could not do what we do without them. Our ambassadors have taken the initiative to host and hold events in their areas. Some of those events include, but are not limited to:

• Hosting:
  • Meet and greet events (meetups)
  • MOBB United anniversary events
  • Pink Postcard parties
  • Organizing and/or participating in MLK Day Mother and Son National Day of Service projects
• Registering voters during the Rock the Vote campaign
• Representing MOBB United at government functions like the Congressional Black Caucus and local Lobby Days

Some of our ambassadors have been with us from the very beginning, while others joined us more recently. For ambassadors who were new to the group and wanted to host an event, the tools were at their disposal to make their event successful. The resources provided included presentations, recordings, fliers, pink postcards, one-on-one conversations, and social media branding. After these events, we welcome all feedback from our members via testimonies and/or online surveys.

     At this time, all of our local chapters fall under the national umbrella of MOBB United. Each chapter should have a city leader, and Chapter Development is seeking individuals who are ready to take their city to another level. This mom will be the main contact locally to bring issues and/or concerns to the national level and vice versa. We expect the city leaders to attend the monthly Saturday national status and update calls so as to be able to disseminate information consistently to other members.

     We are accepting applications online for city leaders. The requirements for being a city leader include but are not limited to:

• Completing online application
• Being a paid member of MOBB United
• Attending monthly Saturday national status and update calls
• Hosting a minimum of four meetings per year (preferably monthly or bi-monthly) to include the following:
  • Mother and Son MLK Day of Service event (January)
  • MOBB United Anniversary event to commemorate our founding (July)
  • Advocacy Event (timing TBD)
• Recruiting additional members
• Participating in Chapter Orientation

The application process is open until the end of December, and leadership expects to make selections in January 2018, as well as provide Chapter orientation.

Please follow us to see the latest timeline in Chapter Development.