For support and connection in the early parenting years, look no further than the Elmhurst Area Moms group

By Valerie Hardy  |  Photos courtesy of Elmhurst Area Moms

Meghan Kastenholz was 37 weeks pregnant when she moved to Elmhurst in 2022. She didn’t know a single person in her new hometown besides her husband, but that was about to change.

Kastenholz attended a Moms’ Night Out coordinated by the Elmhurst Area Moms (EAM). One of the first women she met that evening organized Meal Trains for EAM members when they had a baby or experienced illness, and lo and behold, when Kastenholz arrived home with her newborn, meals started “showing up at our door – from women I’d never met before,” she said. “I was so touched.”

Today, Kastenholz counts the Meal Train coordinator and many other women from EAM among her dearest friends. “Postpartum is such a hard time, and moving is so hard,” she said. Knowing other local moms could empathize and were there to provide support “helped guide me through that season of life.”

2025 Summer Kick-Off Party

Now, at the end of her term as EAM president, Kastenholz has encountered numerous women whose stories mirror her own: new moms recently transplanted from the city with a limited local support system but a deep desire for community and connection. Enter EAM – a social and support network primarily for moms of children under 5.

EAM has offered online and in-person support to mothers and families since 2009 – and many have considered it a lifeline during the often vulnerable and lonely postpartum

and early parenting periods. From a virtual discussion board for members to seek advice on parenting, products, and preschools to in-person playgroups, pool parties, philanthropic events, and so much more, EAM is invaluable to scores of women across Elmhurst, Villa Park, Lombard, and surrounding suburbs.

2024-2025 Elmhurst Area Moms Board

With upwards of 4-5 events per week (some for moms and children, some for the whole family, and others for adults only), EAM has something for everyone. However, it takes time and teamwork to pull it all off. That’s where the 22-24-person volunteer-run board comes in. Besides the core officers, EAM’s leadership team includes chairs to organize Meal Trains, playgroups, book clubs, Moms’ Nights In and Out, special events, and more. “It takes a village to raise a family and a village to raise that village,” Kastenholz said about the importance of EAM’s sizable board.

EAM’s greater village currently consists of 470 members. Brittany (who requested her last name be omitted), the most veteran EAM member on the board, said membership has nearly doubled since the late 2010s and shared that while the organization originally targeted stay-at-home moms, its current membership is approximately 60 percent stay-at-home moms and 40 percent working moms. Most members are newly postpartum, first-time moms, or moms of preschoolers.

Playgroups are the “heart and soul” of the Elmhurst Area Moms group.

To build community within this large organization, EAM hosts small-group events like playgroups, fireside chats, stroller walks, or discounted classes at local gyms.

The group also hosts five larger signature events each year. Emily Curtis, a board member who scheduled weekly meetups, said these include a Halloween Party at Lincoln Elementary School, Preschool Fair at Wilder Mansion, Santa at the Cinema holiday event (hosted in partnership with the Elmhurst Neighbors & Newcomers group) at York Theatre, Summer Kickoff Party at Butterfield Park or another local park, and End-of-Summer Party at Paradise Bay Water Park in Lombard. These events, except for the Preschool Fair, are exclusive to EAM members and their families.

EAM’s communications chair, Amanda Chojnacki, said the Preschool Fair features representatives from dozens of local preschool programs and is the only event of its kind for parents in the western suburbs. This year’s Fair will be held on Nov. 13, starting at 5:30 p.m. for EAM members before opening to the public from 6:00-7:30 p.m.

All the events and resources – plus access to an online marketplace exclusively for members – make the

2024 Moms Metra Bar Crawl

annual $25 EAM membership fee “more than pay for itself,” Chojnacki said. EAM can do so much with such low dues thanks to the sponsorship of local businesses, including Kelly Stetler Real Estate, Compass, Flexx Personal Training, Matrescence Therapy, and Vitality Women’s Physical Therapy.

Though primarily geared toward moms, EAM offers events for dads as well, such as brewery outings and poker nights. “My husband went to the poker night when I first joined EAM and made some friends there that he still goes out with two years later,” Curtis – who is EAM’s new president – said.

As for Kastenholz? While she is stepping down as president to welcome a new baby to her family, EAM will remain close to her heart. “My love language is bringing people food, and I’ll be running the Meal Trains for EAM for the next year,” she said. “It feels like a full-circle moment.”

Visit elmhurstareamoms.org for more information.

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