They say it takes a village…
Community care isn’t an innovation; it’s a way of life.
Across generations, children have often been raised in community. Care has lived in extended families, neighbors, elders, aunties, faith spaces, mutual aid, and chosen kin. Everyone deserves community and help without fear.
Today, economic needs necessitate that more and more families move away from family support. Concepts of individualism permeate modern parenting. Many of us don’t know our neighbors. 82% of mothers report feeling lonely. Modern-day parenting in the U.S. has been deemed a health hazard.
When mothers are expected to carry impossible loads without foundational supports like a federal paid leave policy, affordable, accessible childcare, and adequate maternal health care, we need each other more than ever. We need community more than ever.
CoM Unity is a national initiative from Chamber of Mothers, launched in partnership with SmartyPants Vitamins, designed to meet a moment of growing economic, social, and emotional strain for families and to bring people back to one another.
SmartyPants Vitamins recognizes that community—much like nutrition—is a basic need, and that nourishing communities starts with the idea that everyone needs help at some point.
Needs live everywhere. So does care.
Through education, storytelling, grassroots action across 48 local chapters, and collective calls to action, CoM Unity connects people, amplifies existing resources and work, and reminds of the enduring power of community care.
The little things are the big things
- Honors ancestral, intergenerational, and cultural ways of caring
- Aims to make asking for help accessible and safe for everyone
- Recognizes and acknowledges that care looks different in every community
- Values small acts as essential
- Connects people to local resources and to one another
- Amplifies the work of the ecosystem of organizations and community care resources
- Supports communities while working toward policy change and systemic solutions
Meet our Chief Community Officers
Chamber of Mothers’ chief community officers are deeply involved in community care across the country. Their expertise, vision, and professional experience guide our work and help our members become changemakers in their communities.
Kimberly Seals Allers
Kimberly Seals Allers is an award-winning journalist, five-time author, international speaker, and strategist for maternal and infant health. A former senior editor at Essence and writer at Fortune magazine, Kimberly is a leading voice on birth, breastfeeding, and motherhood at the intersection of race, class, and policy. She is the executive director of Narrative Nation, the only Black woman-led technology non-profit that creates narrative-centered products to address racial disparities in maternal and infant health, and founder of the app Irth, a ‘Yelp-Like’ review and rating app for Black and brown women and birthing people to find and leave reviews of OB/GYNs, birthing hospitals, and pediatricians.
Nicolle L. Arthun
Nicolle L. Arthun, MSN, CNM, FACNM, is a nationally recognized Navajo Nurse-Midwife and systems builder with 18+ years of experience designing Native-led maternal health infrastructure and transforming how organizations lead and deliver community-centered care. She works at the intersection of organizational design, leadership coaching, and health systems strategy—helping teams translate values into governance, align structure with mission, and build capacity for sustainable implementation. Her work braids Indigenous knowledge with health systems, rooted in relational accountability and real-world practice.
JOIN US IN JOINING TOGETHER
Our 48 local chapters are the heart of our grassroots work. They are places where real change happens, real conversations take place, and where you can find—and be—a part of your community.
Recently, Chamber of Mothers chapters have…
- Hosted formula drives during national shortages
- Partnered with organizations such as Baby2Baby to distribute essentials to families in need
- Organized diaper drives with our partners at the Tender Foundation
- Held expert-led reflection circles after the devastating LA fires
- Collected essentials for mothers and children during the holidays
- Launched community swaps
& more
Join the conversation on social
Share your story about a moment of need—and how community showed up for you—with the hashtag #CoMUnity. Your story could help someone in need.
Share your story, shape the change you want to see
How has community supported you in times of need? What resources is your community in need of? What resources have helped you most? Share your story to inform our grassroots work and legislative agenda and to help moms everywhere.
