Upcoming Training Dates
WWMIN has three upcoming virtual training dates:
- Friday, April 22 — 9:30 to 11 a.m.
- Sunday, April 24 — 4:30 to 6 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 27 — 6:30 to 8 p.m.
RSVP at [email protected] Links to the training will be sent out to all attendees the week before the training.
Can’t attend but want to get trained? Send an email to [email protected] The group will be making a recorded version of the training available at a future date and will share the link when it’s ready.
MADISON — For the past year, a core group of local volunteers has been working toward launching the Walking with Moms in Need (WWMIN) program in the Diocese of Madison.
This program, from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is designed as a way for Catholic parishes to walk alongside vulnerable pregnant and parenting women in need.
The program doesn’t ask parishes to become counselors, community centers, or crisis pregnancy centers.
Instead, it gives Catholic parishes the tools to become reliable connectors to local resources and partners in filling service gaps.
WWMIN’s first task: Create a website
Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison is a strong proponent of this effort, and the Diocese of Madison will provide funding to create a diocesan-wide website.
The WWMIN core group asks that every parish do the following:
• Solicit a volunteer to head up the effort at their parish
• Have one (or more) representatives attend a brief virtual training.
• Complete the WWMIN survey (a process that takes approximately one hour)
Information gathered from the parish surveys will be used to create an online services database.
This website will include parish-based resources, as well as those offered through secular groups such as non-profits and government agencies.
See a sample of a WWMIN website at ccsem.org/mom/
100 percent parish participation is critical
“Women in need come from every area of our diocese and we want to show them help is available no matter where they live,” said Susanna Herro, a volunteer who spearheaded local efforts to bring WWMIN to the Diocese of Madison. “We’re excited by the parish response to date and hope we can count on every parish to join us.”
Interested volunteers should contact their pastor and volunteer to attend a virtual training and bring the information back to their parish.