PANDA WEEK WITH MUMS WHO WINE
PANDA week is an opportunity for open and honest conversations about the mental health issues facing new and expecting parents. To mark this very important week, we sat down and chatted with Lauren Oliver, the founder of the amazingly supportive organisation "Mums Who Wine".
1. What is Mums Who Wine about?
Mums Who Wine is an organisation that is passionate and dedicated to creating an avenue for mums to invest time in themselves and their own self-care. We believe that #selfcaresaves and if we can create a space for mums to invest in their self-care and “fill their cup” then not only the mums, but their friends, family, and community will benefit. We do this in several ways:
We host events across Australia to create a space to enjoy a night out and connect with other mums in their community. Our events are open to all mums, of all ages. Since launching in July 2017 we have hosted over 100 events and connected over 7500 mums.
We have an annual membership where our members receive VIP discounts and benefits to over 300 businesses nationally - all focussed on self-care. Benefits include free coffee, discounted gym membership, free facials, discounted wine and more.
We host National and International Retreats where we take our mums away for some time out and to connect with other mums.
Most importantly we support PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia) by donating 5% of all proceeds to assist PANDA's vision for raising awareness and reducing stigma associated with perinatal anxiety and depression. Since launching in July 2017 we have raised nearly $30K for PANDA.
2. How did Mums Who Wine begin?
Mums Who Wine started all because I wanted to make one friend. I was working full time as a corporate lawyer and after having my eldest son Thomas we made the decision to relocate from the Mornington Peninsula to Inner West Melbourne so I could be closer to work. I left my friends, family and social network and because I was working full time, I didn’t know how to meet mum friends. So I put a call out on a local mums and bubs Facebook group saying “Hi ladies, I am new to the area and don’t know anyone, would anyone like to catch up for a glass of wine?” Thankfully several people responded and I started organising dinners and catch ups for mums at night.
After 18 months what started as small dinners were now large scale events that were selling out in 45 minutes. It was then that I realised that I had hit a niche market, but more importantly a need.
In July 2017 I launched Mums Who Wine as a business and only 6 months later made the brave decision to quit my job as a corporate lawyer and focus on Mums Who Wine full time. A huge step of faith, but the best decision I have made as we are now National, we have connected over 7500 mums, reached 3.5 million people on social media with our #selfcaresaves message and created an incredible community for mums across Australia.
3. Who is your target audience for Mums Who Wine?
Mums Who Wine is open to mums of all ages, however a large portion of our attendees and members are mums with young children. This is often the time that mums really need some time out and adult conversation. We do however have a great variety of age groups, for example one event we had four grandmothers that came on their own and they all became friends at the event and have continued to catch up since the event!
4. How can people get involved?
Become a Mums Who Wine Member
The easiest way to become involved is to become a member. Our membership is only $59 for the year and that gives members $10-$30 discount on all of our events, VIP discounts/benefits to our 300+ Affiliates and we also donate 5% of all proceeds to PANDA
Become an Affiliate
If you are a business that would love to support our mission to improve the lives of mums by providing VIP treatment then you can submit an affiliate enquiry and one of our team will get in contact here
#Selfcaresaves Campaign
In 2018 we ran our first #selfcaresaves campaign to help raise money and awareness for PANDA. We raised $12,120 in 30 days through the sale of our #selfcaresaves tees and tanks.
We are excited to be running this campaign again with new tees and tanks. Not only will you be sharing a powerful message, but we donate $10 from every tank or tee to PANDA. You can purchase here
5. What do you do for downtime and self-care as a mum yourself?
My downtime and self care is catching up for girlfriends for dinner or a wine. The way that I “fill my cup” is being around people. I am often asked “how do you do it?” as I host multiple events a week and always around people, but I actually love it. However there is nothing better than sitting down with your best friends and being real and talking about life. My husband can tell straight away when I haven’t had that time and the first thing he says is “call the girls! You need some girl time”
Lauren x
