There are good ideas and there are better ideas. But the best ideas snowball, gain momentum and take on lives of their own. Ashley Mayer started the Lititz Stroller Gang as an exercise club, as a social club for moms. Not even she could’ve imagined what it has evolved into.
From roots as an active social group, the Lititz Stroller Gang has grown in numbers and scope.
“It started as moms needing community,” says Ashley, a native and resident of Lititz. “But it’s expanded beyond whatever I thought it could be at the beginning. We are a Christian group. Our mission, in our heart, is to share something from the Word of God. Recently we’ve started doing more outreach work as well. We love to support other moms and their kids.”
The Lititz Stroller Gang now includes almost 100 members, mostly local moms and their children and their strollers. They find it easier to walk together, about 2 miles, around 40 minutes, on the west side of Lititz, once a week.
“I first envisioned the gang as an exercise group that incorporated kids with strollers,” she explains. “I love to exercise and stay fit. It’s kind of like a lifestyle. A lot of our moms would not show up to an exercise group. We want to get our steps in. That’s part of our mission as well. Being active is a really important part of our group.”
The Lititz Stroller Gang meets every Thursday from 9 to 11 a.m. at Lititz Springs Park (24 North Broad Street), weather permitting. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, sometimes “The Gang” meets at Spooky Nook Sports (75 Champ Boulevard) in Manheim.
Before and after the walks, there is typically time for socializing as well as an opportunity for the kids to run and play. “For the most part, it’s just getting kids with other kids,” Ashley notes. “My son Gabe is almost 4 and his best friends are from the stroller gang. They met there and they’re still friends. I knew he needed social interaction. Church once a week is not enough. I think we all needed a way to meet up with other moms, and the kids needed friends too.”
Ashley and Caleb Mayer are parents to sons Gabriel (left) and Judah. Ashley points to the need for interacting with others – for Gabe it was with children and for herself other moms – that led her to launch the Lititz Stroller Gang.
As the Lititz Stroller Gang has grown, more moms have joined in, friendships have been struck, a community has formed, and other stroller groups have branched off. “At the heart of our group, the mission is faith based,” Ashley says. “Not everyone who comes to our group has to be a believer. But I really think that’s what’s keeping us going. We want to be there for you on Thursdays. It’s community building.”
Mayer started the Lititz Stroller Gang in May of 2021 at a time when people were beginning to emerge from the grips of the pandemic. She was just looking for a bit of companionship.
“I needed some mom friends. At the start, it was mostly people I didn’t know,” Ashley recalls. “The name of our group fits us so well. We literally look like a gang of moms when we’re out there. We push our strollers and it’s like a parade. Some days there are 40 strollers and 60 kids lined up. The stroller is our symbol.”
For additional information about the Lititz Stroller Gang, visit lititzstrollergang.wixsite.com/info.
Jeff Falk writes for the community newspapers – Merchandiser, Advertiser and Pennysaver – that are published by Engle Printing & Publishing. Townlively.com.
SHARE
PRINT