ABILENE, TX – The Worlds Okayest Mom (WOM) Facebook group has offered community and support to mothers all over the world since 2013. The group was started by Jenn Rogers and her husband Mark following the near loss of their youngest son Hunter due to pregnancy complications.
The group became a nonprofit four years ago, providing emotional and financial support to mothers and families going through medical emergencies as Mark and Jen did in 2013.
With Mark’s recent passing, his fellow board members have taken time away to come to terms with the loss of their vice-president and close friend.
From the beginning, Mark knew that WOM should be a place for mothers to connect with each other, a community all their own. As such, his wife acted as president, but he supported her and the organization fully.
“He could have said, ‘Let’s make this for mothers and fathers,’ but he was such a champion for the strength of his wife and his wife’s friends that he said, ‘Nope this is going to be for moms,’” said WOM board member Amy Boone.
Boone also said that in a group of over 50,000 women, Mark became a kind of mascot for the organization. A title he was proud to wear.
“Every time we would hit a membership milestone, it was always, ‘What’s Mark going to do to commemorate 10,000 or 25,000 or 30,000?’ Mark was more than willing to do something goofy,” said board member Laura Barnett.
This tradition went all the way back to their first year and 500 member milestone, when Mark wore a purple “World’s Okayest Mom” t-shirt around Home Depot.
It is this giving spirit and optimism that drew people to Mark; people like Hannah McLean, a member of Mark’s College youth group at Southern Hills Church of Christ.
“I don’t think any of us can really wrap our heads around the fact that he’s gone, and like, it’s going to take a really long time because obviously he’s made a lasting impression on people,” said McLean
Laura Barnett echoed this sentiment, saying “When some people pass they leave a hole, when Mark passed, he’s leaving a crater.”
As people from all corners of the Big country remember the impact Mark had on their lives, it’s the community he left behind that they have to turn to.
“Everyone in Marks life is greatly supported. Because of him we have each other,” McLean says.
