Laurie Rosen believes that giving back should be a family tradition. The Pikesville native and mother of two grew up volunteering with her parents, and soon, she’ll be passing the torch to her own little ones.

Five-year-old Ruby and three-year-old Spencer are “in for a lifetime of volunteering with me as their mother,” says the former teacher. “I’m really looking forward to that as they get older.”

But at Moms on a Mission, the local volunteer group she launched almost two years ago, Rosen says there’s a no-kids, no-spouse rule. “And I do that for a reason.”

In 2019, when her daughter and son were three and one year old respectively, Rosen started the group to give moms the chance to “have fun, give back, and socialize,” without any pressure involved.

“I make it easy. I basically say, ‘Come here Sunday night at 6 p.m. by yourself. You don’t need to bring anything.’”

There are drinks and hors d’oeuvres. And then, the moms get to work.

In the short burst of time between the group’s launch and last year’s lockdown, members met with a goal of serving new organizations each month. And when things went virtual, that didn’t stop them. To date, they’ve sent bagels to 800 hospital workers, collected hats for Weekend Backpacks, and made over 1,600 sandwiches for Our Daily Bread.

“I have such a generous group of moms,” says Rosen, adding that more than 600 members have joined. “It’s been a really awesome experience. I always say that it fills my cup.”