Aurora, Ill. — The Modern Domestic Woman (MDW) is hosting a workshop called “Rebuilding Your Life After Divorce” at Wyckwood House on Tuesday, June 17 at 5:30 p.m. The workshop is one of many free community events organized by MDW to support local women and community members with mental health and share lifestyle tips.
Elizabeth Rago, founder of MDW, hosts workshops monthly on different topics where people can come in and have a safe space to discuss difficult situations in their lives. “Rebuilding Your Life After Divorce” will host five speakers from different fields to provide better resources for challenges that come with life after divorce. Rago said divorce support is one of the most frequent requests she receives.
Alexis Benson is a financial advisor based in Geneva. Carrie Summers is a therapist and divorce coach located in Wheaton. Anique Drouin is a Naperville family law attorney. Katy Winans and Linda Callaghan are a mother-daughter duo of mortgage experts from Aurora.
Rago explained the MDW brand began when she opened up about her personal and family struggles on social media.
“What I noticed was that I felt very alone in that process, very shameful for going through what, you know, is just life,” she said.
Rago said she received feedback from other moms and women who admired her vulnerability and shared their struggles with similar experiences. Rago began sharing her resources with these women through an excel sheet of trusted resources. Women she knew and trusted referred Rago to other people they trusted, and the network of support grew from there.
“Over the last 12 years, it has just morphed into what it is today, which is a safe space for women who are looking for support during life changes,” Rago said.
MDW has two branches of content. MDW Lifestyle supports the “whole woman,” Rago explained. This side of the company covers beauty and wellness content as well as tips for project management in the home, often through publishing monthly mini magazines. Rago explained that this branch of the company comes from her background as a lifestyle writer, and it gives her a break from heavy mental health conversations.
MDW Cares is the branch specifically for connecting people with support for mental health or other life challenges. Rago puts people in contact with care providers who can professionally help their specific needs.
Rago said it’s important to her that these community events can continue to be free and accessible to anyone. It has a personal significance to her as someone who had to file for bankruptcy at a difficult point in her life when she needed more support.
“I don’t want someone to come in and say, ‘Oh, I can’t pay $20,’ because sometimes $20 is the difference between you paying for diapers or groceries that week,” Rago said.
“My hope is that our gatherings can remain free to the community without sacrificing value, quality and intention. Because my events are always quality,” she continued.
Rago works full-time as a grant writer, and MDW is her side hobby. When she first began the MDW brand, Rago was paying for everything out of pocket. She is currently working to file MDW as a non-profit organization. Rago receives financial support from a GoFundMe page linked at the top of the MDW website to cover non-profit startup costs.
Rago explained that what has helped her continue to host free events is that the people she collaborates with will often donate their time to keep costs at a minimum for Rago. She believes this happens because the people she collaborates with know they are part of a trusted community, and Rago will repay their generosity by referring them to people who need their support.
Rago said it “is a testament to the community I’ve created because they believe in what I’m doing. Everything I do is all about relationship building.”
She hopes that if MDW receives non-profit status, it will further cement the trust the community has in her company and her network.
Rago explained that the “Rebuilding Your Life After Divorce” workshop is the first she has truly advertised; other events have been promoted only through word of mouth, and she’s had success getting the events noticed. She said this is because people trust her work.
“I believe in a higher power, and I have been created for people to connect with,” Rago said. “It’s just years and years of being a transparent person who’s willing to hear people’s stories and work to help them find support.”
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