Guest Post Amanda Project Playdate

My name is Amanda and I hail all the way from New York City. I wanted to share with you a new service in New York that we’d love to expand throughout urban areas across the country. It might also be helpful to know about us if you plan on coming to the big city and don’t know what to do about childcare.

So you’ve heard of daycare. You’ve heard of private care. What about drop-off evening childcare?

Project Playdate offers a new and affordable way to experience childcare in New York City. By taking on the night shift at participating play spaces, parents can enjoy NYC nightlife without having to worry about finding a babysitter who is consistently available on weekend evenings.

These fun and educational pajama parties are run by professional nannies and include a healthy dinner, story time, arts and crafts, a dance party, games and songs, a movie and more.

If you are looking for private care, there’s no better way to land a quality caregiver than by attending an event that showcases the best sitters from top companies like College Nannies and Tutors and UrbanSitter. In fact, if parents need a sitter beyond the three hour event they can sign up for extended hours and a sitter will bring the children home for private care. Rather than hiring someone you hope your children will connect with, you can first let them build relationships on their own through Project Playdate.

And it gets better. Project Playdate donates all proceeds made to raise money for young mothers in need. Back in 2009, Project Playdate was just a periodic fundraiser that I created with some colleagues to raise money for our developing non-profit, Powerhouse NYC. Feedback from our first few fundraisers was wildly positive and parents were asking us to hold events more frequently. That’s when we realized that perhaps we had a good business idea on our hands. Now we’ve grown enough that we will be able to open a housing program for vulnerable young mothers.

This service would not have been possible without the generosity and trust of Playgarden, the first space that allowed Project Playdate to provide evening care during their off-hours. That was over three years ago. Now Kidville and Spark Box Toys are equally committed to making the world a better place with "Project Playdate". By September you will find these pajama parties every weekend at four different locations (Kidville Union Square, Kidville Park Slope, Playgarden Tribeca, and Kidville Upper West Side) and more to come. At private weddings and events Spark Box (an educational toy rental service) lets Project Playdate use their toys for free! This way you can be assured that there will always be fun and educational evening care available when you’re ready to spend a night on the town.

What parents are saying:

"The babysitters on the night were the best I've come across. They were all so upbeat and enthusiastic and seemed just as happy at the end of the night as our kids!"

"I'd love to take the opportunity to tell you how wonderful we thought it was. I was so impressed with the staff and the facility. The staff had such a great inviting, energetic attitude and my children had obviously had plenty of close contact. They had an amazing time and we all can't wait to do it again."

"Thank you so much. Our kids absolutely love PJ Parties with Project Playdate. I feel so comfortable leaving my children with such competent staff. Thank you also for allowing my 20-month-old to attend and providing him with the extra special care he demanded."

To learn more or to sign up, visit www.projectplaydate.org