Cohousing-L Mailing List: Kid friendly

[HeidiNYS (HeidiNYS]

> Dear Susanna,
> 
> You've received wonderful rewsponses to your query, and I have only one thing 
to add: you may want to market specifically to places where there are kids.   
We had a slide show, and that was trucked around and shown at a school, or 
several schools [we moved in seven + years ago.]    If you can be in 
conjunction 
with an established gathering/meeting you may be even better off.   People, 
especially parents, are incredibly busy.   While we were lucky and got parents 
from a school slide show/info meeting, you may want to see if you can do your 
info meeting when a group of parents already gather.   
And of course, food is always a good idea,   whether a potluck   a pizza 
party.....   or or or...

With Best Wishes,
Ruth Samuels Hirsch, Cantines Island CoHo, Saugerties,Ny.   [where're you 
located?]


> I have never posted on this list before, but I am no stranger to
> cohousing.  I am an original member of Southside Park Cohousing.  We aren't
> in a particularly safe neighborhood, lousy schools nearby, no grocery store
> or drug store close until recently.  However, we seemed to always have a
> lot of children who live here and it is a very kid friendly place.  A lot
> of us send our children to catholic schools or other private schools, some
> send them to magnet schools.  I can say without doubt that living in
> cohousing was one of the most important influences in my children's
> lives.  We moved in when they were six and ten and I can say that even
> though cohousing offered a play structure and a kids room and plenty of
> friends to play with (at one point all of the little girls, including mine,
> seemed like a swarm of locusts on the site) the most important thing it
> offered was a myriad of adults to care about my children and watch over
> them.  I am a single mother and it was enormously important for them to
> have all of these other people, especially Billy Trainor.  His daughter was
> the same age as mine and he took care of both of them every summer.
> 
> I think that what attracted me to the group was that when I went to the
> first introductory meeting at the natural foods coop it was obvious that
> the group treasured children and that they were an integral part of the
> community.  I think that aura of kidfriendliness was the best marketing
> tool they could have had.  Good luck with your community and with getting
> kids.  It wouldn't be much fun without them.  Maryann
> 
>