Wrapping up 2018 - Updates, End of Year Giving & Looking forward...

Thank you all for supporting Recess Collective, being a part of our community, and sharing our new space with us.  

What a whirlwind of a year! In 2018:

• We closed Recess in Potrero Hill, after 10 and a half years of operation

• We established Recess Collective, a non-profit entity to continue offering play and parent support to local families

• We built out and opened a new space to house Recess Collective, at 2226 Taraval. It has all the same elements as “the old” Recess, but is in a more sustainable space that incorporates the values of a collective. Working together - our staff, our volunteers and our partners - are able to leverage connections to serve the community in a broader way.

• Our founder, Lisa’s family, welcomed a new baby boy!

Looking Forward! 2019’s goals:

• Provide space to play for our new community and continue to build the awesome web of families we get to work with.

• We will seek volunteers to assist with fundraising, grant writing and special events so that we can extend the offerings of Recess to any family who would like to utilize them.

• Expand the Collective. It’s incredible to think about the amount of talent right here in San Francisco and the surrounding bay area. We are fortunate to have such a wealth of resources for folks from all walks of life. The primary intention of Recess Collective is to harness that talent to serve all people. So in the new year, we will continue to work toward that mission. This includes:

  • Organizing special events & programing for families of for children with disabilities, and their siblings

  • Training in conjunction with Our Family Coalition for LGBTQ families

  • Continue partnering with Nurse-Family Partnership and build our scholarship fund to include at risk mothers & families who could not otherwise access a safe space for play,

  • Functioning as a space to bring together generations. By working with SF Village, we will develop programming for intergenerational play with local seniors.

  • Working with other organizations to deliver creative solutions for families to make life with young children more collaborative. There are real life solutions to easing the load we each carry and Recess is designed to create the back drop for those to come to life. Look forward to childcare co-ops, toy swaps, craft nights and recipe swaps. It’s exciting stuff!

  If you would like to support this mission and have the means to contribute toward it’s fulfillment, we’d love to invite you to get involved. There are options for end of year giving that include $5 / month contribution, or a one time donation of any amount.

Every dollar raised will ultimately go toward growing this incredible community hub, creating space for healthy child development, welcoming in families from all walks of life, and making the journey for parents and caregivers a joyful one.

$5 a month goes a long way to helping us build up our programming to reach more families.
$10 a month will allow us to provide a parent with weekly playgroup and play access.
$20 a month could be your way of giving a group of at risk mothers monthly playdates to connect with one another and have a safe space for play.
$50 +/mo gives us an opportunity to gift families full memberships and birthday parties.

Anyone who makes a donation of $25/mo or more will receive recognition on our founders wall with a 3x3 tile and an invitation to our Spring Festival! All donations are tax deductible.

Donate to Recess Collective
via our fiscal sponsor Birth2Work

• Make this a monthly donation

• Donate with PayPal

• or

• Donate with a Debit or Credit Card

• You can change or cancel a recurring donation anytime in your PayPal account settings.

The amount you enter will be paid to this organization each month from your PayPal account. Don’t have PayPal? Sign up easily while entering your payment information.

Giving Tuesday

During this giving season, please consider a small donation — $5/mo, or making a larger commitment if you can. If money is tight (& we totally get that!!), just sharing this cause with 5 friends would make a huge difference!

Every dollar raised will ultimately go toward growing this incredible community hub, creating space for healthy child development, welcoming in families from all walks of life, and making the journey for parents and caregivers a joyful one.

As we get ready to launch a new community space for local families, we would love your support.

$5 a month goes a long way to helping us build up our programming to reach more families.
$10 a month will allow us to provide a parent with weekly playgroup and play access.
$20 a month could be your way of giving a group of at risk mothers monthly playdates to connect with one another and have a safe space for play.
$50 +/mo gives us an opportunity to gift families full memberships and birthday parties.

Anyone who makes a donation of $25/mo or more will receive recognition on our founders wall with a 3x3 tile and an invitation to our Spring Festival! All donations are tax deductible.

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At Recess Collective we focus locally, on parents, caregivers and young children. We work to build the infrastructure necessary to support those during a challenging albeit joyful journey. Support is provided by connecting families with one another, bringing in experts, working with local seniors to add multigenerational perspective and play, and bringing in creative folks to introduce music, art, and storytime to all of us.

Recess Collective is opening THIS WEEK and we are incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported Recess - urban recreation in the past decade. We can’t wait to thank those of you who will support us in the next decade & beyond.

We do need your support. We’ve created a gorgeous new space on Taraval St, and are currently accepting of donations (small or big), volunteers, and new families as we move into our new neighborhood!

“As much fun as my kids had, you saved me when I was at my lowest... you gave me a place to see other parents (aka adults), a place I knew my kids would have fun and be safe, and a community which helped pull me through PPD, even if they didn’t know it. I wish you all the best in your next endeavor and look forward to hearing all about it. Thank you for being part of my SF village!!!”

— Christina

A BIG thank you to our opening party sponsors who also recognize that community is vital in supporting new parents. We’re honored that they’re supporting us!

Donate to Recess Collective
via our fiscal sponsor Birth2Work

• Make this a monthly donation

• Donate with PayPal

• or

• Donate with a Debit or Credit Card

• You can change or cancel a recurring donation anytime in your PayPal account settings.

The amount you enter will be paid to this organization each month from your PayPal account. Don’t have PayPal? Sign up easily while entering your payment information.

Plan your Fall Family Fun

Prenatal Classes, Parent Workshops, Parties & More!

The show goes on, and this show is moving to the Outer Sunset and will be open later this Fall!  We're excited to show you our new space.  In the meantime, grab your calendar and reserve your fall/winter birthday party, parent support class, prenatal workshops, and more.  

Oh, and membership packages are the lowest they'll ever be...so take advantage before Sept 15 when prices go up!

Dear Recess Community...

Dear Recess Community,

Despite a flourishing community of incredible families with young children, dedicated caregivers, remarkably talented professionals, and a staff that couldn't be better, we are sad to announce that August will mark Recess' last month of business.  Recess will close the Potrero Hill location for its final day on August 31st, although that won't be the end! 

Our plan is to go full force until then! We have CPR classes, precess drop off program, our monthly dance party with Charity Kahn, sensory lab, and even date night drop off slated for the next couple of months. We hope you will join us and continue to support Recess until the very end. We need it.  If you'd like to build the nonprofit from the ground up together with us, there are several ways to do so (click here).  Any questions about Recess Collective or offers of assistance can be directed to hello@recesscollective.org. 

Closing Recess and leaving the community that has helped us grow up has been the hardest decision I’ve ever made.  Anyone focused on the numbers (and not on the impact we have on families) would argue that we should have closed 4 years ago when our rent doubled.  I naïvely believed that if we rolled up our sleeves at that time, we could piece it together, and continue to make Recess a success. Since then, we've spent nearly $1 million in rent and have reduced our profit margin to zero. Our building recently sold again, and the asking rent for our space is now increasing another 35%. I'm very simply not able to do it anymore. We cannot increase pricing for families coming to play (it’s already too high), we must pay our staff the living wage they deserve, and I owe it to my family to be able to bring home some kind of income.  So this is the end of this chapter for Recess. It has been an incredible experience getting to see children grow up, families create lasting memories and to know that parents are able to breathe a sigh of relief when they walk through our doors.

It really does take a village and you’ve been our amazing village.  Our very first member, Jenny Sagstrom, was an early believer and continues to support Recess with in-kind donations of design services from her company Skona. Beth Freeman, was another early adopter (in fact the first person to see our space as we were moving in).  Beth hasn’t used Recess in several years, as her daughter is nearly done with middle school, but she couldn’t come to terms with “quitting” Recess so decided to have us continue billing her $20 a month as a supporter. PREFund is a Potrero Hill based organization that has also helped Recess to flourish.  We have had the opportunity to work together with them on their mission to keep families in San Francisco by community building and supporting education. Of course, stories like this could go on for days. I am not sure how we’ve been so lucky.

You made this community, and you have allowed it to last over a decade.  We are incredibly thankful you chose to support our mission.  Stay tuned for announcements about celebrations we have slated (for current members and alumni) to come together again before the end of August.  While we’re closing Potrero Hill, it is all of you who have inspired us to keep playing a part in improving the landscape of San Francisco for families with young children. As we shift gears and look forward, we hope to bring the same joy and sense of support with us.  

If you share the belief that Recess (or something like it) should absolutely continue to exist in every neighborhood, as I do, please consider supporting our new nonprofit effort, Recess Collective. As a non-profit entity, our hope is to grow beyond the scope possible as a for-profit and reach even more families choosing to stay in the city.

Thank you to every single one of you.  We have been blessed to be surrounded by parents, small business owners, dedicated caregivers, educators & professionals in the community who have given support, shared feedback, and helped us flourish.

As Recess closes its doors, we hope you will please keep playing with those amazing children, supporting one another, and visiting us in our new home on Taraval.

All the best,
Lisa

PS. RECESS MEMBERS:  We will still be taking care of you & you’ll hear from us within the next week with a note specifically addressing next steps for your membership.