Play Space Looking for Project Manager Volunteer

Katy Rank Lev is looking for a project manager to help set up a new at Wilkins School Community Center.

Lev of Morningside, who has been planning the project since November, recently accepted a new position that will no longer allow her to be the head organizer of the cooperative, but she stills believes it would be good for parents in the community.

In a partnership with Wilkins School Community Center, Lev said they would like to cater to creative professionals and other residents who work from home and have children who need to be looked after at the same time.

“Half the parents would go to the conference room at to work and the other half would stay with the kids, and they would switch for an afternoon shift,” Lev said. “When you are working from home, it’s hard to find part-time childcare, so a lot of times people who work part-time work around their kids and you end up never being able to fully dedicate yourself to your work or your kids.”

Lev said she loves the idea of having time to dedicate to herself and to her son.

“I know a lot of parents who work from home have the same conundrum,” she said.

She is currently looking for a point person who would be willing to work with Patty Doody of WSCC to coordinate and plan the cooperative.

“We need committed people to be involved, create agreements, create rules for the space and what the pricing would look like,” Lev said. “We need a project manager for it.”

So far, the group has a Facebook page, but informational meetings for local parents need to be set up as well, along with other methods of spreading the word. She also said a new project manager could seek funding from the Sprout Fund, as she has already started a proposal.

“The September round of funding would be a great time if someone could complete a proposal,” Lev said. “This is the kind of project that they love because there is a need in the community. I believe the funding is out there.”

Members of the childcare cooperative would pay a $40 fee up front to join. The cost for the room is $180 a week, so from there, that cost would be split among the families using the play space.

“From the people who I know in the East End, I know there are a lot of graduate students and professors and this is great child care for that kind of work because you need time to write papers and whatnot, but you don’t need huge chunks of time,” Lev said. “I have met a lot of people who work from home at least part-time and it’d be a great enriching opportunity for the kids to play with other children. It would end up being so affordable that it’d even be great if you want to knit or read a book.”

Lev also emphasized that the cooperative would not be a daycare, rather, more of a play group for local families and parents who need to get some work done.

For more information, contact Lev at katy@katyranklev.com.