Community Playdates

There are broadly two ways of approaching playdate planning. In the first, you show up in a high foot traffic place and just try to talk to families there. This would include public sidewalks or spaces for example outside your school, local parks, playgrounds, libraries etc.
In the second, you plan an event possibly in a more private space and invite people from your community to come. Such places could include your home, a building community room, a church, a cafe or other local business interested in helping out. 

If doing an event in a public place, we suggest setting up a table with signage/chalking to let people know what you’re representing. Have activities for kids, such as the coloring sheets in this folder, bubbles, chalk, and other art projects (butterfly themed in particular). Have the resources you want to share with adults (also available in this folder). If handing out whistles, make sure to either bag them or use some other means to keep them out of sight of kids and remind parents to as well (otherwise you will have a bunch of whistles going off around you!). Also have snacks!

For a more private event space, you can have much of the same things but you may also choose to have more formal entertainment for the kids such as music, and you may want to prepare a small speech you want to give to your audience. 

Suggested checklist:

• Foldable table (if a table is not available at the venue)

• Signs or posters

• Flyers to give out

• Activities for kids (eg chalk, bubbles, coloring sheets or postcards, butterfly masks to color..)

• Snacks or drinks to welcome people over (eg chips/coffee/lollipops/etc)

• Adult resources (eg printouts of KYR cards in different languages)

• Actions for adults to take (eg sign up to Hands Off NYC Families or this petition)

• Things to give away if you are able to get any (eg yellow bandanas, buttons, stickers, baggies with whistles and a whistle warrior flyer) 

Check out the photos in playdate inspo for ideas on setting up a table.

Many of the resources are printable PDFs in our folders. Hands Off NYC also occasionally hosts official “weekends of action” and during those they will have distribution sites for materials, whistles, etc. Hands Off NYC Families in particular also has a small amount of funds to support people doing this work, so please reach out if you need help.

Getting someone else to help you put on a playdate is a great idea. You may already have someone in your neighborhood/school group who is a good candidate. If not, feel free to reach and we’ll try to help you find a co-host.