Hello member families! The board is busy preparing for the next membership cycle, so read on for some important updates.
Carry In, Carry Out
We’d like to remind everyone that the Melrose Family Room is an unstaffed co-op, which means everyone is responsible for the upkeep of the space. We have a carry-in, carry-out policy as no one is taking out the trash at the end of the day if we don’t! Please take diapers out of the building with you, and if you are the last person out of the room, please take out the room and bathroom trash and place in the trash closet across from the bottom of the stairs on the first floor. Thank you!
Membership Renewal Timeline
In May, we will begin offering membership renewals to all families who have met the membership requirements. The 2023-2024 membership year runs from September 1st to August 31st. Keep an eye out for an email from us! If you choose not to renew, the last day of membership is August 31st, 2023. After we have confirmed with current members their plans for next year, we will begin offering open spots to families on our wait list.
Join the Board!
We have a few open positions on the MFR Board for next year. The board membership year runs from May 1st to April 30th, and comes with a free membership for the next year (so members who join our board this spring will not pay the membership fee for the 2023-2024 year). We have monthly meetings, typically the second Tuesday of the month at 8:00 pm, and each role has its own set of responsibilities. The open positions for next year are Events Coordinator (2), New Membership Coordinator, and Secretary. If you are interested in learning more about a role please email president@melrosefamilyroom.org. Join our team, help make the Family Room great, and have fun!
Volunteer Ideas
There’s still time to fulfill the volunteer requirement of membership for this year! We are a co-op and volunteering is what makes our community great. Anything you can think of that would improve the Room, you can do! Host a playgroup, redo a bulletin board, reorganize a section that’s getting chaotic, or bring in some more markers if ours are drying out. We’ve also put together a “wish list” based on your survey responses of things in the room that need updating or replacing, as another way to meet the requirement. Some ideas include:
- Dress up clothes
- Markers, craft supplies (except paint)
- Folding chairs (for adults)
- Play couch (e.g. Nugget)
- New couches
- New storage or bookshelves to organize toys
- Climbing structures – (eg. foam shapes for toddlers, pikler triangle)
- Physical types of toys to get energy out – (eg. sensory swing, trampoline, see saw)
- Ride-on toys
- Pretend play — Kitchen/food/store
- Pop up tents/castles/rocket ships/etc
Please email katemcguire88@gmail.com if you’d like to take on a volunteer opportunity. And as always, feel free to reach out to president@melrosefamilyroom.org at any time. Happy spring!