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Melrose Family Room Spring 2023 Newsletter

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!

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Melrose Family Room Winter 2023 Newsletter

Hello member families! We’ve had a great start to the membership year, bringing back events, volunteering, snacks, and all the things that make the MFR a great place to spend time and meet friends. Please keep reading for some important updates, reminders, and action items as we dive into 2023. Happy New Year!

Important Updates

We have updated our Member Handbook. Please take a moment to review it for the most recent policies and procedures. It can be found in the Members Only section of our website: https://melrosefamilyroom.org/public/pages/member-handbook.

Members can now book room rentals online! Room rentals are available for Saturday afternoons on a first-come, first-served basis. Book ahead now! (And don’t forget to check the calendar before you head in to the room on a Saturday afternoon–we are often booked for parties.)

While you are in your member profile checking out those links, please take a moment to add your child(ren)’s birthday(s) in your member profile–this is optional and will be used to celebrate your kiddos on seasonal birthday boards in the room!

Member Survey

It’s time for our annual member survey, and we need your feedback! We are asking for input on past and future events, room improvements, and parent enrichment. Please take a few moments to fill it out by Friday, February 10th. Members who complete the survey can enter a raffle: three winners will receive $25 off either a room rental or next year’s membership!

Volunteer Requirement

The Melrose Family Room is a member-run co-op with a volunteer requirement, which is a critical part of maintaining and building our community. As a reminder, families who have not fulfilled their volunteer requirement (in addition to the cleaning requirement) by May 1st, 2023 will not be offered a renewal for the 2023-2024 membership year.

Luckily, there are lots of ways to volunteer! Most of our events have associated volunteer opportunities, so look out for emails from our Events and Volunteer coordinators. Alternatively, many members choose their own way to contribute. Some ideas include:

  • organize a part of the room or storage cabinets
  • test the markers and toss the dried out ones
  • make a batch of playdough for kids to use in the room
  • volunteer to host a playgroup, story time, or any craft/event you’d like to see
  • organize a member meetup at a local playground
  • anything you can think of in service of the MFR!

Historically, many events were organized and run by volunteers, and it’s one of the ways this community is so active! Don’t hesitate to email events@melrosefamilyroom.org if you have an idea you’d like to run by us. If you help with room upkeep or organization, email our Volunteer Coordinator at katemcguire88@gmail.com with a short description of what you did to ensure you are checked off for that requirement.

Recent Events

We had some great member events in the fall, including a Halloween party, a tea party, and a holiday puppet show. See below for some photos, and thanks to those who volunteered to help make these events happen!

Puppet Show
Tea Party

Thank You!

Thank you to each of our families! The board has been busy this year learning old systems and creating new ones as we rebuild from the shutdown and board/membership turnover, and in our 35th year the MFR is on its way to being better than ever. If you have any input, questions, or ideas, please email president@melrosefamilyroom.org. We’ll see you at the Room!

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Melrose Family Room Summer Newsletter

Hello Melrose Family Room Families!  We reach out to you hoping this newsletter finds everyone healthy and safe.  We think it is pretty safe to say that this year has been unlike any other.  Although the room is still closed, we still meet as a Board to discuss how and when we may re-open the room in a safe and thoughtful manner. We miss seeing each other and all of you!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION & REMINDERS

  • Although we are in Phase 3 in the state re-opening plan, the Melrose Family Room is still closed
  • Due to the uncertainty of the room re-opening schedule, all membership cleaning and volunteer opportunities have been waived until further notice
  • Despite being closed, we continue to pay a cleaning service to keep the room as clean as possible

HAVE YOU TAKEN THE MFR SURVEY?

Although the room may be closed, the Board has sent out a survey to all members to gauge the community’s comfort level and general vision for a future re-opening.  Your feedback has and will directly impact how we plan to re-open the room.  So if you have not yet completed the survey, the link may found here

THE BOARD IS (VIRTUALLY!) STILL HERE

We will have more positions available in the Fall, so if you find yourself interested in joining please let us know!  This is certainly a challenging time for so many, but even with the room closed there is much to discuss.

Please email president@melrosefamilyroom.org for more information.

OUR CURRENT BOARD


President:  Masha Goodman-Khan
Vice President:  OPEN POSITION
Secretary:  Bonnie Clapp
Treasurer: Stacey Babb Weinberg
Technology Coordinator:  Maureen Strode
New Member Coordinator:   Alicia Pattinson
Special Events Coordinators:  Emily Gleason & Andrea Christopher
Maintenance & Supplies Coordinator: Katie Skarzynski
Volunteer Coordinator: Kristen Kremer

MEMBER APPRECIATION!

The room may have temporarily closed but our sense of community certainly hasn’t! Has a fellow MFR member or family gone above and beyond? Or has someone just simply been a great fellow MFR family?  Nominate them for our Quarterly Member Appreciation Award!

To submit a nomination, please send an email to president@melrosefamilyroom.org

HELPFUL TECH UPDATES!

Please send any feedback you have on this system to our technical coordinator Maureen Strode at tech@melrosefamilyroom.org

You are receiving this message because you opted in at http://melrosefamilyroom.onefireplace.org/

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Melrose Family Room Winter Quarterly Update

Hello Melrose Family Room members! We hope everyone has been staying safe and warm this winter. Who knew March would be this snowy!?

A Special Note To Our Melrose Family Room Members

In our last quarterly update, we discussed the board’s dedication to our members and our ask of each of you! As always, let’s all remember to uphold our commitment to each other and the legacy of this great family cooperative by respecting one another both in the room and on social media. Failure to comply may result in loss of room privileges.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION & REMINDERS

  • Volunteer deadline is now MAY 1st . For all new and existing members, your volunteer requirement must be completed no later than May 1, 2019.  Failure to comply will result in the inability to renew your membership for the following year.  This does not apply to quarterly cleanings!
  • 2018/2019 Door Code: 7529 (PLAY)
  • Room Hours: Monday through Saturday 8am-8pm, Sundays 2pm-8pm
  • As mentioned on the MFR Facebook group, please remember to only utilize the MFR space within the Green Street church. We are not permitted to use any other area!
  • OH, HAPPY DAY! Our roof has been fixed! As you may recall, back in December we learned the church received the necessary funding to have the roof replaced.

SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESS

We are excited to announce that we are now banking with Melrose Bank! We love supporting a local Melrose business and giving back to our community.

INTERESTED IN JOINING THE BOARD?

Stay tuned for more information as we will have a few positions available! If joining the board interests you, please let me know at president@melrosefamilyroom.org

OUR CURRENT BOARD


President:  Masha Goodman-Khan
Vice President:  Alicia Pattison
Secretary:  Melanie Gulden
Treasurer: Stacey Babb Weinberg
Technology Coordinator:  Maureen Strode
New Member Coordinator:  Heather Remollino
Special Events Coordinators: Kristin Weekley & Emily Gleason
Maintenance & Supplies Coordinator: Katie Skarzynski
Social Media Coordinator: Inna Nufal

NEXT QUARTERLY CLEANING

March 13, 2019 -Last names S-Z

Remember- you must participate in a quarterly cleaning and volunteer in order to be eligible for 2019-2020 membership renewal.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Shamrock Craft: Thursday, March 14th at 9am
St. Patrick’s Day Craft: Sunday, March 17th at 2:30pm
Miss Spider’s Tea Party and Craft:  Tuesday, March 19th at 10am Member Meet-Up: Saturday, April 6th at 9am Puzzle Craft: Sunday, April 7th at 3:30pm Member Meet-Up: Saturday, May 4th at 9am Clothing Swap: TBD

Family Movie Nights on the following dates:

  • Saturday, March 9th at 4pm
  • Friday, April 6th at 5:30pm
  • Saturday, May 11th at 4:30pm

For additional information or any changes, please reference our calendar:
(http://melrosefamilyroom.onefireplace.org/calendar

MEMBER APPRECIATION!

Has another member done something to go above and beyond? Nominate them for our Quarterly Member Appreciation Award!

To submit a nomination, please send an email to president@melrosefamilyroom.org or submit through the webform within the Members Only section of the website.

New & Improved Updates

This quarterly update, we’re trying a new system for sending member updates out. The application that we use to manage our membership limits us to sending our email updates out to one email address per family. We have heard your feedback about wanting these updates to be available to multiple family members and caregivers, and are testing out the following new improvements with a new system via this newsletter:

Please send any feedback you have on this system to our technical coordinator Maureen Strode at tech@melrosefamilyroom.org.

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Fall 2018 Quarterly Update

Happy Fall Melrose Family Room members! A very warm (albeit delayed) welcome to our new members and a welcome back to our returning families.  We are so thrilled to have and share this space together, especially as the weather will start to turn.

A Special Note To Our Melrose Family Room Members

This cooperative has been running for 30 years which is a direct reflection of everyone’s dedication  to maintaining this space for our children and community.  As is true for so many of our  members, the board is balancing full-time jobs, families and a countless number of personal and professional obligations so our response time to member inquiries or requests may not be instant. That being said, we take our position on the board seriously and strive to meet everyone’s needs.  In turn, we remind our members to maintain that same level of commitment and respect for each other and the board both in the room and on social media.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION & REMINDERS

  • Volunteer deadline is now MAY 1st . For all new and existing members, your volunteer requirement must be completed no later than May 1, 2019.  Failure to comply will result in the inability to renew your membership for the following year.  This does not apply to quarterly cleanings!
  •  New Door Code: 7529 (PLAY)
  •  Room Hours: Monday through Saturday 8am-8pm, Sundays 2pm-8pm
  • As mentioned on the MFR Facebook group, please remember to only utilize the MFR space within the Green Street church. We are not permitted to use any other area!
  • Ceiling, Heat and Leaks..oh my! We have been in touch with the church regarding the problems with the ceiling, and will keep everyone posted as soon as we receive more information!

Meet The Board


President:  Masha Goodman-Khan
Vice President:  Alicia Pattison
Secretary:  Melanie Gulden
Treasurer: Stacey Babb Weinberg
Technology Coordinator:  Maureen Strode
New Member Coordinator:  Heather Remollino
Special Events Coordinators: Kristin Weekley & Emily Gleason
Maintenance & Supplies Coordinator: Katie Skarzynski
Social Media Coordinator: Inna Nufal

NEXT QUARTERLY CLEANING

January 9, 2019- keep your eyes peeled for an email and/or posts on our FB page.

Remember- you must participate in a quarterly cleaning and volunteer in order to be eligible for 2019-2020 membership renewal.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Parent University: November 17th, 8:30am-12pm at the Melrose High School
Holiday Potluck:  December 15th

Family Movie Nights on the following dates:

  • Friday, November 9 at 5:30pm
  • Saturday, December 15 at 4:30pm
  • Friday, January 11 at 5:30pm

MEMBER APPRECIATION!

Has another member done something to go above and beyond? Nominate them for our Quarterly Member Appreciation Award!

To submit a nomination, please send an email to president@melrosefamilyroom.org or submit through the webform within the Members Only section of the website.

New & Improved Updates

This quarterly update, we’re trying a new system for sending member updates out. The application that we use to manage our membership limits us to sending our email updates out to one email address per family. We have heard your feedback about wanting these updates to be available to multiple family members and caregivers, and are testing out the following new improvements with a new system via this newsletter:

Please send any feedback you have on this system to our technical coordinator Maureen Strode at tech@melrosefamilyroom.org.