Issue 1 - January 2010

The Spot Card Newsletter - Brought to You by Tot Spot Café

Welcome to our first community newsletter!

Thanks for being fans of Tot Spot Café... it is your continued support and patronage that has kept us going for almost 2 years!

Now some exciting news... You will notice in the coming weeks, a shift in how kid friendly businesses are engaging with our community. For the past few months I have reached out to the best-of-the-best family friendly companies on the Eastside with one question - "How do we better connect with local families and spread the word about our businesses?" The answer is our Spot Card and Community Events Program. Our first event was the Eastside Family Fair last November. This "test" event brought over 600 people to see what our community has to offer. It was humbling to see families coming together, supporting local business and frankly, having a good safe time! We have lots of other events in store and you'll be hearing about our upcoming Classes, Co-Ops, Club and Care Conference coming up soon!

OK, now for the good stuff...

In this issue we have:
Tot Spot Café Happenings
Cozy Baby Boutique has moved!
Spot Card Highlights
Money Matters for Kids
Free Admission Day for Spot Card Holders!
Parent Map Preschool Preview
5k/10k Anyone?

Happy 2010! We've done some re-arranging at the Café and I hope you guys love the new layout. We will be developing a bounce house schedule and will post it on the calendar soon... I know there is a love/hate relationship with the ol' house so I hope this works for everyone!

We've noticed increased interest in our drop-off service. We do appreciate 24 hours notice for drop-offs, but we are finding a lot of moms are looking to hang out for a bit and then convert to a drop-off so they can run some errands without their little "helpers"... we have no problem with this and can easily make this happen for you! Children must be over 2 years old and there is a 4 hour max for this service. Pricing starts at $.17/minute for one child $.25/minute for two--and includes food and drinks!

We are thrilled to announce that Cozy Baby Boutique is moving INTO Tot Spot Café! I've been working with Ann-Marie to bring better, greener offerings to the Café and she is committed to doing just that. You can view the product offering here. Come on by and see for yourself!

Also, Ann-Marie will be heading up our Spot Card Learning Initiative offerings. Our goal is to bring the best of the best instructors, workshops and recurring classes from pre-natal to 5years. From infant massage, cloth diapering, baby wearing, birth support, sleep and potty training to specialized classes in safety and healthful living.

Saturday, February 20th at 10AM at Snapdoodle Toys in Kenmore. Debbie Gianelli, Certified Financial Planner is teaching "Money Matters". A fun, interactive, one hour class teaches kids lifelong lessons about money. Each child will receive a Moonjar Moneybox and be able to earn real... cash prizes. Parents must register in advance at Whole Family Financial on the events page. Class size is limited to 10.

Present your Spot Card for Free Admission Monday, January 18th 2010. This free day is brought to you by your Spot Card partners!

This Wednesday, January 13th, ParentMap's Preschool Preview Night: Join 60 preschools from all over the Eastside under one roof. Event is from 5:30-8 pm at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue... and is free! Go to www.parentmap.com to see the list of schools. Tot Spot Café will be on-hand... stop by for a free 1/2 Off Admission Coupon!

Saturday, February 6th, Camp Fair: at St. Thomas School in Medina from 11 AM - 3 PM. 85 camps to explore! FREE. More info at www.parentmap.com.

The Spot Card and its Partners are thrilled to sponsor the 2nd Annual CAN DO 5K/10K benefitting Northshore Special Families, a program of the Center for Human Services. It will take place at The Seattle Times North Creek, Bothell, WA on Saturday, March 27, 2010. The inaugural race last year was a great success with over 600 registered participants. This year they we are adding the 10K route as well as a team challenge and we are expecting at least 1000 participants.

We will be sponsoring a Kid Zone series of booths... please come by and see us - and better yet, sign up to race!

 
Best,
Kat Stremlau
kat@totspotcafe.com
The Spot Card