CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Walk into a small storefront on the corner of 61st and St. Lawrence in the West Woodlawn neighborhood, you’ll enter a world of a little joyful chaos.
“Oh yeah, this place can get a bit chaotic,” laughed Jennifer Mosley, board president of HelloBaby, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
HelloBaby is a free play space for children under three and their parents. It was founded by Debbie Frisch.
“HelloBaby is her first child,” recalled Mosley. “The concept was born after she had a lot of foster children and realized many communities didn’t have access to places for kids like she had. She wanted a place where they could come and learn about what tummy time is, be read to or singalongs, and their parents are with them too.”
Mosley said it’s as a way to provide safe spaces in so-called “play desserts.”
“Play desserts is a place where there is no playground where kids can play safely, or they aren’t comfortable or safe playing in their front yard,” Mosley said. It’s a neighborhood that doesn’t have a place for children to come out safely and experience nature, or where parents can bring their kids and have a community where they can build relationships not just [with] the children but the caregivers, parents and our volunteers.”