Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Shackelford.
Hi Amy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Purpose Play started June 2018 with three mom friends who saw a need for fun pop up play events geared towards kids seven and under.
We did our first event at a park and saw that sensory play was by far a favorite with the age group. We have since expanded to partner with local businesses and hosting joint play events, providing sensory play kits for play at home, bi-monthly sensory play subscription boxes, birthday parties, and more.
The other owners are Maureen Fieleke and Molly Stucky. They are the creative geniuses behind our brand.
It has been a joy to see all the friendships and connections that have been made through Purpose Play. We are all moms and strive to make play easy and fun so that parents can make memories with their kids.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of our biggest struggles has been the pandemic. We stopped during in person events in March of 2020 and started back at a small scale in March of 2021.
We pivoted and the first six months of the pandemic focused on how we could help. With our mission in mind to make play easy, we went live every night on social media with three easy activities to keep kids busy while spending so much time at home.
We then focused on putting all our experience of facilitating sensory play for thousands of kids into designing quality sensory play products and subscription boxes for play at home.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Amy Shackelford – I love the energy and fun that start-ups bring. From a young age, I have loved starting new things and filling in gaps with ideas that make the world a little brighter. I was an Executive Director for a nonprofit and after being a mom for two years, started staying at home with my three kids. That transition was what was best for our family, but Purpose Play has been an outlet for me to use my skills and make life a little bit easier for other families.
Maureen – Maureen is extremely creative, can pick up any new skill, has a background in education, and is expert level in discovering new hobbies. She keeps us focused on our mission and making sure our products and events are top-notch.
Molly – Molly is one of the most creative people I know. Everything she interacts with (whether it is people or things) becomes more beautiful. She has a lot of experience with working with young children through working in and starting her own home daycare.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
We have been fortunate to partner with so many other local small businesses in the Kansas City area. We do not have a brick and mortar and so we host our events in conjunction with other businesses.
Our families have been supportive of Purpose Play. Whether it is family members watching our kids, our kids attending events, our husbands helping with clean up or products, or looking the other way of the massive sensory play inventory to be stored in our homes.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.purposeplayllc.com/
- Instagram: Purposeplaykc
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/purposeplay
Image Credits
Reagan Fraser Photography (one of the three owners)
