Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julie Damian. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Julie, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

In the summer of 2017 my family moved to a new neighborhood. We were used to living within walking distance of the school the boys attended, which also had a playground, track, and walking trails. Our new neighborhood gave us a quieter street and larger yard, but no near by play space. We missed that. In March 2018, my middle son died very unexpectedly in a horrible accident. After his death, I wanted to build a playground in his honor near our new home. The Playful Child was born through my desire to honor my son Kade and create a place filled with love, laughter, and life as a gift to our community.

I had no idea at the time everything that is involved in starting a non profit and designing, raising the funds for, and building a park and play space!

Over the last several years, I have worked to partner with The City of Georgetown, TX to find land for the park, obtain City Council approval for the plans, raise funds to design the park and create construction plans, all while building a new non profit! The Playful Child has made steady progress on the park planning despite COVID. We are currently ready to start major fundraising to secure the estimated 1.75 million dollars needed to build phase 1 of The Kade Damian Healing Hearts Park! The park is also listed as a high priority in the city parks 10 year master plan! The Playful Child will create the park design, raise the funds needed for the park infrastructure as well as the play features and then the park will open as a public park and play space maintained by the City of Georgetown. It is my hope that The Kade Damian Healing Hearts Park will connect the community through play, laughter, and the celebration of the gift each person brings to this life!

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Since The Playful Child is currently working to raise millions of dollars to build The Kade Damian Healing Hearts Park let’s talk about how we got started. After my son Kade died in March 2018, my husband and I wanted to do something to say thank you everyone who had supported us in those days, weeks, months, and now years following his death. Grief is a long hard journey. The death of your child is an experience that full stop changes your life. The friends and family who have walked with us will forever hold a special place in our hearts! They carried us when we didn’t remember how to put one foot in front of the other.

Funding a non profit is hard work. Building a multi million dollar park from scratch is even more work! I literally started The Playful Child from donations from piggy banks! We had coin drives at the boys schools, and friends of my boys brought in money they had saved, in baggies to donate to help build the park. To this point, it is small donations from friends, family, and community members that have helped build and grow this dream! Now, we are gearing up to reach out to major donors to complete the project and make the dream come true!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Personal connections build a strong organization. People follow passion. Connect with your team. We all have a story and we want it to be witnessed. Nurture relationships, encourage open and honest communication. Allow people time for family, to recharge, and relax. We all work better when we have filled our own cup.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theplayfulchild.org
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/theplayfulchildgtx
• Facebook: www.theplayfulchild.org/theplayfulchild