About Us

Our Mission

We inspire and enable parents to create a meaningful family life for themselves and their children by providing products, resources, and services which empower parents to take control of their family life and build a warm and loving home.

Our History

Families with Purpose was founded in 2003 with the goal of making it easier for families to spend time just being a family. As parents of four busy children and both working outside the home, we were feeling the frustration of not having enough quality time as a family. Thus spawned the idea for our company, Families with Purpose. Realizing there are only so many hours in a day, our goal is to try and minimize the planning, buying, and running time for family activities, so that as parents you can relax and just enjoy your family time and the little things in life.

We also realize every family is different and what works for one family may not necessarily be what works for another. With this thought in mind, we try hard to offer a variety of choices in our recommendations and are continually adding and expanding the content of our website. We value the input and comments from our visitors and customers, so please feel free to contact us at any time.

Our Staff and Regular Contributors

Polly Schlafhauser, Founder and President

Bio Picture Polly is Founder and President of Families with Purpose and is passionate about helping parents create an authentic family life for themselves and children. After 12 years of juggling a finance career with a Fortune 500 company and an active family life, Polly set out to create the tools and resources busy families need today. After years of hard work, joys, and frustrations, Polly has built an online destination visited by thousands of parents looking to learn how to simplify and better manage their family life as well as connect with each other and their children in a very deep meaningful way. Polly lives in Michigan with her husband, four daughters, and 3 cats. You can reach her by visiting our Contact Us page.

Sandra Huber, Parent Coach

Sandra is our resident parent coach and the “soul” and “coach” behind the Soulful Parent. She has worked in Early Intervention, Special Education and has supported many families in the road to successful parenting. She became a PCI Certified Parent Coach® because she’s deeply passionate about changing the world, one family at a time. Sandra believes that life becomes a more enjoyable journey when you lead from your strengths! She can be contacted at the www.thesoulfulparent.com for more information about seminars, presentations and individual coaching services.

Pat Douglas and Anna Mitchum, Kids with Purpose

Pat Douglas and Anna Mitchum are passionate about helping others. Driven to share that passion with their children, Pat and Anna created Kids With Purpose. KWP empowers children to grow in faith through service to others. This grassroots program has spread across the country through word of mouth and an inherent desire to change the world. KWP's mission is to develop awareness as well as foster and nurture a desire to help those in need. It provides an opportunity for children preschool through tweens as well as families to make a difference in their community and the world. In return, the children develop a love for missions, increased self-esteem and a lifelong habit of caring for others. Currently residing in Northern Virginia with their families, they continue to work and volunteer in their own churches and give back to their community in a myriad of ways. You can find out more about Kids with Purpose at www.kidswithpurpose.org

Susan Heid, Parent and Family Manager Coach

Susan also writes at The Confident Mom where she loves inspiring moms to make small changes managing their home and family life giving them more time, order and less stress! She is passionate about helping moms become the Calm, Cool and Confident Moms their kids need. She enthusiastically wears the hat of mom, step-mom and foster mom to 4 awesome kids – ages 18, 14, 10 and 14 months; is married to her very own prince charming, loves coffee, cloudy days, and does think the “bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle. Empowering Moms, Strengthening Families and Embracing God’s Design is her mission and you can find her at her other day job, The Confident Mom, stop by and get a copy of her FREE ebook, “Getting Kids to Cooperate and Become Team Players.”

Jenna Riggs, Mommy on a Shoestring

Jenna is a native Northwesterner, who went to sunny California to study graphic design at the University of the Pacific, spent some time in sunny Colorado, and eventually missed the rain and moved back. Jenna’s design and illustration work has been in almost every category of visual materials—from children’s books to marketing pieces, identities to advertising, websites to annual reports, and children’s themed home products.

Jenna is also part of Mommy on a Shoestring with Beth Engelman—their website and weekly radio show are chocked full of ideas on how families can live creatively and large on a small budget.

Jenna lives on Vashon Island, near Seattle, with her husband and two daughters.

Visit Jenna’s design and illustration website at jennariggs.com and her children’s illustration site at childrensillustrators.com/illustrator.cgi/JennaRiggs.

Beth Engelman, Mommy on a Shoestring

Beth began her writing career in second grade when she won her first writing contest with her essay entitled “If I Were President, Bubblegum Would Be Free and Taxes Would Go Up (So Teachers Could Get More Money).” Clearly not destined for a career in politics, Beth has focused her talents on creative writing, education, and curriculum development.

Beth’s achievements and experiences include eight years as a Kindergarten and First Grade Teacher, being nominated for the Kohl-McCormick Foundation’s Excellence in Education Award, and participating in numerous national conferences on fostering number sense and literacy development. Beth has developed books and games for several companies including: LeapFrog Toys, Chronicle Books, Piggy Toes Press and Disney. Beth Engelman currently writes an award winning column for the Pioneer Press Called “Mommy on a Shoestring”. The column is filled with activities, games and craft ideas moms can do with their kids on a shoestring budget. She also is a regular on “You & ME this Morning” on WCIU the U in Chicago and co-hosts the Mommy on a Shoestring Radio show with Jenna Riggs which airs live on Thursdays from 2-3 EST on Toginet Radio.

Jennifer Ascher, Organizing Without Limits

Jennifer Ascher is an organizing coach, inventor of the SaveOnizer© and owner of Organizing Without Limits. It is her belief that organizing goes beyond pantries, closets or even time management. It’s about taking control of your whole life. She teaches her clients Back to Basics: Simple Organizing Solutions for Real Life. To learn more and to connect with Jennifer please visit http://www.organizingwithoutlimits.com or on Twitter and Facebook.

Bobbie Friedman, Simplified by Bobbie

Bobbie Friedman is a Professional Organizer, Home Management Consultant, and the owner of Simplified by Bobbie located in Pennsylvania. She is dedicated to helping individuals and families simplify their lives! Through personalized organizing services, hands-on help, and knowledgeable guidance she’ll help you establish effective ways to manage your schedule and home; turning CoMpLiCaTeD into Simplified. Visit www.simplifiedbybobbie.com to learn more, view before & after photos, and read helpful organizing tips. Contact Bobbie for your FREE phone consultation, and make your space & time work for you. E-mail info@simplifiedbybobbie.com Call 717-632-7074 Follow https://www.facebook.com/SimplifiedByBobbie Tweet https://twitter.com/simplyorganized

Melanie Moore, Only a Breath

Melanie writes at Only A Breath about life as a small-town, southern, girly-girl mommy of two rough and rowdy little boys. She is so thankful for a wonderful, hard-working husband who makes her laugh and is a wonderful daddy. She works full-time as an industrial software developer ("computer geek") and offers practical tips and encouragement for moms who work outside the home. Her heart's desire is to encourage others to celebrate life and cherish each breath of this journey.