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Local Moms Launch 'The Pickup Line' Newsletter For Parents

CHATHAM, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – If you have young children, you're probably familiar with the school pick-up line.

As CBS2's Cindy Hsu reports, two local mothers have come up with a pick-up line of a different kind.

"Waiting for kids at school, waiting for kids at activities, waiting for sports… You're looking at your phone, you're checking your email, you're maybe looking at Facebook or Instagram… and sort of wasting your time," said Patti Smith Barrett.

So she and Beth Kneebone came up with an email newsletter called "The Pickup Line." It's geared toward parents, with everything from the top news stories to a kid-friendly music playlist.

The newsletter is emailed to subscribers every day around 2:30 p.m. – a popular time to be sitting in a car line.

"Go to their email, know what time it's coming, and have the three big stories of the day," Smith Barrett said. "Then, sort of the highlights of lifestyle, like entertainment, books, recipes – that's one of our big things."

There's a new recipe every day and it normally takes just 20 minutes to prepare.

The Pickup Line launched just two months ago, and moms seem to like it.

"I need to go to the movies, I can read about it. If I need to read about what the president is doing, it's right there," said Patty Lombardo. "It's what's for dinner, it's what's new, it's amazing."

"Instead of looking at Facebook or trivial things, you can look at The Pickup Line and get the news," added Michelle Lease.

Smith Barrett has four children and Kneebone has two. They used to work full-time in journalism and marketing. Now with their second careers, a sleeping child is often part of the mix.

"Part of what we're trying to do is help moms juggle it all. We're showing them we can do it, you can do it," Kneebone said. "We understand how busy everybody is."

"We whittle it down to what might you care about most and what might people be talking about later in the afternoon that you want to know is going on and be able to contribute to the conversation," added Smith Barrett.

The longtime friends hope The Pickup Line becomes a go-to guide for busy parents.

They aren't making any money off the newsletter right now and plan to always keep it free. They hope to make some money through advertising.

To subscribe, text PICKUPLINE to 22828.

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