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School-break frustration inspires web idea

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Big plans: From left, Andrew Young, Kim Caisey and Surlena Smith are setting up a website that will serve as an educational and recreational guide for parents (Photo by Nicola Muirhead)

School breaks were a problem for Kim Caisey.

Her children were 16, ten and four, and finding appropriate care was a nightmare.

The younger two had learning challenges; the teenager required a completely different environment.

Her frustrations led to an idea. The 43-year-old is in the process of creating a first for the Island. Her website, KIM’s List (Kids in Mind), will provide a comprehensive educational and recreational resource for parents and guardians of children in primary and middle school.

Ms Caisey hopes to have the site up and running by June. In the meantime, she’s looking for a web designer and an investor to help her move her project along.

“In October 2012 I had a difficult time trying to find things for my children,” she said.

“They were different ages and I was trying to find somewhere to put my four-year-old and her ten-year-old brother. It was coming up on Christmas break and I didn’t know what to do with them.

“I wanted them to be in the same place, especially when it came to drop-off time.”

She spoke with other parents and found they had a similar challenge

She eventually found a spot for them at CARE Learning but she was determined to help other parents avoid what she’d gone through.

KIM’s List will be a one-stop shop for educational and recreational camps and programmes.

The project took second place at an event held last weekend. Start-up Weekend Bermuda was coordinated by entrepreneurs Coral Wells, Nhuri Bashir and Courtney Bushner and supported by The Department of E-Commerce’s Inspire eBusiness initiative and the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation.

It enabled developers, designers, marketers and entrepreneurs to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch start-ups in the space of 54 hours.

The entire event “was awesome”, Ms Caisey said.

“It was a great experience where I enjoyed being around people of like minds; leaders. It was very empowering, life-changing. I would encourage anyone and everyone to own their own business even if it starts out as a side business. I also want to thank my team, Surlena Smith, Andrew Young and Dean Ming, for their dedication to my idea, their help, their time and their patience. They will be coming with me on my journey to make this a reality.”

Ms Caisey is in the process of meeting with private schools, reading clinics, book stores and librarians — anyone who offers such an educational programme — so their information can be included.

“It’s a lot to take on I know, but I know there’s a need for it and so I want to get it done,” she said. “It will include camps, etc, but the main focus will be education.”

Anyone interested in sharing information should send an e-mail to Kimslistbda@gmail.com

(From left) Kim Caisey, Andrew Young and Surlena Smith are setting up a website that will serve as an educational and recreational resource for parents of children aged five through to 16 (Photo by Nicola Muirhead)