The Incredible Playgroup Finder

Inspiration

As a father of two young daughters, I often struggled to find engaging, free activities to keep them entertained. I searched for a centralized platform in Ottawa that listed local playgroups—but came up empty. That frustration inspired me to build one myself.

What began as a personal project quickly turned into a community resource. After launching the first version, I partnered with the Parent Resource Centre (PRC), a local non-profit supporting families in Ottawa. I offered them the project to help more parents benefit from it.

What it does

The Incredible Playgroup Finder is a bilingual web app that helps Ottawa parents discover local playgroup events using an interactive map and real-time filters. Parents can search by:

• Location
• Age group
• Language preference
• Day of the week
• Date
• Facility type

Clicking an event opens it in Google Maps with directions preloaded, and events can be added to calendars like Google, Apple, or Outlook. The platform is mobile-friendly, playful, and built for ease of use.

How I built it

I used:

• Next.js 14 for the frontend
• Tailwind CSS for styling and responsive design
• Google Maps API to display event locations interactively
• Google Sheets API to fetch real-time data from a shared sheet
• Vercel for seamless deployment and hosting

Challenges I ran into

• Designing a dynamic filter system that works seamlessly across all screen sizes and devices
• Ensuring performance and responsiveness while handling 2,000+ live entries from a Google Spreadsheet
• Creating an accessible and welcoming experience for parents of all tech backgrounds
• Working solo on all aspects of the project—from idea, design, development to testing and community coordination

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

• The app is now used by 100+ parents daily in Ottawa
• Some organizations saw a 30% increase in playgroup attendance after adopting it
• The PRC now officially promotes the platform to local families
• The project transformed a personal need into a community-serving tool
• User feedback has been overwhelmingly positive
• I single-handedly created and launched an application that is actively used and making a real impact
• - The app is fully open source, inviting collaboration and making it easy for other communities to adopt or adapt the platform

What I learned

• How to use Google Maps and Sheets APIs together for real-time, location-based data
• The power of simple UX decisions when designing for accessibility and mobile use
• How to collaborate with a non-profit and adapt based on real-world feedback
• That even a small solo project can have a real social impact

What's next for The Incredible Playgroup Finder

We’re just getting started! Here's what’s coming next:

• Expand beyond Ottawa to cover surrounding regions and communities in need of accessible family programming
• Build admin tools to allow partner organizations to easily manage and update their own events
• Launch a React Native mobile app to provide an even smoother experience on the go
• Offer the platform as a reusable template for other non-profits across Canada, empowering local communities

Currently, I'm working on migrating the backend to Cloud Firestore to accommodate future growth and improve scalability.

Looking ahead, I'm planning to create a centralized platform called Incredible Activities — a unified tool that will include not only playgroups but also workshops, youth activities, and more — all with rich Google Maps integration for easy discovery.

Open Source

The Incredible Playgroup Finder is fully open source and available on GitHub: GitHub Repository

We welcome collaboration, forks, and adaptations. If you're a developer, organization, or community looking to build something similar, feel free to reuse the codebase — or reach out if you'd like help!

Built With

• google-maps
• google-spreadsheets
• javascript
• next.js
• react
• tailwind
• typescript