When Britt Riley had her first daughter, Harper, she took 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave from her remote marketing job. After returning to work, she felt like she was falling behind, both as a mom and in her career. When her second daughter, Zoe, was born less than two years later, it became even more apparent that Riley needed a type of support that didn’t seem to exist.
So she set out to create it herself. Enter: The Haven Collection, a unique, family-focused concept that’s helping reshape the way American society approaches childcare for working parents. Each Haven location features a fully licensed daycare facility, a coworking space, and a gym — all in one building. There are three locations across Rhode Island, where Riley lives, and New Jersey; the first opened in 2019 and the third in 2022. A franchise program was also recently launched, which means that more locations may soon start popping up as well.
“One hundred percent, this business is built out of my own experiences as a new parent,” the 40-year-old, whose kids are now 7 and 9, told Nice News. She’d tried daycare with Harper, and that’s where she first began developing her ideas about creating safe environments that empower kids without overwhelming them. The Haven childcare programs run on a “play-based, Reggio Emilia-meets-Montessori curriculum,” as touted on its website.
Riley also knows how hard it is for moms and dads to prioritize their physical health in the best of times, much less when they’re having to run between multiple locations on a daily basis. The Haven exercise facilities are stocked with sleek workout equipment like Peloton bikes, and also include wellness suites for massages and other one-on-one services. Some members join just for the gyms.
“It genuinely ranges from people who use [Haven] when they have specific meetings or meetings at certain times of day that are convenient for them to stick around or come for pickup early, to people who just use it for fitness, and [also] people who use it for everything,” she explained. “They work there full time, they work out, and they’re really involved in the community.”
That last element can’t be understated; it’s what makes The Haven Collection so helpful — and such a success.
“The community is the heart of all of it,” Riley shared. “It’s kind of the core of everything.” She noted that as the digital world has physically distanced people, and burnout and loneliness plague so many (“They’re actually documented cardiac epidemics at this point,” she said), it’s more important than ever to spend time with others, particularly for parents.
Founder Britt Riley
And so the Haven clubs seemingly operate like all-in-one support systems, places where adults in fleeting yet transformational periods of their lives can make friends, share advice, and feel seen. As in traditional coworking spaces, members meet people outside of those they work with. But unlike in traditional coworking spaces, all those people are going through similar experiences.
“At the end of the day, the two things that we’re really focused on are community — and people reengaging with their local community is really fantastic for the second thing we value super highly, which is the short- and long-term mental health of parents and their kids,” Riley emphasized. “And so as much as we can support the parents during those first five years, we know it’ll essentially contribute to their ability to engage with their kids when they’re not at the club.”
Although joining The Haven Collection is generally limited to those with daycare-age children, there are waitlisted memberships for expecting mothers, as well as alumni memberships for parents who want to stay after their kids start kindergarten.
“I feel like it’s critically important that every member of the family is supported,” said Riley. “Because if we want to show up for children, we need to support everybody who takes care of them, right?”
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