In February 1996 the first edition of The Family Grapevine appeared in East Surrey, the brainchild of a couple of mums who came up with the idea of publishing their own parents’ telephone directory. It was a great success and the reaction from readers and advertisers was so positive that they decided to continue.
Many independent editions have now been launched as members of The Family Grapevine Group.
The Family Grapevine publication focuses on being a free local phonebook of services for families, concentrating on antenatal to 18 years. We include information pertinent to the various age groups within a growing family. A proportion of the entries give contact numbers for help and support in specialist areas, which can be difficult and time consuming to source for the average busy family. The line entries and adverts, are sufficiently varied to encompass the wide needs of a modern family.
By the time the children are in their early teens much of the information is no longer applicable to them, however each editor tries to incorporate a reasonable amount of information for those teenage years. It may not be the teenagers who read it, but there could be something useful for mums and dads to read up on.
Over the years The Family Grapevine has retained a strong identity and a very loyal readership and advertiser base. Repeat advertising rates are consistently high and each issue sees the new copies welcomed by all concerned. The Family Grapevine remains well respected and valued within the local community – regardless of being described as a book, leaflet, pamphlet, magazine, phonebook or a directory – it does the job it’s designed to do, that’s what counts!