When Venice resident Linda Perry founded Peachhead Families in 1997, the new mom interacted with club members through her husband’s e-mail address. The fan of the Allman Brothers Band incorporated the word peach-head into his e-mail address. The name stems from the band’s “Eat a Peach” album.
Soon after, Perry took over the e-mail address and adopted Peachhead as the name for the group.
The organization started with 15 moms at a “Mommy and Me” class and has slowly expanded to more than 6,000 members throughout the county, many of which reside on the Westside. Perry now has two children, 9-year-old and 6-year-old daughters.
The heart of Peachhead Families is its Yahoo Group mailing list, a resource that features approximately 7,000 messages being sent back and forth between members each day, said Perry, an attorney. When the mailing list was launched in 2003, the server averaged about 55 messages a month.
Aside from the mailing lists, the organization hosts a number of events throughout the year, including mom’s nights out and spa nights. The group has also spawned a series of sub-communities, including ones for working Peachhead moms and single Peachhead parents.
“I didn’t know anything about babies before I started this group and it was great to know I could just send an e-mail out,” she said. “It just helped me to be able to meet with other moms.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 28, 2007. Read the original PDF.