Megan McCune with her two children, Lizzy and John
(photo: Derrick Creative)

by Teddy Wansink

“I feel like I'm on a whitewater raft without a paddle,” said Megan McCune, president of parental support organization Petworth Peanuts. “The sheer momentum is extraordinary.”

When Petworth Peanuts was first founded in 2020, it was just a weekly Zoom call where 15 new moms chatted and heard from maternal health speakers. Now, it is a legally-recognized nonprofit that has provided support programs, social events and parenting resources to over 2,000 local caregivers. With its $60-a-year maximum cost and hyperlocal focus, Petworth Peanuts provides accessible support for parents in a city where help is hard to find.

For many DC caregivers, their main option for postpartum support is Parenting and Child Education an organization that provides vital classes and support groups to new parents. However, members may struggle to make local connections since the group covers the entire region, from Centreville to Silver Spring. Add on a nearly $400 annual price tag, and it makes sense that parents are looking for an alternative.

“It's particularly isolating for many people in Washington because it's such a transient, transplant type of city,” McCune told Petworth News over a cup of coffee at Büna Coffeehouse.

McCune felt this isolation firsthand in March 2020. Less than a month after she moved to Petworth and had her first child, COVID-19 struck, and the world went into quarantine.

It was the perfect storm for postpartum depression and anxiety.

Luckily, she found a listserv post advertising a new group called Petworth Peanuts, started by locals Becca Gentile and Rachel Austin. These moms met weekly over Zoom to hear from expert speakers including lactation consultants, pelvic floor therapists and yoga instructors. Even more importantly, they had a platform to discuss their challenges as parents.

“Even though we didn't actually meet each other in person for months and months and months, it was immediately clear to me that it was a lifeline,” McCune said.

Although the co-founders later moved on to other projects, McCune stuck around, establishing herself as a leader in the organization. So when Peanuts decided to establish a board, McCune jumped at the opportunity to serve as the group’s first president.

Under McCune’s guidance, Petworth Peanuts has diversified its programs to include an online database of local resources, community WhatsApp groups and around 60 events a year— many open to the public. Last year’s Sherman Circle Spooktacular, for instance, attracted over 2,000 attendees to enjoy performers, including balloon artists and jugglers.

Children watching a performer at the Sherman Circle Spooktacular, planned by Petworth Peanuts in October 2023
(photo: Petworth Peanuts)

“We've gotten to where we are because we have a handful of incredibly dedicated rockstar volunteers,” McCune said. Petworth Peanuts runs on the work of parents who volunteer hours of their free time on top of working full-time jobs and raising their own children. If that sounds exhausting, that’s because it is.

“I only got to take one week off after I had my daughter,” McCune said. “That's another reason why the model is difficult to replicate. It’s very demanding.” Therein lies the ultimate irony: moms like McCune spend so much time supporting other parents that they end up needing extra support in their own parenting.

“My husband is really the Peanut of the year,” McCune said. “When I'm off supporting these events, he's the one that's going to take care of our own children.”

The Petworth Peanut Volunteer board celebrating their new 501c3 designation
(photo: Petworth Peanuts)

For McCune and other volunteers, these sacrifices are worthwhile because Petworth Peanuts is more than just a hobby. It’s an opportunity to help other parents overcome their challenges and find the beauty in being a parent.

“I also think of my own experience with postpartum depression, anxiety—all the things that come with becoming a mother,” McCune said. “I created the organization that I needed for myself.”