Community Highlights: Meet Florence Wlodarski of Parallel Social Club

Today we’d like to introduce you to Florence Wlodarski.

Florence, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
You could say I’ve been in the business of connection my whole life — not just the “hey, meet so-and-so” kind, but the kind that actually moves the needle and brings people together for a purpose. I started out as a community organizer, rallying people around social causes. From there, I dove into the corporate world of stakeholder and community relations, helping bridge the gap between police departments, nonprofits, and Fortune 500 companies to build safer, stronger communities. Basically, I’ve spent years getting very different people to play nice… and do good.

For 12 years, I ran my own company, Hetty Group, helping big organizations figure out how to actually connect with their communities (not just talk about it in a PowerPoint). I loved turning “what if” ideas into “look what we built” moments, creating partnerships that made a real difference.

Eventually, I took everything I’d learned about building community and connection, and turned it into something deeply personal: PARALLEL.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I actually spent about a year dreaming up the idea before I finally took action. Anyone else sit on an idea for way too long? Once I decided to go for it, it turned into a full-on 24/7 DIY hustle — market research, building the website, designing the member app, meeting the right people, and hosting 45 events in 2024 just to test, learn, and refine. When you’re bootstrapping, you’re the founder, marketer, event planner, and tech support all rolled into one.

One of the biggest challenges was staying focused on the vision while navigating people’s opinions about the kid-free lifestyle. During my early research, I found a lot of toxicity on both ends — parents judging people who don’t have kids, and some childfree spaces pushing back, even making fun of kids or pregnant women. I didn’t connect with either side. I wanted to create a space that was about positivity, respect, connection, and belonging.

What keeps me going are the people. Seeing our members form real friendships, laugh together, and show up for one another has been incredibly rewarding. We officially launched in March 2025 and already have over 70 members, and growing. Watching the community come to life has been the best part of this whole journey.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
PARALLEL is a first-of-its-kind social club for adults who aren’t doing the parenting thing — whether by choice, chance, or circumstance. You’ve probably heard the terms DINKs (dual income, no kids) and SINKs (single, no kids) — they’re playful, but they describe a real lifestyle with its own freedoms, priorities, and challenges.

We’re creating a space for people in their 30s, 40s, and early 50s who don’t have kids, to build meaningful friendships, level up their social lives, and find real belonging. We host curated in-person events all over L.A. — from intimate dinners and comedy nights to hikes, pickleball and wine tastings. We’re helping members connect IRL while staying plugged in through our members-only app. We do all the heavy lifting in planning events and curating the crowd, so all you do is show up, be yourself, connect, and have a good time!

But PARALLEL is more than a social calendar — it’s a social home. It’s where people designing life on their own terms can find community that fits. After my husband and I chose to remain childfree following our fertility journey, we realized how much our social world had shifted — our friends with kids had different schedules and priorities, and we wanted to meet others that were living a lifestyle parallel to ours. But how do you find them in LA? Meetup wasn’t it. Facebook groups weren’t it. Bumble BFF? Not it. So we built it ourselves.

Now, PARALLEL is growing into something bigger — a movement redefining what midlife connection can look like and championing social wellness. Because life without kids isn’t second-best — it’s full, vibrant, and extraordinary, especially when you have the right people beside you who get you.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The future of social connection is definitely heading back to being in-person – IRL. Whether it’s dating or making friends, people are craving genuine, face-to-face experiences again. Even work-from-home culture is evolving, with more companies bringing employees back to the office. I still think online spaces have their place, especially for niche communities, but they can only go so far. For the childfree crowd, most online groups function like support forums — which is fine, but where’s the fun? PARALLEL flips that. We’re all about in-person first, and our member app just keeps the conversation going in between seeing each other at IRL events.

And bigger picture, I’d love to see the world not back burner their social lives and instead, make room and proactively pursue community. Physical health and mental health have had their moments. Now it’s time for social health to take the stage. At PARALLEL, we’re championing social health and wellness by creating community…because a connected life is a healthy life. And we’re dosing it with all kinds of fun!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://parallelsocialclub.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parallelsocialclub
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parallelsocialclub

Image Credits
Snapit Studio