Seattle: Meet Carey

I came to know Carey’s story through Change.org and Mark (@hardlynormal). Mark has embarked on his Invisible People road trip again, and recently visited Carey and her family in the Seattle area.

Through my correspondence with Carey (she’s contributed some posts here), I see a smart and very capable woman who is currently stuck in a Catch 22 (employment, affordable childcare, homelessness).

Please watch Mark’s interview with her, and if you are moved to help, please take some time to think about what it is that you can do to help this family.

Carey spends hours looking for work and submitting job applications. She wants nothing more but to work and provide for her family. Do you know have contacts in the Seattle area who might be willing to think creatively in helping Carey expand her network and obtain employment? Maybe you know of a woman-owned local business who might be willing to give Carey and informational interview. Think out of the box here.

So many people in the digital space are rooting for Carey’s family I am certain fundraising first and last months rental deposit won’t be a big issue. BUT this will do no good unless we can help Carey obtain a job that will help her provide for her family.

Think about it and let me know your (out of the box) ideas.

Help a mother out.

photo credit: We Are Visible, Mark Horvath

This is Priceless

SF: a.Muse to Benefit Help a Mother Out 6/18

a.Muse, aka Lori Shantzis, would like to invite you to join in a special evening of solo performance to benefit Help a Mother Out.

Saturday, June 18th, a.Muse will perform a 30 minute version of her autobiographical piece, “Loved by You…a Self-Love Story,” chronicling her childhood and early adulthood trying to make sense of a violent and dysfunctional household.  With humor and a bit of song and dance, the muse paints a picture of the effects of growing up in a home that was nothing like the happy and elegant family of her best friend, Laura.

Ms. Shantzis will be donating 100% of the ticket proceeds to HAMO, as a way of honoring her mother and the scores of mothers who stay with violent husbands because they have no place else to go.  While she realizes that society now has a better understanding of the needs of victims of domestic violence, she also recognizes that there is a hidden epidemic of children growing up in dangerous homes, not because their mother’s don’t want to make a change, but because there are so few options.

The evening will start with a piece by comedian and story-teller Silvio Menendez (www.silviomenendez.com).  There will be a 15 minute intermission.
Awake 7:30 pm
Loved by You…a Self-Love Story 8:15 pm

Doors open at 7 pm.

$10 (to benefit Help a Mother Out, an organization improving the lives of families in need, many of whom are homeless mothers.

Refreshments will be served.

a.Muse Gallery

614 Alabama St.

SF, CA 94110

www.yourmusegallery.com

info@yourmusegallery.com

*Loved by You:

Refusing to act her age, a 40-something woman grapples with some difficult questions about her past. She decides the best way to share her story is through burlesque, exposing more than her D cup, and a few sordid details from her crazy childhood. Will she take it all off, or just drop enough clothes and dirty laundry to leave the audience wanting more?

*Awake:

Silvio, a Spanish Interpreter at a major hospital, never knows what to expect when his beeper goes off. Called to the Operating Room, he realizes he might need something more than his knowledge of Spanish Medical terminology to face this call of duty.

The more he tries to prepare, the more he realizes how little he really knows about his own possibilities, on and off work. Will he be able to stay present and awake, or will he go back into his daily dramas?

To have a.Muse perform at your next function or to have a fundraiser at a.Muse Gallery, contact:

Lori Shantzis: 415.279.6281, lorishantzis@mac.com.

Silicon Valley: Las Madres Diaper Drive – Through July 8th

Thanks to Las Madres Neighborhood Playgroups who are hosting a diaper drive for our families starting today through July 8th. We’re super grateful to all the neighborhood captains who are organizing their playgroups in order to make a difference.

Those who live in the valley know how HOT it can get in the summer months. We’re super excited Las Madres wants to make sure more bottoms are covered, more frequently this summer.

If you are local and not familiar with Las Madres, do check them out. Not only do they have a vibrant and supportive community of families that get together often, they also do a service projects that help families in need throughout the valley.

Thanks Las Madres!

Sonia Says Thank You

We’re still riding high on the love you all sent to us in April and May. Here’s a video interview of Sonia Luevanos, manager of the community health worker program at Homeless Prenatal Program.

Tucson: Diaper Bank Beginnings

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with Hildy Gottlieb and Dimitri Petropolis, founders of the nation’s first Diaper Bank, Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona formerly known as the Community Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona. I can only attempt to capture the enthusiasm and energy that they radiated in that meeting. Dimitri and Hildy are truly inspirational and it was an honor to have so much of their time. This is the first of several blog posts based upon the meeting.

It really is quite an ordinary strip mall office in mid-town Tucson. I’ve driven past it a thousand times and not given it a second thought. However, for the past 17 years or so the ideas hatching in that office have been far from ordinary and have had an extraordinary impact not only on the Tucson community, but communities across the country.

In 1994 the office was a realty business recently purchased by Hildy and Dimitri. Wanting to get back to the work that made a difference in the community, Hildy and Dimitri added consulting with local Native American tribes in sustainable, non-gaming development to their work. Nowhere in their business plan were diapers mentioned. Their work with diapers was not planned, just a bit of holiday giving gone wildly and wonderfully astray.

A couple days before Thanksgiving one of the staff members suggested that a donation of diapers to Casa de los Ninos, a local safe haven for children, might be a nice idea for the office’s charitable holiday donation. A week or so later that simple office donation had expanded into a diaper drive and then something much bigger. Rather than the typical exchanging of goods with their local business partners and fellow realtors Hildy and Dimitri sent out a message via their holiday card,

“Don’t give us _______. Give us a diaper.”

A little bit unorthodox, a little bit silly, but their partners and fellow realtors took to it and the diapers began to roll in. What if, they thought, we were to get a radio station in on this? Perhaps we could make it bigger still. They faxed all the local radio stations. Stone cold silence from most, a snicker from one, and then a peep, morning DJ Bobby Rich, at what was then Cloud FM, now MIX FM, called to say that this sounded like a good fit with Cloud. This sort of drive-by event wasn’t common back in ’94, but Bobby and his crew set up their equipment outside this small midtown office in the wee hours of the morning so that they could do the morning show and a diaper drive. It should be noted that 3 am in Tucson in December is cold, very cold, below freezing cold, so this was no small commitment. At the end of the first broadcast Bobby said “We’re in this for the long haul.” He meant it. Seventeen years later Bobby still does the diaper drive every December.

Hildy and Dimitri, along with their staff and Bobby Rich, collected over twenty thousand diapers that first drive in 1994. As the diapers rolled in so did the stories of impact. It became clear to Hildy and Dimitri that helping with this one basic need had a positive ripple effect: A parent may have received help with housing and job training, but if they have very young children they are often unable to take advantage of their job training; they can’t afford the disposable diapers that they have to leave at the childcare facility while they work. The inability to take an offered job is a devastating loss to families who are working hard to get back on their feet. The social safety net has a big gaping hole in it and its name is diapers. Help diaper a child and help a family escape poverty.

Next time: A Diaper Bank is Born and Lessons in Compassion

Photo courtesy of Creating the Future

Xavier the X-Man Wants to Double Your Money this Mother’s Day

We’re SUPER excited to announce we have a matching gift, thanks to early supporter Xavier The X-Man!

Xavier has challenged us to raise $1000 online this Mother’s Day weekend (11:59 pm May 8th). If we can do this, he will match it with another $1000. Thanks for helping us get this matching gift!

Triple threat: Remember, if we reached our $25K goal before May 31st, Huggies will match our efforts with 100,000 diapers!

Kindercycle Now Collecting Diapers for #HAMO

We’re excited to announce that Bay Area based KinderCycle will start collecting diapers on our behalf at their monthly swap events. We’re incredibly grateful to them for spreading the diaper word and giving families  an easy opportunity to give back (they also donating surplus clothing to another awesome non profit, Loved Twice!).

From their website:

Why KinderCycle?

• Kids outgrow clothes.
• They move on to different toys.
• They want new books to read.
• You need a clutter-free house.

How Does KinderCycle Work?

KinderCycle hosts monthly (or so) swap events where you get stuff you and your kids want, and get rid of stuff you don’t.

Their next swap is:

Sunday, April 10th from 10am – noon

at the South Berkeley Senior Center
2939 Ellis Street (at Ashby); Berkeley
SIZES: Newborn – 6 year olds

Oakland North Reports on Diaper Need #elb

Shout out to Oakland North for recently covering HAMO and our incredible donation from Huggies Every Little Bottom program.

The donation was distributed this past month to three partner agencies including our dear friends at St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County, Homeless Prenatal Program, and San Francisco’s Bayview Mission.

******

From Oakland North:

“A young woman showed up at St. Vincent de Paul’s Women’s Center in downtown Oakland a few months ago after leaving the husband who had been beating her. She had newborn twins, a child who hadn’t yet turned two, and nothing else—no clothes, no money and none of the items needed to take care of babies.

“I explained we could find her a safe place to stay and I gave her diapers for the next week,” says Sonia Muñoz, the assistant manager of the Women’s Center, a daytime drop-in center offering free programs and services for women and children. The young woman broke down crying. She fell to her knees and thanked Muñoz and everyone else at the center. “If you would’ve seen her, your eyes would’ve watered,” Muñoz says.”

*******

You can read the article here. We were thrilled that Oakland North covered our story, and even more thrilled our local donation bin at SadieDey’s Cafe filled up a few days after the article!

Hope

“I just want to share that your giving to these women that we serve, even though you may feel its just diapers, it represents hope. Some of our women already feel down and out when they cannot get diapers for their babies. When you can give them diapers it lets them know that someone cares.”

— Phyllis, Community Health Worker

San Jose Sharks Holding Diaper Drive for #HAMO #ELB 2/17

Our lips have been sealed until now, but we’ve been dying to tell you this exciting news!

We’re incredibly grateful to be included in the NHL, Hockey for Huggies campaign in February! We’ll be at the San Jose Sharks game next Thursday night, February 17th collecting diapers on behalf of local families, as well as the spreading the word about diaper need in the Bay Area.

From the NHL/San Jose Sharks website:

“The Sharks will be collecting diapers at their home game against the Washington Capitals on Feb. 17 to benefit “Help a Mother Out”, an organization that distributes diapers to local families in need.Fans are encouraged to bring unopened packages of diapers to the game or make a cash donation in exchange for a chance to win prizes. The drive will begin when doors open at 6:15 pm and will continue during the game. In addition to the diaper drive at HP Pavilion, fans can also text the name of their favorite NHL team (Sharks) to 501501 to donate $5 and help diaper babies in their community.”

Are you local? We would love to meet you! Please stop by our collection booth to say hello, donate diapers or money, play plinko, and enter to win one of several Sharks’ fan prizes.

Can’t make it to the game? YOU can still help a mother out:

1. From your cell phone, TEXT “SHARKS,” or “SAN JOSE” to 501501 to donate $5.00 anytime between now and March 28th. The charge will appear on your cell phone bill and proceeds from everyone who texts in “Sharks” or “San Jose” will benefit HAMO via the NHL Foundation.
2. Spread the word to your friends and family to tell them about this super easy way to help local families with diapers. Share this post on Facebook, Tweet, Link, Blog, Email.

Hugs to our friends at the NHL and Huggies for using their power for good to help babies all across the country.

Photo credit via Creative Commons 2.0: bijapuri ( Ed Sentner )

Tucson Swap-O-Rama 3/12

Are you in the Tucson area the weekend of March 12th? Yes? Alrighty then. Get whatever gizmo you use to keep track of all that scheduling and type/write this down:

Saturday, March 12th
10am – 12pm
Swap-O-Rama
A Children’s Clothing Exchange and Diaper Drive
to benefit
Diaper Bank of Arizona.

Geneva Hall, St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church
3809 East 3rd St.

Check out the Eventbrite page or the facebook page for the important details.

HAMO- AZ is partnering with a local preschool, St. Marks, to raise awareness and diapers, and to have a whole lot of fun. The event is inspired by the Tucson Mama Kid’s Clothing Swap of 2009. I should also mention that the Tucson Mama’s exchange inspired the Bay Area folk of Help a Mother Out last February to do the same thing to great success. Additional bonus: Tucson Mama is going to be joining us at Swap-O-Rama to lend her support and her cool factor to the whole shebang. I’m also excited to add that a wonderful local photographer, Melissa Haun, who has been a fabulous supporter in the past of our diaper drives, has volunteered her services to document the event.

Those from outside Tucson wondering on how you can get in on the whole cool diaper drive action? Check out Help A Mother Out’s suggestions here.

Photo courtesy of Julie Michelle

5 Ways You Can Help A Mother Out In 2011

How are your new years resolutions going?

One of our resolutions is to get better at asking for help. We’re a small grassroots organization trying to make a big impact in the lives of families during one of the worst economic catastrophes of our time.

An acquaintance of mine recently remarked “I can’t imagine a WORST time to start a non profit. It must be awful for you.” Well, I guess in many respects,  he  is right. Foundation and individual philanthropy is down. Non profits must compete for scarce funding. Many say it isn’t pretty time in the not profit sector.

But for me, I look at it from the perspective of the families we serve. Social service agencies are having their budgets slashed. Children cannot wait for the economic recession to be over before they have access to a clean diaper. This is the most crucial time to give back to our communities and ensure children have what they need to thrive.

For all the wonderful news and impact we’ve been grateful to accomplish since starting, there is much, much more work to be done. For each partner agency we’ve been honored to provide diapers to, there are several we must turn away simply because we do not have enough diapers to sustain the great need.

Well. We’re here to stay, regardless of whether or not it’s a good time to be.

How can you help? Here are some ideas …

1) Host a Diaper Drive

Whether it’s with your playgroup, MOPS, preschool, K-12 school, the office, civic group, or you’re just plain having a party, a diaper drive is an easy way to give back and directly help our families who are struggling to provide diapers for their babies. Our free diaper drive toolkit can be used to help you get started with ideas, and we have a handy donation bin sign you can use to place on a donation bin. For inspiration click here, here, or here.

2) Host a Fundraiser

Every organization needs funds to operate. We need them too. Hosting a fundraiser, however large or intimate, is an easy and direct way to help our families. As a volunteer-run non profit, 100% of the funds we collect are puts towards our diaper program.  Our 2011 goals include building up our safety net fund, so we may continue to efficiently supply our distribution network of partner agencies with the diapers they need, in the sizes they need most. For inspiration read this post about a group of women who were already coming together for a clothing swap, and suggested a “cover charge” to help us buy diapers.

3) Volunteer

We’re volunteer run, and it’s a cadre of thoughtful volunteers who have helped us accomplish so much since 2009. Aside from the above, our current volunteer needs consist primarily of outreach and development. From getting the word out to the community about our call for diaper drives, producing outreach materials, helping us post events online, researching grants and partnerships, helping us with event planning – if you’d like to contribute your skills to help us continue the momentum, we’d love to hear from you.

4) Become a Fairy God Mother

Don’t have time to help in the above ways? We recently introduced our sustainer program, in which YOU, fairy god mothers of all shapes and sizes, help us out with an automatic monthly contribution (tax deductible). We’re grateful to all of YOU who have already signed up to be part of this special group of people who want to make a big impact.

5) Your Idea!

Do you have an idea about how you can help a mother out in 2011? We’d love to  know! For inspiration, check out our friend and long time supporter, Yvonne in LA, who recently decided to run the LA Marathon to raised diaper funds and awareness.  And our friends at Diaper Rash Clothingdecided to honor the cause by diapering a baby for each onesie they sell.

“Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Do YOU want to be great? Fill our inbox with love:  info at helpamotherout dot org.

Photo credit via Creative Commons 2.0: Gertjan Baarda

Thanks to the HealthTap Community for Raising 14,000 Diapers!!!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead

Remember that awesome health and technology start up that wanted to do a diaper drive for us for New Years? Well, the HealthTap community really came through for our babies, to the tune of 14,000 diapers! Big hugs and shout out also goes out to everyone at EcoMom.com for matching donations through their website. You can’t really tell from the picture above, but the 14,000 (++) diapers are behind the group.

HealthTap’s efforts mean there’s a brand new diaper pantry for our distribution partners at the social services department over at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, where they now have enough diapers to address diaper need for their most under-served homeless and low income families. Because the HealthTap drive exceeded their initial (and ambitious!) goal of 10,000 diapers, both Packard Hospital and HealthTap agreed it made perfect sense to share the surplus diapers with two additional HAMO partner agencies, Baby Basics of the Peninsula and Youth and Family Enrichment Services, both of which are also based on the Peninsula, serving families in East Palo Alto/Menlo Park.

Pictured above: Kim (Baby Basics), Lisa M. (YPES), Kimmy (HealthTap), Yours Truly, Kimberly P. (EcoMom.com), and Kelley (Packard Hospital).

I want to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone in the HealthTap community who contributed to this drive. Not only did HealthTap employees personally donate a generous amount of diapers, but they amplified their effort by engaging their personal networks in the drive.

Each person, whether they donated a pack of diapers, or several cases of them, made an investment in the families who will benefit from the diapers raised. What does it really mean? Benefiting families will have supplemental diapers at a time when they may be dealing with a health, personal, or financial crisis. It means less diaper rash, less caregiver stress, and more happy bottoms.

Now THAT is something to write home about…

Photos courtesy of HealthTap

Will You Be Our Fairy Godmother?

Dear Friends,

Can you imagine being in the position of Suzie, a single mom of two, who confessed, “I give my child less to drink so I don’t have to change her diaper as much”?

Every day, all across the country, parents like Suzie are forced to make a choice no one should have to make: the choice between using their scarce funds to purchase diapers or to purchase food for their families. As another mom told us, “Diapers are a must-have. You can’t skip them like you can breakfast.” In fact, one study reported that 1 in 3 families in the United States is affected by diaper need. And while safety-net programs like WIC and food stamps provide some help to families in need, none of those programs cover diapers.

“I can’t thank you enough for the help,” said Amanda, a Glendale mom who had the courage to flee domestic violence. “To some people it might be just diapers, but to me is being able to not just get by month by month.” Our diapers are helping her care for her toddler while she rebuilds her life, this time as the sole breadwinner of her family. “I am an ambitious woman. I work hard to provide a good future for my children, and any help I can get is always much appreciated.”

Help a Mother Out was started a year and a half ago when we first heard about moms like Suzie and Amanda. With a $100 investment and a little social-media know how, we determined to do whatever we could to help out some of the many moms, dads, and caregivers who are struggling to keep their babies healthy in these hard times. Since then, we’ve made some incredible partnerships, heard dozens of stories like Suzie’s and Amanda’s, and been humbled and awed by the support of friends like you.

We believe every child deserves a clean diaper, and we know you believe it too — because it’s your support that has helped us raise over half a million diapers. That’s a lot of diapers, but we want to do more — a lot more. In the coming year, your support will help us build our Safety Net Fund so we can bulk purchase diapers at significant discounts; establish a Rapid Response Fund, which will enable us to address diaper need during times of emergency in California and nationwide; and continue to grow our national grassroots network of moms, advocates, and supporters.

Won’t you invest in growing the HAMO community?

Your sustained support will make all the difference in helping us achieve our goals. Becoming a monthly sustainer is easy for you and provides HAMO with financial support we can count on. Will you become a charter sustainer today?

Sustainers come in all sizes:

Sustainer instructions: 1) Choose desired “Amount” 2) Choose “Frequency” “I want to make a recurring donation,” 3) Select “Monthly”

• Mother’s Helper $5/month
• Matron Saint $10/month
• Mother Superior $25/month
• Queen Mother $50/month
• Fairy God Mother $100/month

(Sustainers’ credit cards are charged at the end of each month through our service provider, Network for Good. You can upgrade, change, or cancel your sustainer membership at any time.)

Or, if you prefer, you can make a one-time contribution in any amount. Will you pitch in $15?Remember, as a small, streamlined, highly efficient organization, we know how to make the most of every dollar.

Our vision is a day when every baby has an adequate supply of diapers. Your tax-deductible donation will help make that vision a reality. We want to thank you for believing in our cause and for putting women and families first. We couldn’t accomplish anything without YOU.

In community,

Lisa, Rachel F., Kim, Julie, & Rachel M.

Help a Mother Out

p.s. Did you know 100% of HAMO funds collected go directly to our diaper program? We are debt-free, volunteer-run and supported. Thank you for investing in our cause!

Photo from www.ObeyTheBaby.com

I Can’t Afford Diapers So I Will Have To Wait It Out

We recently received the following comment on this oldie but goodie post, from mom Milyene. It really brought to home to me why HAMO has evolved from a one off drive to something greater than we ever imagined.

From Milyene:

“As I mother myself, I have found myself feeling guilty after throwing a diaper away just after getting a little pee or poo in it. I never really scratched the surface until recently working with a non-profit providing gifts to families in need. I noticed the babies that came in really smelled like their diapers hadn’t been changed. I informed a mother that I believe her baby just pooed, and she said “oh i know. i can’t afford enough diapers so i will have to wait it out a bit more” and laughed. It really got me thinking. I am so happy to have found you guys under babble.com’s “50 best charities for babies and small children”.. Thank you!!!”

Thank you, Milyene for sharing this story with us. We’re glad you found us!

Yesterday I went to Children’s Hospital of Oakland to drop off our monthly diaper distribution. My contact there told me a story about a mom who essentially had a mental breakdown because she didn’t have the money to buy diapers for her baby. Can you imagine being in this position? I can’t. While I’m happy to hear this mom received some of our diapers, I’m heartbroken that this continues to be a daily reality for so many women and families.

Thank you for being a part of our community and for valuing the families we serve. There is still so much to be done, and while we’ve made some great strides this past year, we can’t wait to take it to the next level. I’m looking forward to having you be a part of it.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday.

@HealthTap To Help A Mother Out With A Diaper Pantry #hamo

Last week, right after the Glendale Drive ended, we got an unexpected email from a health technology company, HealthTap, interested in hosting a small holiday diaper drive for us at their office. Yes! We’re grateful whenever anyone wants to give us diapers!

Well, that could have been the end of the story, but of course, things have a way of happening especially during the holidays.

As I was talking with Kimmy at HealthTap I mentioned that one of our wishes for the new year was to start a diaper pantry that could become a reliable resource for the social services department over at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.

Weeks ago we received a request from the family resource coordinator over at Packard Children’s Hospital. They were interested in becoming a recipient partner agency since most of the folks who pass through their department are typically under-served families who struggle to provide basic needs for their children, including an adequate supply of diapers.

Some examples of families who come through their doors: local homeless or low income families who are uninsured or under-insured; newly discharged low income mothers and newborn babies; even out of area families, from all walks of life, who stay at Ronald McDonald House while they receive out patient services at the hospital (interesting fact: young recipients of kidney transplants need diapers after being discharged).

These stories basically lit a fire with everyone at HealthTap and they pretty much immediately committed to helping HAMO build this diaper pantry. The next day I learned they already had 1000 diapers underneath their office Christmas tree and were in the midst of sending out a call to action to their network.

HealthTap’s goal is 10,000 diapers by New Years Eve.

It’s an ambitious goal, but believe me when I tell you our ambitious friends are FIRED UP to make it happen.

Won’t you help them help a mother out?

Peninsula/Silicon Valley locals YOU CAN HELP!

• Drop off diapers directly to their Palo Alto office, 575 High Street, Suite 310 Palo Alto, CA 94301
• Spread the word about the drive to your Silicon Valley peeps!

This endeavor will mean the world of difference to struggling families on the Peninsula and will make a huge impact this coming year on the health of local children, through Packard Children’s Hospital and beyond! This is not something HAMO would be able to do on our own within such a short period of time and we’re elated the HealthTap community has risen to the challenge.

p.s. Mamas, you may be interested to know that Dr. Greene, yes – that Dr. Greene, is on their team!). Oh yeah, full disclosure here – this is NOT a sponsored post! As my household’s self-appointed chief medical officer, I’m interested in learning more about HealthTap’s vision and simply grateful they reached out to help us build the diaper pantry.

Glendale Diaper Drive Collects Over 22,000 Diapers

The brainchild of members of the Domestic Violence Task Force of the city of Glendale, CA, the 2010Glendale Diaper Drive took place from December 1 through December 14.  Drop bins were stationed at locations all around the city.  The drive was supported by the fire department, the police department, the Rotary Club, and several local agencies and elected officials.  HAMO supported the drive by promoting the Amazon wishlist for PATH/Achieve Glendale, an emergency family homeless shelter that is one of our main partners here in the Los Angeles area, and an anchor in this month’s drive.

I witnessed the way the community came together at the launch event, where I introduced HAMO and what we do, and at Homeless Connect Day at the city’s Winter Shelter, where everyone involved in the drive was invited to bring their diaper haul and pose for photos.  It was thrilling to see that local television station KABC sent a news producer and interviewed Natalie Profant Komuro, director of PATH/Achieve Glendale,   She must have pimped us up really well, because the news story that ran mentioned us by name, showed our sign from the photo shoot, and a shot of me stacking diapers in the pile.

I find it nearly impossible that my collaboration with HAMO could have led to this.  In truth, 22,000 diapers won’t even last very long, but the fact that such an amount was collected over only two weeks is a testament to human kindness.  Spreading that kindness through the internet is one of the greatest ways we can use this technology.  I see it every time I come to my computer – one or many of my blogging or tweeting friends is promoting a worthy cause at any given time.  To the people who have supported me (including Julia Frey, who helped count 16,000 of these specific diapers!) in these efforts, I thank you.  Somewhere, without knowing it, many mothers and fathers are thanking you, too.

We’re Grateful to Sara S.

Heartfelt thanks to Sara S.  in the Silicon Valley for collecting a whopping 4587 diapers, 2408 baby wipes, and 10 tins of formula at her holiday party! Our partner agency West Valley Community Services was thrilled to receive the HAMO bounty (in all, HAMO was able to donate 7,000 diapers last week, thanks in no small part to Sara and her friends).

This is the second year in a row that Sara held a diaper drive for us. It’s just as easy as inviting all your friends over and asking them to contribute!

Thanks Sara!

We Don’t Have a Supermarket Here. We’d Don’t Have a Babies R Us Here… #hamo

This week Rookie Mom Heather came with me to visit one of our partner agencies in San Francisco, the Bayview Mission. Heather and I helped hand out bags filled with diapers, toiletries, and children’s books to local residents who come to the mission for their food pantry.

And we interviewed Reverend Nina Pickerrell:

Bayview started their diaper program in 2008. Due to lack of funds, they could only distribute 10 diapers to each family, once a month. It’s because of the generosity of friends like YOU that we’ve been able to work with agencies like Bayview Mission and now they are distributing 35 diapers twice a month!

Lots of thanks to Heather for volunteering and also for holding her own diaper drive, which is benefiting our east bay program.

Inspired to act? You can help us continue our diaper program by making a monetary donation here, or if you prefer, ship diapers directly to us through our wishlist, or in person.

In other news:

I’m headed to Diaper Rash Clothing’s Launch Party tonight. If you are in the area, please come say hi. Every onesie sold diapers a HAMO baby, so please send hugs to our DRC friends.

Don’t forget to enter our swell contest!!!! $250 worth of diapers for you or your favorite non profit (tip: you can choose one in your hometown!), and (2) $50 American Express gift cards, all generously donated by our friends at Huggies. ENTER by clicking here to sign up.

Photo credit Julie Michelle