Sent To Folsom Prison

The following testimonial is from a “Cara,” a now single mom. Unfortunately this wasn’t the first story we’ve heard about someone serving time as a result of stealing diapers.

From Cara:

The diapers that I receive here help me get through the month without stressing on how I’m going to keep my child warm and dry. About a year ago my child’s father went to the store to get diapers. We had no money. He went to the store to steal the diapers. He was caught again second offence. He’s now in Folson State Prison. Over some diapers. How petty can that get.

I am very thankful for organizations like this. Had there not been a place like this my child would have to suffer. Thank you again and may God bless you.

This is just like Les Misérables, except this IS real life.

Are you as heartbroken as I am?

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

Mother’s Day is May 8th, Won’t You Help a Mother Out?

Updated 4/28:  We literally gave out our last diapers today and have a waiting list of agencies who need help. Please contribute however you can, every little bit helps.

We’re thrilled to announce that Huggies has just offered us a matching grant for Mother’s Day! If we reach our fundraising goal of $25K by May 31st, Huggies will match it with 100,000 DIAPERS! We have already raised $8000!

Two years ago Rachel and I decided we wanted to hold a small donation drive to benefit homeless families in our community. The media reports about the economic downturn were really getting us down and we wanted to do something small yet proactive. As we started connecting with agencies we found out that hygiene items, including diapers were a scarcity and in high demand. How unbelievable was it that children were going to bed at night with a dirty diaper.  Our first drive yielded 15,000 diapers, and today that number is well over 610,000. It’s a number to be proud of for sure, and it is because of our community’s partnership that we’ve been able to make a direct impact with families in need.

Today you still cannot purchase diapers with food stamps or WIC. You still must supply disposable diapers in order to keep your child enrolled in free/subsidized childcare. Families still lack affordable access to laundry facilities and transportation. We’ve actually had to turn away WIC programs, and other social service agencies who have contacted us desperately seeking diapers for their families, simply because the demand overwhelms the supply.

Babies suffer from severe diaper rash and other health problems when they don’t have enough diapers. It is all too common for families to choose between putting food on the table, or providing diapers for their child. Read this story and tell me it doesn’t make your heart hurt.

It is because of these reasons that our work at HAMO is not done. Far from it, we are just getting started and we can’t do it alone. We need YOU as a partner.

MOTHER’S DAY IS MAY 8th

Two years ago we sent an email pitch to everyone in our network asking that they forget the flowers and candy, and instead, choose an alternative way to honor the mothers in their life. By choosing to donate diapers.

This year we’re asking our community to do something similar. Forget the flowers and chocolate and instead (or in addition to!) donate diapers to mothers in need.

WAYS TO HONOR MOTHERS

  • Host a mini-diaper drive at your work, school, or place of worship.
  • Honor the special moms in your life by making a contribution in their honor. For all gifts madeby 11:59pm MAY 2nd, we’ll send your honoree a swell card in the mail. Simply tell us who and where to send the card to when you are filling out your contribution.
  • Spread the word: Blog it, Tweet us @helpamotherout #HAMO, share it on Facebook.

Many of us have been so blessed to provide the basics for our own families. We hope you will consider helping a mother out this Mother’s Day – believe us IT FEELS AMAZING.

Remember if you don’t, who will?

Do you want to help? In an area we are not? You can still help a mother out, keep it local, and still be part of the movement. We have a free diaper drive toolkit and sign you can use to benefit us or a diaper bank/homeless shelter/family resource center in your area.  Post a comment below with links to your diaper drive endeavors and remember to share pics on our Facebook page. We want to hear from you!

I never thought that one day I’d be homeless

Ever wonder what it is like to be a homeless mom? Our guest blogger today is Carey Fuller (@Indyinnz). She’s a west coast mom, who like most of us, wants the best for her kids. Thank you for sharing your story, Carey.

When I first heard about Help A Mother Out, it was on Twitter. I saw some tweets flash by and thought to myself, “Okay, who are they and what are they about?” I clicked on the link to go to the website and reading about mothers needing diapers sure brought back a lot of memories of my first born and my youngest daughter so this looked like a cause I could really “get behind”! I’m sure that my experiences will differ from most since I raised my kids for seven years out of a Minnie Winnebago and now, a mini-van.

Like most people who find themselves homeless, I never thought that one day I’d be homeless. In April of 2004 I moved into a 1981 Minnie Winnebago with a nine-year old and a one and a half year old. I tried to get help before things got to this point but soon discovered that Section 8 was closed to applications in my state and for those already on the waiting lists for several years, if they got housing vouchers, it would be awarded on a lottery basis. Shelters weren’t an option since they were so over loaded people were getting turned away in fact that still is the case. Most cities never built shelters to handle the volumes we see now. Add to this the fact that many shelters are not safe places to be and you can see why I preferred the Minnie Winnebago instead.

My original plan was to try to save enough money to buy my own property while living out of the RV but….gas prices shot up and if you’ve ever owned a motor home, you know how much gas they eat! As a result of prices going up, I couldn’t save anything to get out of our situation. One thing piled up on another as a result of being homeless. For instance, landlord’s want to see a current rental history and once you’re homeless, you don’t have that. I had a manager of an apartment complex tell me that the rental history couldn’t be from a trailer park either (something she volunteered to offer once she saw that I had driven there in the RV).

When I first moved into the RV I had lost my job and child support completely stopped. Just because you have a support order DOES NOT mean it can be collected, especially if a dead beat uses his knowledge as an attorney to play every loophole he can find. I had lost my job and what little money I had was what remained of my tax refund after I purchased the Winnebago. 8 months went by before I was able to get a part time job working nights at a local newspaper plant. The job only paid $8.00 an hour but it was enough for gas. I didn’t have childcare nor could I afford it. When I worked two jobs, I paid $460.00 a month, childcare was $960.00. I would park the RV in front of the warehouse facing the windows so that I could see it from where I was at. I would check on the kids sleeping in the upper bunk on my break. I was a nervous wreck from worrying that a co-worker would find out.

When daylight came, I woke the kids up and got my eldest ready for school. Per her request, I would park down the street from the school so that she could walk the rest of the way without anyone finding out she lived in a motor home. She was very adamant about the other kids not finding out. As for my youngest, she didn’t know the difference. To her, growing up in the Winnebago was perfectly normal and when we went to spend nights at friend’s house, she didn’t like it. She would keep asking to go back to OUR house, the RV. Whenever school was out, we hung out in campgrounds or parks during the day. We slept in WalMart parking lots, rest stops, truck stops and any other commercial site that allowed us to. Eventually I was able to find a friend who worked at the newspaper to help me with childcare and six months later, I got a full-time day job working at a financial services company. I was back to working two jobs again but doing this for years on end, seven days a week has consequences.

I worked with little sleep until I collapsed, what else could I do? I didn’t qualify for foodstamps at the time or any other “state aid” so I had no other choice. I never thought I’d see the day where I would stay up at night behind the steering wheel of a Winnebago and listen to my kids cry themselves to sleep because they were hungry. I never thought I’d see the day that my own relatives would treat me as though I contacted a contagious disease either but that’s what happens when you tell folks you are homeless. Rather than let my situation drag me down I decided to do something about it.

I decided to tell my story to an editor at Change.org. To be honest, I fully expected my letter to go into the “oval file” so to speak. To my surprise it was published online within thirty minutes after the editor read it. Through them I met Mark Horvath, creator of Invisible People TV and We Are Visible, both of which are on Facebook. I am now the community manager on those sites, have been on a couple of radio shows, been written about in The Huffington Post and continue to talk to whoever wants to write about my experiences. I do this because homelessness is not the stereotypical “bum on the sidewalk” that most people think of whenever the subject comes up. Today a large portion of homeless people are single parents and families that lost their jobs and their homes. With the economy the way it is right now, the number of homeless people will increase so it is imperative that people see what’s really going on out here. We didn’t stop being human just because we lost our homes.

It is my hope that other people going through what I went through, am continuing to go through, will see that homelessness is a situation that can be dealt with in a positive way. Don’t give up and don’t lose hope!

I can be found at http://invisibull.wordpress.com, @Indyinnz on Twitter, Carey Fuller on Facebook, Indy on Blogher.com, or come visit us at We Are Visible and Invisible People TV also on Facebook.

 

Photo credit via Creative Commons 2.0: Alex E. Proimos

Rockin’ Donors – Benefit Tea

Heartfelt thanks to all of the wonderful donors who are helping to make our First Annual Benefit Teaa success. We’ll be adding to this list often!

Tea Stand Sponsors ~ $1,000

Clover by Clover

Huggies Every Little Bottom

Teacup Sponsor ~ $500

Wizbang Photography

Sugar Bowl Sponsors – $250

Clever Girls Collective

The Hernandez-Gatty Family

Rev. Nina Pickerrell

In Kind Wine ~ MommyJuice Wines

In Kind

  • Alaffia Sustainable Skin Care
  • Asian Art Museum
  • Bay Area Discovery Museum
  • Becoming Baby Skincare
  • Bi-Rite Market
  • California Academy of Sciences
  • Clean Well
  • The Dailey Method – Berkeley/Piedmont
  • Diaper Rash Clothing
  • Earth Mama Angel Baby
  • Eco Planet
  • Funky Monkey Snacks
  • Jovial Foods
  • MommyJuice Wines
  • Monkey Bars
  • Numi Tea
  • Oaklandish
  • Organic India Tea
  • Peter Rabbit Organics
  • Rainbow Research Corporation
  • SF MOMA
  • Snyder’s Pretzels
  • Super by Dr. Perricone
  • Sadie Dey’s Cafe
  • Tcho Chocolate
  • White Forest Pottery
  • Zeum: San Francisco Children’s Museum

Photo credit via Creative Commons: Vista Mom

A Message From “Shawna”

“I am very grateful for the diapers. If we did not have this program, our quality of life would decline. We depend on this service to help keep our budget possible. Diapers can be a huge expense and take joy out of family life because they cost so much. I never have to choose between getting basics or dealing with a diaper rash because I can’t afford to change my baby’s diaper. I am so happy about that.”
— “Shawna,” mom of 1 year old, WDDC client

International Women’s Day: We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby (But We Have a Long Way to Go)

Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. According to the Huffington Post, the day “has roots in the American Women’s Suffrage Movement and is now celebrated by individuals, organizations and nations around the world.”

This year’s theme is access. “Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.”

We talk a lot about diapers here. The dire need for them, raising funds for them, distributing them to families in need. I can’t speak for our other contributors and volunteers, but for me, this work is not just about diapers. Because we’re not just raising diapers, out of a love of handling thousands of packs of diapers.

When you increase a family’s access to education, healthcare and basic needs (read diapers, food), you are empowering caregivers, an overwhelmingly majority of whom are women. The more likely a woman is educated, the less likely she and her family will live in poverty. Watch The Girl Effect if you haven’t already.

E.D. Kain recently wrote in Forbes:

“In America this is also true. Impoverished, low-income areas are going to produce low-achieving students, generation after generation. To tackle poverty you need to give people – and especially women – a good education. But to give people a good education, you need to tackle poverty. One way to do this is to make sure everyone, and especially mothers and children, have access to healthcare – something America has been decidedly behind the rest of the world in doing.”

To some, raising diapers might just be about bringing diapers to families less fortunate. But when we dig a little deeper we’ll realize that it isn’t just about the diapers.

We’ve witnessed young children unable to fully participate in early childhood development programs, because their family could not afford to send them to school with diapers. We’ve seenmoms work hard to advance their education, yet run out of diapers towards the end of the month. We know drugstores lock up diapers and infant formula in some parts of the inner city. Food desertsexist. We’ve heard more than a few stories of caregivers having no choice but to steal diapers, getting caught, and sentenced to jail. High poverty rates among women and children are alive and well and it boils down to access to resources – including basic needs and education.

“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural.” ~Nelson Mandela

Access.

Increasing access to diapers and other basic human needs is a social justice issue. It is a women’s issue and a question of gender equality. Diaper need is an indicator that while we’ve come a long way, there’s much more work to be done.

How about you? Do you think we’ve come a long way? What does International Women’s Day mean to you?

Photo credit via Creative Commons 2.0: http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/4474873848/

Tri-Cities Girls Scouts Collecting Diapers for Military Families

It’s that time of year again when Girl Scout troops all across the country make their way to shopping centers and door-to-door selling their famous Girl Scout cookies.

This year, a local troop from the Tri-Cities area is not only selling cookies during their spare time, they’re throwing a baby shower, the very first of it’s kind in Northern California, for local military families. Great service project, right?

HAMO will be donating what we can to this effort, but even with this the troop is  running short on diapers and a few other essential items.

Here’s a letter from Troop 32271:

For our project, we have partnered with a non-profit organization

called Operation Showers of Appreciation. They host baby showers for

military families in need. Their main goal is to provide a car seat and

essential baby items for lower ranking and deployed military families

from all branches.

 

On March 5th, our troop will be hosting a baby shower for 11 of these

military families who are located in Northern California.

 

All donations to Operation Showers of Appreciation “OSOA” through

our Girl Scout Troop are tax deductible. OSOA is a non-profit 501(c)

(3), public charity, under IRS regulations (Tax ID#: 26-2419938).

 

Help a Girl Scout Out (and a Mother too…)

Donate In Person before Saturday March 5th

Fremont Fire Station #9
39609 Stevenson Place
Fremont, CA 94539

Note: Per the troop, you can ring the front door to donate items. If the team is on a service call, you can leave items at the front door.

Items the troop is still trying to collect before Saturday March 5th:

  • Disposable diapers (sizes 1-3 especially)
  • Baby wipes
  • New cloth diapers
  • Target & Babies R Us gift cards to purchase essential baby items



For questions or additional information, please contact Girl Scout Troop Leader, Adriana Cole, at (619) 944-0982.

And Check out Operation Shower too!

Imagine a Newborn Baby and No Diapers

“During winter shelter, we encounter families in crisis every day. One particular family had a newborn baby. In their hasty exit from their previous living situation (which was unsuitable for habitation), they left without diapers. As new parents, they were overwhelmed with the new responsibilities and their current living situation, and in crisis, necessities like diapers are often overlooked. The outreach team was able to grab diapers on their way out the door to transport the family to a hotel. Having diapers on hand alleviated one of the many stresses that the family had to deal with that night.”
— Christina, Social Services, PATH Glendale
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Oakland North Reports on Diaper Need #elb

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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!

Dear Allie’s Friends, Thanks for Being Our Valentine!

Updated 2/15/11: Count is up to 7,000 diapers!

Last week we received an unexpected email from Bay Area mom Allie, who has a beautiful baby boy named Max. To commemorate Max’s very first Valentines Day, she decided to hold a small diaper drive to benefit HAMO, to some AMAZING results. Together with her friends, family, and community of parents –  Baby Max’s diaper drive ended up raising nearly 6,000 diapers, plus thousands of baby wipes! We’ll report back on the official diaper count once the diapers stop coming in!

I hope you all will be as awed and inspired as I am by this great act of motherly love from Allie, who wanted to honor her own baby by giving back to other babies who would otherwise go without.

Here is portion of the letter Allie sent to her network:

******

Shortly after Max was born last April I heard a story about women who could not afford to change their babies diapers throughout the day… and my heart broke at the thought of a baby or child not being able to have one of their simplest needs met.   This sad story has stuck with me through the hundreds of diaper changes we have gone through in this first year of Max’s life.

As a tiny act of love in honor of Max’s first Valentine’s Day, I have decided to do a diaper drive.  I am collecting diapers and baby wipes to donate to women and families in need.   I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider helping me in my tiny act of Valentine’s Day love by donating diapers and/or wipes.  If you live in the San Jose area Max and I would be happy to swing by and pick up the diapers from you.  If you are further away we have a few ideas of how you can participate…

*******

From Allie:

I passed out letters in my neighborhood, sent emails to family and friends, messaged all of my Facebook friends and posted messages to the Las Madres boards.  The Las Madres Moms were INCREDIBLE with their donations.  One group even had a “diaper play date” and then dropped off a donation at my house afterwards!  Friends and family from afar sent eGift cards to amazon.comand diapers.com or mailed checks to help support the drive.

******


We’d like to send our HEARTFELT gratitude to Allie’s family, and each and every person who contributed to Baby Max’s Diaper Drive. There are so many babies who will be directly helped by YOUR efforts and it is drives like these that are the backbone of the support we need to continue to provide critically needed diapers. THANK YOU for helping us keep children healthy and making a big difference.

And… Happy Valentine’s Day <3 !!

Photo credit (Blocks) via Creative Commons 2.0: Shagamaroo

Photo credit (Max) courtesy of Allie

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

Bay Area: Save the Date – May 1st ~ First Annual Benefit Tea

 

Help a Mother Out requests the pleasure of your company at our First Annual Benefit Tea

 

Join us as we celebrate two years of social impact!

Honorary Host: Kristen Sze of ABC7 News

Keynote: Rev. Nina Pickerrell, Bayview Mission

Hosted By

 

Deldelp Medina, Christine Coleman, Rebecca Faulconer, Rachel Fudge, Heidi Hernandez Gatty,R. Buffy Kinstle, Julie Michelle, Whitney Moss, Jennifer Shim, and Wendi Sue

Sunday, May 1st ~ 12:30-3pm

The Green Room, Veterans War Memorial Building, Second Floor


Meet and Greet, Tea Service, Speakers, Silent Auction

All proceeds will benefit Help a Mother Out’s mission to improve the lives of families in need, one diaper at a time.


Babes in arms are welcome!


Photo credit via Creative Commons 2.0: Sofía Salom

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 )

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Tucson Swap-O-Rama 3/12

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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

How You Are Helping {Thank You}

“My client was a single mom working part time and attending nursing school. She was living on about $700 a month and supporting her 15 month old daughter. Even though she bought a case of diapers with each paycheck, she would not have enough after rent and groceries to get through the month to buy more. She felt so guilty stretching and not changing the diaper as often because she was afraid of running out. She said she felt like she was a bad mother. Having us as a resource to fill in with diapers until she got her next paycheck allowed her to feel like a good mom.”
— Karen Kern, Program Manager at Brighter Beginnings
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5 Ways You Can Help A Mother Out In 2011

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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

Downtown San Mateo Association: Christmas In the Windows, Cast Your Vote for Junior Gym!

Much gratitude to our friends and big time supporters at Junior Gym in San Mateo who are participating in the Downtown San Mateo Association’s Christmas in the Windows contest.

If you find yourself in the beautiful downtown San Mateo area doing a little holiday shopping – PLEASE stop by the Junior Gym (a family-owned and operated local business!) and cast your votefor their flippin’ awesome Christmas tree!

Junior Gym is located at 101 South B Street, SAN MATEO, CA 94401

If they win the contest, they get to donate up to $300 to the non profit of their choice … HAMO!

You can help spread the word about the contest by sharing this post with your local friends. Thanks again to Liz and everyone at the Junior Gym. We’re so very grateful to you all for all the support you’ve given to help babies in need.

Find more pics from Junior Gym here.

Remember: You can donate diapers in person at Junior Gym as well as other locations in California.