Two moms. One idea.
In 2009, Lisa Truong saw an Oprah segment featuring a middle-class family who’d lost their jobs, then their home, and were living in a shelter with their young children. That story inspired Lisa and her friend Rachel Fudge—who were both new mothers—to find a way to lend a hand.
As they reached out to family service agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area, they learned that the number-one need wasn’t clothing, blankets, or even food. The biggest need was diapers—which aren’t covered under social-safety-net programs like WIC or food stamps and are in short supply. So Lisa and Rachel organized a Mother’s Day donation drive to collect diapers and wipes for local agencies. In one month, they collected more than 15,000 diapers via social networks, mom blogs, and listservs, as well as their real-world networks of mothers’ groups, local parenting stores, and play spaces. Surprised and awed by the overwhelming community support—and humbled by the breadth of need in California and across the country—they decided to nurture this seed of an idea into a truly grassroots movement.
Today, Lisa continues to serve as the organization’s founding executive director, powered by our growing team, and with the generous support of our volunteers, citizen fundraisers, donors, advisors, and board of directors. Learn more about how you can help.