Last month I was honored to share six different WAHM brands that exemplify the craftsmanship and love that go into well made cloth diapers. Brands include Zabi Baby, Poppy Fields, Moraki, Mo Dia, Ella Bella Bum, and Dunk-n-Fluff with all proceeds going directly to Giving Diapers, Giving Hope. The auction is being held on Hyena Cart and begins this Friday, March 8.
This auction is a small effort to help fund an organization that often goes unnoticed. They are always receiving and shipping diapers even when there are no blog posts being written, or Facebook statuses about them, or tweets being sent. Day in and day out these women and volunteers are putting in hours and hours just unpacking donations, sorting diapers, approving applications, and shipping boxes of hope to families. It might seem like a small thing, these little boxes of diapers, but to anyone who has ever struggled to choose between buying diapers or buying food this little box is truly the gift of freedom and peace of mind. The video below is a documentary that will hopefully give everyone an idea of what a great cause we are supporting.
Giving Diapers, Giving Hope is a non-profit that provides income qualified families a stash of cloth diapers for a small shipping fee. The organization started in 2011 when Kristen McCarthy was suddenly without a job and still had two babies in cloth diapers. As a single mom she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. Luckily she had already been cloth diapering and had enough to not worry. She wondered what other families would do in the same situation but that didn’t already have cloth diapers. How could they afford to buy disposables, or even cloth diapers? The start-up cost can be a few hundred diapers and when you are living with little or no money then you can’t just buy diapers. With no federal or state programs that provide any diapering assistance Kristen, along with Emily Glover, started Giving Diapers, Giving Hope. After almost two years these two women have been able to ship over 3,600 diapers all across the country. Hundreds of families no longer need to worry about how they will afford to buy diapers and their babies will have a clean and healthy bottom no matter what. In 2013 the organization partnered with the Cape Ann YMCA’s Leader’s Club in their hometown of Gloucester. The Leader’s Club, a group of teens who spend part of their free time doing volunteer work, now assist with the packing and shipping of cloth diapers. With an ever increasing number of applications and donations their work is very appreciated and necessary to keep the organization running.
People ask “Why does Giving Diapers, Giving Hope charge a shipping fee? Aren’t the families applying struggling financially?” At this time GDGH does not have the funds to ship diapers to families or pay the return shipping fee. It has always been their goal to eventually be able to send diapers free of cost to those who are approved. The fee now is $35 which covers both the shipping to and from the families. This can be a lot but it is far less than the actual start-up cost and way less than the value of the diapers being sent. As their organization continues to grow they will strive to eliminate or reduce this cost. As their fundraising coordinator I am constantly brainstorming ways to sustainably raise funds that can cover costs of shipping and operating costs year-round.
I’ve had the privilege of serving on the GDGH Board of Directors since their humble beginnings. This year we are auctioning 6 amazing WAHM made diapers on Hyena Cart. We are hoping to see lots of bids on these great diapers because they are gorgeous, and maybe also just because the money is going to this worthwhile cause this is surely close to all of our hearts. If you aren’t able to bid, or don’t need diapers but still want to help, you can!
Visit their website’s donate page for more information on donating diapers or you can make a direct donation to them via Paypal. GDGH can provide receipts for your tax deductible donation. And if you want to help but can’t donate just spreading the word is enough! Post to Facebook, tweet it, announce it on your diapering forums or in your cloth diaper groups on Facebook. Be our Word of Mouth helper and shout it out!
Bidding on the diapers will begin on Wednesday, March 6 and end on Wednesday March 13.
