Every year my friend hosts the most amazing "girlfriends luncheon". It always comes at the perfect time, when I'm craving an afternoon of good food and fun conversations! I met Caroline four years ago at the first luncheon. She co-founded the LA Diaper Drive, and epitomizes cool charity mom!
Making a Difference
By Caroline Kunitz
A 53' semi pulls up in front of my house in Santa Monica to drop off the equivalent of 20 elephants worth of diapers. Drivers crane their necks to watch. People walking their dogs ask if I run a day care, which I do not.
How did we get here? Rewind six years. I'm in my living room watching Jessica Seinfeld on The Today Show discussing the million diaper drive her New York City charity, Baby Buggy, was hosting. She mentioned that low-income mothers have to decided between buying diapers and buying food on a daily basis. My heart broke. I mentioned it to a friend, Melissa Ratcliff, who asked, "How hard is it to raise a million diapers?" LA Diaper Drive was born.
LA Diaper Drive is a volunteer-based charity that gives diapers to low-income families in Los Angeles. We partner with other charities and community based organizations that use the diapers as an incentive for these low-income families to attend important classes. Some examples include LAUSD's Homeless Program, Friends of the Families' Young Moms/ Young Dads programs for parents ages 13-21, and The Children's Institute, which specializes in the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect.
We discovered that it is actually very hard to raise a million diapers. It took five years for LA Diaper Drive to reach that goal. Then, in 20110 we gave away another million. 1.3 million to be exact. We give away diapers donated by families or diapers purchased in bulk at an extreme discount.
The current economic times mean more families than ever are below the low-income guideline. You can make a difference without spending money. Donate diapers your child has outgrown to LA Diaper Drive, or host your own diaper drive. Ask friends or colleagues to bring diapers to work or school, or ask them to bring diapers in lieu of gifts to a party. LA Diaper Drive can help you with flyers and more. You can also hold a garage sale and donate the money to LA Diaper Drive or another charity so we can purchase diapers at a discount. Or donate your time. Every charity needs warm bodies to do things like count diapers, sort or distribute items and more.
To find out more about LA Diaper Drive check out our website.
Happy Volunteering!
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Thank you for sharing your voice!