Thanks to your help, Baby Buggy has now donated over 43,000 items-- including cribs, coats and packs of diapers-- to Hurricane Sandy's littlest victims.
Just a few of the recent donations that Baby Buggy was able to secure include:
Sadly, two of the Head Start sites that we serve in the Rockaways, and another in Coney Island are still not operational. Children in the Rockaways continue to be bussed to schools in Long Island and other parts of Queens. And many of the families we serve in the Rockaways and Coney Island are still without heat and/or are dispaced from their homes due to severe mold infestations.
While these families are working with case-workers to find solutions to their housing problems, job less, etc., thanks to your support we can continue to provide for the immediate needs of their children.
Baby Buggy has donated over 18,580 items through our hurricane relief efforts to families in the Rockaways, Coney Island, Staten Island, and affected parts of New Jersey. Donations have included everything from winter gear, blankets and pack'n'plays to diapers, formula and baby food. We are also providing coloring books, puzzles and small toys to help keep children occupied during this scary and overwhelming time.
We have been coordinating donations with our contacts at organizations within our service network serving families who have been impacted by the hurricane; this way we know the families specific needs and we know our donations will be able to reach them. The needs are tremendous and the stories are heartbreaking, but we have heard that Baby Buggy donations perfectly fill the gap of what other organizations have been able to provide; many critical items have been provided for adults, but few items have reached for babies and children.
The following is a report from Baby Buggy's Executive Director regarding her visit to the Rockaways on Friday to deliver donations to our client families:
I went to the former site of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York’s Early Head Start program/Father’s First in Rockaway Beach yesterday, along with two VNS nursing homes in Far Rockaway. It's heart-breaking: the community is now on day 12 without power and their subway line was destroyed. Kids are being bussed to
Long Island or far-away parts of Queens or their parents aren't sending them to school. One VNS staffer showed us a hammer he hides in his jacket because many people are getting jumped in his building. An elderly man, Bernie, told me he wouldn't leave his cold nursing home because two of his friends went to a shelter and they were attacked. And the Early Head Start site we have been proud to support over the past two years was flooded and they do not know if they can rebuild. That means that mothers who have to work no longer have a means of affordable daycare.
We distributed clothing, baby food, formula, diapers, water and gear to the families served by Early Head Start/Fathers First. One mother I met, Lisa, has a newborn in addition to a four-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son. She is staying with eight other people in apartment because they have too much water damage and mildew in their own home. When I asked her son what he needs he said, “a bed.” I talked to Anna who showed up with her 2-year-old. She also has a husband and teenage son. They have been doubled up in a small apartment in Brooklyn and they don’t know if any of their furniture or clothing is salvageable or has been looted. Another mother showed up with her two-year-old, Aqwasi. When I asked her what else she needs beside the clothing, pull-ups, etc. that we provided her with, she said she needs playdough, coloring books and new puzzles. Her son wrote on the walls the other day because he was so fed up with “nothing to do for two weeks.”
The VNS nurses and support staff were amazing. I kept asking them what they need, but they were more concerned about their clients. In the meantime, Sharon has a 2-year-old; she started crying when she told me she couldn't buy eggs to make her a cake (both Key Foods are closed) for her birthday this week. And Stephanie's brother took her five kids to Brooklyn because her housing project has serious problems with looting. She said she misses her kids, but she has to work and protect her home. Stephanie said that neighbors who once looked after each other are now stealing from each other. After we distributed donations to the client families, I saw the VNS staff standing in the Red Cross line so that they could get warm food for their own families.
As we traveled to the different sites, the smell of rotting garbage and mildew was omnipresent. Cars that were floating during the storm are now “parked” in lawns or in the middle of streets. One of the nursing homes said that
rats were a serious problem. I saw the local pharmacist distributing meds to patients from a box on the corner because his store was all but destroyed. Sand is blowing all over the streets so people have to wear sunglasses even when the sun is not out; one of the VNS staffers told me that she feels like she’s in Afghanistan given the sand storms and tanks in the streets. I posted a number of pictures and videos on the Baby Buggy Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baby-Buggy/56032852023#!/pages/Baby-Buggy/56032852023
On the positive side: there were many groups providing hot meals for adults so grown-ups didn't seem hungry and the temperatures have been rising. Also, we saw several trucks of National Guard troops driving onto to the peninsula, so I am hopeful that they will help to keep the peace. (They changed the curfew from 7pm to 4:30 this yesterday).
Baby Buggy is going to get more baby food, diapers, water, formula, toys, art supplies and feminine supplies to the moms next week. If power is still out, we will also get more batteries and flashlights to them. AND, we are going to
compile donations for the amazing VNS nurses and social workers who have been working so hard for their community.
Baby Buggy has now provided over 100,000 items to families in need through our network of Fatherhood Programs in New York City and Los Angeles; this includes a donation that went out today to Fathers First, a fatherhood program located in the Rockaways, as their center was damaged by the hurricane and many of their families have been displaced by the hurricane and have lost their homes due to a fire related to the hurricane. These families have lost everything and Baby Buggy is working very hard to provide them with the essentials they need during this challenging time - everything ranging from warm coats, clothing and blankets to formula, baby food and water. They are going to need donations for months to come as they work to rebuild their lives and homes.
The fathers in these families are enrolled in reputable, impactful fatherhood programs that give them the knowledge and skills necessary for fatherhood, while offering them support, guidance and encouragement along the way so they can be involved in their children's lives. These programs also offer educational workshops focusing on parenting skills, conflict resolution, and financial education, as well as many other topics to help give fathers the skills necessary to build a stable life for their families.
The team from the Children's Institute's Fatherhood Program in LA provided the following anecdote and case story to demonstrate the impact of Baby Buggy donations in the lives of their client families:
Our Fatherhood program overall has been significantly impacted by this partnership with Baby Buggy. We have seen an increase in father’s attendance and participation in the groups resulting from increased visitation from their
children’s primary caregivers (either the mother or grandmother). It has instilled a sense of pride in so many of these fathers that we have not seen before. They feel like they are contributing in a meaningful way to their child and to their families that they so desperately want to be a part of. For that, we are forever grateful for this partnership and your continuing support. As you know, it is so important to have fathers play an active an meaningful role in their children’s lives – these children have better attendance at school, better grades and significantly less gang
involvement. Thank you! You are impacting hundreds and thousands of children and their families. I think our hope is that one day we’ll both be put out of business… : ) Until then, we are so thankful for your dedication and generosity! THANK YOU BABY BUGGY!!!
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Hector is a single parent to 14 month old baby Cierra. His wife left him and moved back to Guatamala to be with her family when Cierra was just 3 months old. Hector has been an inspiration to the other fathers in our Fatherhood group here at Otis Booth. He participates in every group session and is always cheery and upbeat. He works as many jobs as he can – he has four steady jobs but he picks up other small odd jobs when possible so he can provide for Cierra. He wants to provide the absolute best he can for Cierra so he has been able to rent a small one room apartment for the two of them. Our partnership with Baby Buggy has been amazing for this family. Hector works as hard as he can to provide for Cierra. The Delta pack'n'play donatd by Baby Buggy has been amazing – he was overwhelmed with tears of joy when he was able to move Cierra into a proper bed. They had previously been sharing a mattress on the ground. As Cierra has become more mobile, Hector has noted a need to have her in a safe space while he is getting ready for work. He has always wanted her to have a space of her own to sleep in. Hector recently was able to receive a Bugaboo stroller from Baby Buggy as well so he no longer has to carry Cierra everywhere. Cierra just LOVES it too! He really feels like someone believes in him – believes in their little family and that goes such a long way – thank you Baby Buggy, Delta and Bugaboo!
Warmest
Regards,
Your friends at CII
