Baby Buggy has donated a total of 89,127 critical baby items and gear through our Fatherhood programs – these donations include strollers, car seats, highchairs, breast pumps, baby food, diapers, bottles and books, as well as many other baby supplies. Evidence suggests that men who are under financial strain or who have unstable employment have more challenges with being responsible fathers. In order to help ease financial burdens, Baby Buggy provides donations of baby items and gear to help fathers enrolled in Fatherhood programs become more involved in their children’s lives; they are more likely to ‘show up’ if they are able to go to their child’s mother’s doorstep with these crucial items in hand, knowing that they have something to contribute. This also makes the mother more likely to allow them to be a part of their child’s life.
These programs help equip fathers with the knowledge and skills needed for fatherhood – helping fathers feel
empowered to embrace fatherhood and the responsibilities that accompany it by addressing issues such as relationship building, positive parenting and discipline strategies, improving the relationship with their child’s mother, career development and financial education, and helping a father establish his role within the family.
In June, Baby Buggy honored the strong commitment these fathers have demonstrated to being responsible fathers by inviting over 100 clients and their families to attend Baby Buggy’s Annual Bedtime Bash at Victorian Gardens in Central Park, just a few weeks before Father’s Day. The families enjoyed delicious food, fun rides, face painting, as well as many other activities and received Simon and Schuster children’s books with daddy themes. One of the programs that participated, Forestdale’s Fathering Initiative shared the following about their families that attended the event:
We are so grateful for the opportunity to be part of Baby Buggy’s Annual Bedtime Bash. It was a rare treat for Forestdale’s families to enjoy this delightful corner of Central Park in the company of family and new friends. The families who came to the Bash have all been involved in the Fathering Initiative, a Forestdale program that seeks to strengthen the role of fathers in their families.
Our group included many families with babies, children and teens. You may have seen Edwin and his fiancée Alana— Edwin has four children from a previous relationship and he and Alana have been very dedicated to making their new blended family work. They loved the opportunity to enjoy a festive evening out with the four little ones. AJ and Sarah also made the trek from Far Rockaway to be at the Bedtime Bash, bringing their three young children, Akira, Tayshaun and Denelle. AJ was previously enrolled in the Fathering Initiative program for younger fathers,
and is now a counselor in the program. He and Sarah have overcome very difficult circumstances, including childhoods spent in homeless shelters and foster care, to build a strong, loving family for their children. It meant so
much to them to be invited and celebrated as a family at the Bash.
These and other families expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to bond with their children and enjoy the free
rides, refreshments and goodies.
Baby Buggy is looking forward to continuing to support these innovative and impactful programs!
Baby Buggy has donated over 80,300 items to the five fatherhood programs we support in the Bronx, Queens and Los Angeles! In the last three months alone, Baby Buggy has donated over 5,026 diapers, 26, 660 organic baby and toddler food items, 1,660 clothing items, 365 books, 86 safe sleeping spaces, 80 packs of wipes, 35 high
chairs, among many other essential baby items to our fatherhood programs. These donations provide our client families with the tools they need to keep their children healthy and safe, while improving their overall well-being.
In March, Baby Buggy partnered with KIND for the ‘Do the KIND Thing’ initiative in LA and NYC. In an effort to address the needs of struggling families, Tiffani Thiessen and Elisabeth Rohm called on people everywhere to
carry out one act of kindness by lending a helping hand to a parent, which could mean holding a door for a mom or dad with a stroller or babysitting free of charge. Tiffani and Elisabeth paid these kind acts forward in support of Baby
Buggy and delivered over 3,850 diapers and wipes to families in need enrolled in the fathering program at the Children’s Institute in LA and over 2,000 diapers and wipes to families at Little Sisters of the Assumption in NYC. These diaper donations help address a continuous, non-negotiable need – just like food - for our client families with young children. It takes someone two hours of work at minimum wage to purchase a pack of diapers and overnment assistance programs do not provide or cover diapers. As a result, 79% of moms in diaper need have had to cut back on other essentials like food and utilities in order to cover the cost of diapers; some are even forced to clean
out and reuse diapers as they do not have any alternatives. Many child care facilities require a supply of diapers in order for children to be placed in their facility; if parents are not able to provide a supply of diapers, they cannot place their children in child care impacting their employment.
Baby Buggy received the following case story from the Children’s Institute about one of the client families we provided with a donation recently:
Ivan Solares has 15 month old twins – a little boy and girl. Through the generosity of Baby Buggy and their product donors Delta and Dorel, CII was able to provide Ivan with a pack and play for each child and a high chair. Ivan has been attending our Fatherhood support groups for the past year and is just elated that he now has his children full-time. This transition happened quickly and a bit unexpectedly as the mother was just recently incarcerated.
Needless to say, Ivan was ill prepared to take care of two small children and he didn’t have any baby items in his apartment. While Ivan is employed full-time it wouldn’t have been possible for him to purchase these items on his own (he currently lives on just over $12,000 per year).
It means so much for Ivan to be able to provide a place to sleep and eat for his little ones. His goal is to bring these babies up in a better environment than he was brought up in. He was raised in the projects and surrounded by gang activity from a very small age. Ivan just wants to provide the very best that he can for his babies and this is a great start for him! Thank you so much for your help!
Baby Buggy is committed to supporting innovative fathering programs that help fathers feel empowered to embrace and establish their role as a father and accept the responsibilities that accompany it; these programs offer services including individual counseling, educational father support groups, child support assistance, educational support and career development. Baby Buggy has now distributed over 61,150 critical baby items, including cribs, strollers, high chairs, books, toys, and many other essential items through our new fatherhood initiative!
Evidence suggests that men who are under financial strain or who have unstable employment have more difficulty being responsible fathers. In order to help ease financial burdens, Baby Buggy provides fathers participating in Baby Buggy's network fathering programs with donations of clothing, gear and baby supplies that they need to keep their children safe and healthy. These donations often help the fathers have access to their children since they are
able to contribute to their children's physical well-being, which gives them the opportunity to be actively involved in their children's lives.
Thanks to the generosity of Bloomberg, Hasbro, Simon & Schuster, as well as other donors, Baby Buggy was able to provide many of the fathers with holiday gift bags, as well as donations of toys, books and accessories to be given to their children as holiday gifts. These families do not have the means to buy holiday gifts for their families, let alone many of the essential baby items Baby Buggy has provided them with. The families were very touched by Baby Buggy's efforts to bring warmth and cheer to their family during the holiday season.
