By Anna Short | Program Director/Project Leader
Today is January 9th, 2020 and we have recently completed our first GlobalGiving campaign which was the 2019 Giving Season Campaign. Our project was to raise money to give monthly grants to low income families to receive free hospital- grade breast pump rentals which usually cost a renter $50-70 per month depending on their income level. We wanted to raise enough money to allow for free pump rentals to families who are considered at or below the poverty line or who recieve public assistance through WIC or SNAP. In the last three weeks, NMC has responded to several requests for free or low cost pumps that have come via our warmline which is supported by volunteer breastfeeding peer counselors. We have been able to give grants for free pumps to two mothers and connected one mother to our resource for a free commerical-grade breast pump through our pump donation program. One mother needed to pump after a major surgery in order to keep her supply up while taking contraindicated medication. This will likely be a short term rental of one or two months but the abilty to rent the pump likely saved this mother and baby's nursing relationship from being cut short. The other pump was for a mother with low supply after a traumatic birth. She was able to use a hospital-grade pump while in the hospital but once she was discharged she was given a low performing commerial-grade pump that really just didn't work well for her. With the help of a lactation consultant and one of our hospital-grade pumps, she was able to improve her milk supply and nurse her baby directly from the breast. We hope to continue to recieve requests from families in need as the year progresses and we will be informing local services such as WIC and family helath clinics that we now have the ability to give these grants to those who qualify. Your doantions made this happen and without you we would not be able to offer these grants. We raised enough money to likely be able to cover two grants per month for the entire year. These families thank you, our community thanks you, and WE THANK YOU.
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