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Remember when you registered for your first child—and how
utterly overwhelming it was? Crib, mattress, mattress pad,
changing table, car seats, strollers, bottles, bibs—the list
seemed endless. And after your shower, when you, your
husband, your dad, your mom and your sister lugged everything
into your home and plopped it down in your living room, you
couldn’t begin to grasp how you’d ever make use of all this new stuff. But you used it, all of it (for the most part, anyway), and it made your life with child easier—for the most part, anyway.
Well, you were lucky. No guilt trip intended—just a quick reality check. Imagine if you weren’t able to have all that new-baby stuff. Heck, imagine if you didn’t have a room for your little one or a house even—let alone a support system via your family and loved ones.
Five hundred thousand children under the age of 5 in New York City live in poverty. No Bugaboo. No organic crib mattress. No dueling grandmothers bidding on their days to take the baby.
In 2001, Jessica Seinfeld decided to do something about it—and eight years later, her Baby Buggy organization provides everything from new and donated baby gear essentials to early intervention for NYC’s underserved. Here, Katherine Snider, executive director of Baby Buggy, talks about this homegrown organization that continues to roll out support, education, awareness and gear for the greater good.
THE FAMILY GROOVE: What was the inspiration for Baby Buggy?
KATHERINE SNIDER: Jessica Seinfeld, mother of three children, wife of Jerry Seinfeld and author of Deceptively Delicious, founded Baby Buggy in 2001. After the birth of her first child, Sascha, she had accumulated closets full of used—but very usable—baby clothing and equipment she no longer needed. She had a moral dilemma—as the daughter of a social worker, throwing out perfectly good baby gear was unthinkable, and yet there was no easy way to get it to a family who could use it. This inspired her to start Baby Buggy.
TFG: How has the organization grown over the past eight years?
KS: The need for Baby Buggy’s donations is great, so our staff began to reach out to corporations to donate their excess inventory, gently used floor samples, etc. We receive about $3.2 million in product annually through corporate sources like Exergen, BabyAge.com, Children’s Place, Pampers, Haddad Brands, Delta and Aveeno Baby.
TFG: Where would you like it to be eight years from now?
KS: We would like to see child poverty rates, child abuse and neglect rates go down. Baby Buggy invests a great deal in early intervention programs, like Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), to try to reach families before they reach a crisis point. Programs like NFP aim to break the cycle of poverty. We supplement programs like this by giving parents the tools they need to make sure their children are safe.
TFG: It seems like you have a very committed team of staff and volunteers. Why do you think they’re so devoted to the cause?
KS: There are very few people who don’t appreciate or understand the need to help babies and toddlers. Our team enjoys the tangible aspect of our work—they clean, patch and repair items that will soon go to a family in need. Our donors feel good knowing that their items will find a good home and help a baby or infant just like theirs.
I came to Baby Buggy as a donor when my oldest son was a baby. I had a somewhat hard time dealing with sleepless nights and a baby with acid reflux, and I kept thinking, “What if I didn’t have the resources that I have? What would my son’s life be like if I couldn’t afford a crib, diapers or even a home?” My son is now almost 5 and he loves helping me sort through his gently used clothes, toys, etc., to give to Baby Buggy!
TFG: Tell us about Project Safe Sleep, Diaper Drive, Head Start and Nurse-Family Partnership.
KS: Baby Buggy developed Project Safe Sleep after NYC published a horrifying report about the high incidence of infant mortality from infant rollover deaths. Sadly, most of these deaths happened because underprivileged parents didn’t have cribs for their babies. There were stories of babies sleeping in drawers, boxes, and in beds with older children and parents. Baby Buggy partnered with public hospitals in the poorest neighborhoods to provide cribs to mothers in need who participated in the safe-sleep education program.
As every parent knows, diapers can be expensive. Baby Buggy uses diaper donations to entice parents to participate in great, free programs like Single Stop. Let me explain: Single Stop screens clients for eligibility for benefits programs and helps them draw down their benefits. If you can believe it, billions of dollars in aid goes unused every year because people don’t know how to access it. Single Stop East Harlem brought in 306 clients [parents] last year thanks to Baby Buggy diapers. This group received a total of $500,000 in benefits—from EITC to food stamps and WIC—all because parents were so desperate for diapers that they made the trip to Single Stop offices!
Baby Buggy invests in several Head Start programs. It’s hard to call them just educational sites, as many of them also offer services to parents like immigration counseling, health screenings, etc. Baby Buggy likes investing in holistic programs that help parents and children.
NFP pairs first-time mothers with visiting nurses, from the 28th week of pregnancy until a child turns 2. In addition to making sure a parent and child are healthy, the nurses serve as friends, life coaches and surrogate mothers for some of the poorest women in NYC. The program was developed in rural areas 30 years ago, but has been slowly making its way to urban centers. Mayor Bloomberg’s administration realizes its incredible impact as an early intervention anti-poverty program and has supported its growth in NYC. Here’s where we come in: When a nurse visits with her mom and talks to her about safe bathing techniques, she knows that the mother will have the baby bathtub through Baby Buggy. NFP’s impact on reducing child abuse, child accidents and creating longer intervals between births has been proven in 30 years of research. We love NFP.
TFG: You’ve fostered a very eco-smart recycling drive. How does it work?
KS: We accept drop-offs of gently used clothing, books and certain gear items (see www.babybuggy.org for a full list of what we accept and don’t) at our loft in the Garment District of NYC. In addition, for residents of NYC, we can schedule pick-ups. We ask donors to cover the costs of our delivery services, which is included in their tax-deductible donation.
TFG: What do our readers need to know about the underserved population in NYC?
KS: Sixty-five thousand babies are born into poverty in NYC each year. More than 500,000 children under the age of 5 live in poverty. These rates are shocking. However, we have been thrilled by the Bloomberg administration’s commitment to funding and developing innovative and effective anti-poverty programs. Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs has helped to support and grow amazing early intervention programs that can serve as models for other cities in the U.S.
TFG: Any plans to go national?
KS: Not now. The need in NYC is too great.
| Make a purchase of a specific item for a family in need on our Babies “R” Us registry. Type in “Baby” for first name, “Buggy” for last name. Your purchase will be fully tax-deductible. | |
| Make a donation to one of our programs via our website, www.babybuggy.org. | |
| Join the Baby Buggy Facebook Fan Page or subscribe to our Twitter Channel. |
For more information, go to www.babybuggy.org.
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