Yesterday I met with a 38 year old mother of a 4 month old baby. She was staying with friends and just became homeless because they received an eviction notice. She didn’t have anywhere to go with her baby when she came to HPP and only had a diaper bag full of things for the baby.

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Mother’s Day is May 9th. Say I love you to Mom and help a mother out at the same time! Our Mother’s Day card is here, designed by our friends at Elias Smiles. Donate to our campaign to bring diapers to needy moms and we’ll send you a swell card for your honoree.

Nancy*, a mother of three, lived at a temporary shelter in Glendale, CA. She arrived pregnant, with two young children, a leaving her husband who had beat her badly, possibly causing her to deliver her baby prematurely. The shelter helped place her in a transitional housing apartment and her children are doing well. Regarding the assistance of donated diapers, she says “I spend approximately $50.00 a month in diapers and wipes alone. Being able to save that money and use it for other bills makes a big help. I can’t thank you enough for the help, to some people it might be just diapers, but to me is being able to not just get by month by month. I am an ambitious woman. I work hard to provide a good future for my children, and any help I can get is always much appreciated.”

A year ago, I knew nothing about the need for diapers. Frankly, I’m still learning about the true need and how it affects individuals on a daily basis. Being very fortunate myself in life it is often times hard to wrap my head around. For the past 15 years I’ve always wanted to “help out” in some way….you know “give back” because I have been fortunate and lucky. As I would approach things or start to investigate volunteer opportunities here and there I would become overwhelmed and always had that nagging feeling that this particular thing isn’t going to “really” make a difference. Realistically I do know that every little bit helps, no matter how small. This was just an excuse to put it off a little longer. Frankly it was fear. Fear is our worst enemy. It holds us back from trying new things, from living, from taking those leaps that make life more exciting.

Long time HAMO supporter, Janet Fouts (@jfouts), along with Beth Kanter (@kanter) recently published a book about social media and how non profit organizations can further their mission by jumping into this crazy and mysterious world of social media. Believe it or not, prior to HAMO we were pretty much “off the grid” when it came to social networking sites.