Our mission is to improve the lives of mothers, children, and families in need one diaper at a time.

Our vision: We envision a day when all families in America are able to meet the basic human needs of their children, including access to an adequate supply of diapers.

We believe direct action, raising awareness, and advocacy go hand in hand.

Help a Mother Out is a fiscally sponsored program of Point, a 501(c)(3) organization (click here for Guidestar listing). Our federal tax id is 94-2147154.

We currently coordinate a national network of diaper drive campaigns and facilitate donations through partnerships with select diaper banks and social service agencies.

Our flagship operations are located in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, currently providing diapers to over 18 agencies in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Solano counties.

We also have chapters operating in regions including Southern California, Arizona, and Washington.

Pink Onesie from www.obeythebaby.com

Our Story

Help A Mother Out (HAMO) was formed in the spring of 2009 in reaction to media reports about the economic crisis’s effect on young children, families, and mothers, in particular the growing numbers of homeless children and families in California. Reaching out to San Francisco Bay Area shelters, cofounders Lisa Truong and Rachel Fudge learned that the number-one need was not baby blankets, clothing, or even food but diapers—which are not covered under social-safety net programs like WIC or food stamps. So they decided to organize a Mother’s Day diapers-and-wipes donation drive to benefit a dozen agencies serving low-income and homeless families throughout California.

With an initial investment of $100, and primarily using the powerful, and free, social-networking and internet technologies at their disposal—such as Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, Gmail, Google Apps, even Amazon.com—they mounted a campaign that generated over 15,000 diapers for families in need.

Surprised and awed by the outpouring of support from across the country, they decided to turn the one-time drive into an ongoing year-round campaign both to encourage diaper donations and to raise awareness.

HAMO has been featured on ABC7 News, KGO Radio, San Jose Mercury News, Northern California Newsmakers, as well as countless websites and blogs, including Huffington Post, the Nation, BlogHer, California NOW, and the SF Chronicle’s The Poop.

Download our two-page information sheet here.

You can read more about our origins here.

Read our bios here.

Read what other people are saying about us here.