Because every baby deserves a clean diaper…

Help A Mother Out is a nationally-recognized grassroots organization raising diapers, awareness, and advocating for long term change in the social safety net. We are dedicated to increasing access to diapers for families in need. Our vision is a day when every baby has a healthy supply of diapers.

Our flagship “diaper bank” is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, having distributed diapers and other hygiene supplies to over 22 agencies in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Solano counties.

We have sister chapters in Southern California, Arizona, and Washington.

Help A Mother Out has garnered media mentions and features in the Huffington Post, the Nation, BlogHer, California NOW, Glamour Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, American Baby, San Jose Mercury News, ABC7 KGO and CBS The Talk, as well as numerous parenting blogs including Babble and San Francisco Chronicle’s The Poop.

Our Story

Help A Mother Out (HAMO for short) 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, co-founders 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 overwhelming community support, as well as the breadth of need in California and across the country — the campaign lives on.

Today co-founder Lisa Truong serves as the organization’s executive director — powered by the generous help of countless volunteers, contributors, supporters, advisers, and HAMO’s board of directors.

As of January, 2012 Help A Mother Out has distributed over 916K diapers, as well as inspired similar efforts across the country.

Help A Mother Out is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. From April, 2010 to September, 2011 Help A Mother Out was incubated as a social media innovation project at Point Foundation.

Photo credit: Pink Onesie from www.obeythebaby.com