Urgent call for help: What WestSide Baby needs now

| How to help | West Seattle news

From WestSide Baby executive director Nancy Woodland – an urgent call for help, so they can keep helping local families in need:

Requests are up and donations of items are low at WestSide Baby. We are asking the community to do a Spring Clean and gather together as many essential children’s items as possible. We are quickly adding temporary increased collection hours and trying to come up with creative ways to make donating these things as easy as possible. WestSide Baby provides essential items to local children in need and we expect these things to reach the hands of King County children very quickly. For perspective, we could NOT fill requests for the following items last month: 46 car seats, 33 cribs, 32 high chairs and 46 strollers. This is why we need your help now! Please consider cleaning out closets at your own home or you can go a step further and act on some of the ideas below.

Our Donations Collection Center is in White Center at 10027 14th Ave. SW. We are tucked between the tortilla factory and the welder! Our regular hours for donations are 9-4:30 Mon-Thursday and Sat. 10-1. Right now we are adding hours as much as possible and our website is being updated regularly with our increases during this time of great need. TONIGHT we are open 5:30-7:30 for those really speedy responders and we will be here 10-5pm this Saturday.

Your effort will help families in crisis or those just in need of a little help right now. Terri from Child Care Resources shared, “A parent needed a double stroller; it was essential for her to have one to get her two small children to child care safely. She walks and takes the bus to get them there, and WestSide Baby was able to provide a small, fold-up double stroller for her to take on the bus. A(nother) family just moved to Seattle, and when I asked them if they had enough extra clothes to leave with their child at child care, I could just see the look of worry on their faces. WestSide Baby provided that family with a bag of clothes to help ease that stress.”

Our current critical wish list includes:

· Children’s Clothing Size Newborn to Size 12
· Car Seats – especially those > 6 years old
· Portable Cribs
· Strollers
· High Chairs
· Exersaucers
· Spring Coats
· Diapers Sizes Newborn and Size 1
· Hygiene items like diaper cream, shampoo
· Blankets

Ideas to make an impact right now

· Gather things at your own home
· Offer to pick up and launder a school Lost & Found
· Collect diapers from friends by pulling together a simple gathering – like Girls Night Out
· Help us with pick-ups from drop-sites
· Park your large truck somewhere as a temporary drop site
· Help us with an Earth Day Outreach
· Volunteer to sort or to clean up equipment
· Host a Car seat drive
· Help us reach donors outside of our drop site areas of West Seattle and Burien

CrepeLady April 2, 2013 (5:29 pm)

Firefly is on it! Can I reach Nancy (or someone) via their website or am I missing the contact info somewhere? We want to help!

WSB April 2, 2013 (5:32 pm)

The first reference to the name is linked to their website, which has e-mail, phone #, etc. – also, the address for dropoff tonight till 7:30 is in the text .. TR

CrepeLady April 2, 2013 (5:39 pm)

I just emailed them. Thank you!

Curious April 2, 2013 (6:51 pm)

Didn’t west side baby just raise 250 k a month or so back? Does the money really go that fast?

Nancy Woodland April 2, 2013 (7:18 pm)

Yes, WestSide Baby was very fortunate to host a successful fundraising event but our primary distribution tool comes from donated “gently used” items or new items that people purchase and donate. WSB distributes at least $1.6 million in items annually but thankfully most of those items come from local individuals who no longer need them. WSB does strategically purchase items but refurbishing donated things is our lifeblood, more efficient, more effective and more impactful than what we can buy. The need is actually much bigger than we could meet through purchases and remain a sustainable resource for families who need a little extra help.

Sassy April 2, 2013 (7:39 pm)

Will swing by tomorrow with diapers, and baby boy clothing for donation. Thanks for letting us know!

Nancy Woodland April 2, 2013 (8:06 pm)

And Thank You Firefly! We would love your help.

Teri Ensley April 2, 2013 (9:39 pm)

Don’t have any children(that I know of), so don’t have these type of items. Are gift cards to thrift store a good value for WSB?

Nancy Woodland April 3, 2013 (6:22 am)

Sassy – baby boy clothes are especially low so that is fantastic! Teri – Gift cards to a place with children’s clothing would be great. OR, if someone likes to shop thrift, we can give you a list of the most needed things and sizes. Email maria@westsidebaby.org.

ghar72 April 3, 2013 (10:44 am)

I’m happy to come by anyone’s place an pick up donations if you don’t have the time to get them down to WS Baby. I have a van with the middle row of seats taken out, so I can easily haul bigger items.

Please let me know if you’d like me to swing by your place. You can reach me at ghar72 at gmail dot com.

I posted this in the forums as well, since this story has been buried a bit.

Thanks, Gretchen

Diane April 4, 2013 (1:11 pm)

hey Nancy; great job on komo4 news last night; hope it brought in lots of donations

Karisse April 6, 2013 (8:02 am)

Alki Kids Place has a collection bin for WS Baby at Alki UCC. If you’re in the Northern part of West Seattle, you can drop off any donations there or contact me at karisse(dot)hendrickat gmail dot com. I am happy to arrange a time to pick up items and deliver them to WS Baby when I deliver the items from Alki Kids Place.

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