Get to know the local non-profit, baby’s Bounty
We sat down with Baby’s Bounty to learn more about how this non-profit is changing the lives of local families.
TELL US ABOUT BABY’S BOUNTY!
“Now in our 13th year, Baby’s Bounty provides the most essential baby items and parenting education to low-income families with a newborn to ensure that they thrive. Thousands of families have received Baby Bundles with cribs, car seats, bath and hygiene items, feeding supplies, diapers, and infant clothing for their health, safety, and well-being. Our mandatory Safe Sleep & Baby Basics class is a crucial component of our program in order for a family to qualify to receive a bundle. Important topics are covered, such as safe sleep practices, SIDS & SUIDS prevention, basic infant care, the importance of self-care, symptoms of postpartum depression and so much more! Our recurring Diaper Banks in Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas provide diapering supplies to thousands of families struggling to afford diapers.”
Tell us about how Baby’s Bounty got started. What inspired the start of Baby’s Bounty?
“Formerly the Executive Director of the Nevada Homeless Alliance, our Founder, Kim Amato, became aware of the many homeless and impoverished families with young children who did not have the means to acquire the most basic items for their babies. Generational poverty, low wages, inadequate housing, and fewer opportunities left many families struggling to find a safe place to put baby to sleep, a car seat to leave the hospital and other basic baby items to care for their children. We partnered with dozens of WIC offices, Medicaid caseworkers, birthing hospitals, and outreach programs to launch the program and now partner with over 200 social service agencies that identify families in need.”
How long has Baby’s Bounty been serving the Las Vegas community?
“Since July of 2008 when Kim started it in her family room with $500 worth of baby clothes. Hoping to relieve some of the stress and despair new mothers were experiencing as they regained self-sufficiency after homelessness, domestic abuse, teen pregnancy, and unemployment.”
Tell us about the Baby Bundle and what it includes.
“Our Baby Bundles are truly a “Baby Shower-In-A-Bag”! Each one includes a portable crib, an infant regulation car seat, a bathtub, towels, washcloths, a toiletry kit with baby wash, lotion, diaper cream, diapers, 25 items of clothing, receiving blankets, a front carrier, a playmat, bottles, bibs, a baby book, and a safe sleep kit. We also offer breastfeeding items or formula by request.”
Photo: Lauren Wert
Baby’s Bounty also has a diaper bank! Can you tell us more about that?
“In response to the overwhelming need that we saw as a result of the pandemic, we launched our first diaper bank in May of 2020 in the parking lot of Valley High School. We assisted 63 families that first week and have steadily grown into the only consistent diaper bank resource in all of Southern Nevada. We are just about to celebrate our one million diaper milestone event! Having distributed one million diapers and three million wipes to over 17,000 families in need.”
How can someone in the community get involved and help Baby’s Bounty?
“We know for sure that we wouldn’t be able to serve our community on this scale without a dedicated army of volunteers and supporters. We always need people to assist with diaper distribution at our banks. But for folks who aren’t able to perform four hours of manual labor, we have lots of opportunities to help. There are groups that knit baby blankets or infant-safe toys for us. We also need bilingual office volunteers from time to time.
Hosting a product drive is a great way for folks who want to get their organization, company, church group, or charity group involved with Baby’s Bounty. We always need new, unopened diapers. Particularly the larger sizes (4, 5 and 6), baby wipes, newborn clothes, sleepers and infant regulation car seats (must be new with tags). We can also help groups create virtual drives that they can share on social media and via email. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you would like to participate in a volunteer or product drive opportunity.”
Any exciting plans for the future you would like to share with our readers?
As we continue to look for ways to improve service to our community members, we have plans in the works to launch a mobile diaper bank. Transportation remains a significant barrier for families living in poverty to access our services. We want to eliminate this barrier by taking the diapers to underserved areas of Southern Nevada. We will purchase a large cargo van. It will be outfitted with a racking system for diaper distribution. The exterior will be wrapped with the logos of our corporate sponsors.
Meet our Cover Family, the Glover’s. They share how Baby’s Bounty has touched their lives.
Baby’s Bounty has helped our family in so many ways. When the pandemic hit, we found ourselves running all over town looking for diapers for our 4 and 16-month-old. The shelves were bare, and buying diapers online would take months to get. Like so many other families, we were lost and had no idea what to do.
I started researching non-profit organizations that would help us and came across Baby’s Bounty. It was such an easy and stress-free process. We were able to get diapers, wipes, and other baby essentials on a monthly basis. They even opened up two other locations that we could pick up from as well.
Being a stay-at-home mom with a very limited income due to the quarantine hit us really hard. The strain of it all was something that we were not ready for. However, Baby’s Bounty has been our guiding light. It was one less thing that we had to worry about.
Baby’s Bounty has meant so much for us. Our kids are now turning 2 and 3 years old, and we are finally getting back on our feet. Everything was made possible with the help of Baby’s Bounty and all their amazing volunteers.
Thank you, everyone, for all your hard work and dedication!
Sincerely, Jay, Honey, Heaven, Harlem, and Harley (The Glover’s)
To learn more about Baby’s Bounty visit babysbounty.org
Photos by: Chloe Atnip Photography