A pregnancy help organization and the families it serves became 30,000 diapers richer this summer, thanks to the aptly dubbed "No Child Wet Behind" fundraiser put on by the New Mexico Doulas.
According to a local report in the Alamogordo Daily News, a 5K hosted back in May drew 200 participants and catalyzed one of 20 "No Child Wet Behind" diaper drives nationally so far this year. In 2016, the New Mexico Doulas rank in the top-3 in terms of dry derrieres.
Tara Melton of the Daily News writes:
The proceeds of the race, after the event was paid for, equaled about $4,500 which [New Mexico Doulas owner Carrie] Chalverus along with co-event coordinator Vera Ulibarri also donated to the Pregnancy Help Center. The money will be used to purchase newborn diapers and formula that their clients can purchase in the Building Blocks program.
Building Blocks is an earn while you learn program where families take classes on a variety of topics and earn block bucks. They can then choose to spend those Building Block Bucks on diapers or clothes in the Pregnancy Help Center's store.
“It’s an opportunity for families to learn,” said Pregnancy Help Center Director Jane Richardson. “We offer classes on pregnancy, basic baby care, parenting, finances, how to do a job interview, budgeting, relationships – people come with a lot of different needs.”
Richardson said the Pregnancy Help Center is thankful to the New Mexico Doulas as well as the Alamogordo community for all these diapers as they will greatly benefit their clients.
“We have couples that come in but we have a lot of single moms as well,” Richardson said. “We always try to encourage the fathers to come and want them to feel welcomed here but a lot of our clientele are single moms who are struggling, working hard and diapers add up to a lot of money.”
Overseen by a group affiliated with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), the Pregnancy Help Center of Alamogordo offers women free pregnancy testing, ultrasound scanning to confirm pregnancy, and the aforementioned earn-while-you-learn parenting classes. The center also helps fund its ministry by raising 68 percent of its operating costs through a thrift store, according to their website.
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