Mamahood

Room to Grow Donation Drive…

If there’s one thing I’ve learned since becoming a mom, is you do start to feel like you are a part of one of the coolest clubs around. What I witnessed in the past few weeks confirms just how valuable that club is.

I wanted to put together a donation drive for Room to Grow in the community where my family and I live. The organization is based in Manhattan so I thought it would be great to introduce RtG to our area, which is an hour north of the City. As ambassador to RtG, my duty is to raise awareness and I felt like this would be a great opportunity.

I’d mentioned in passing to two of my mommy friends whom I’ve met through my daughter’s school that I wanted to get this fundraiser in motion. Without even opening my mouth to ask, they were immediately on board to help. Awesome!

We decided in the end it would be best to keep it somewhat small and focus on our children’s school. My two friends have older kids at the school with access to more mothers’ email than I do. We sent out a group email with the date and information about Room to Grow, what they accept or won’t—we were in business.

The most powerful part of it all was seeing how strong the comradery and bond of motherhood really is...
With my co-hosts Kerry and Nancy

On the day, we didn’t know if 2 people would show or 10. In the end, we had an amazing turnout. The garage that I had emptied was totally filled with everyone’s precious baby items. When Evelyn saw it she said, “It’s like Christmas!” It was like Christmas and I think Room to Grow will be thrilled with what we were able to collect.

One of the things I kept hearing from the other moms as they dropped off their goods was, “This is so wonderful that you’re doing this.” All I kept thinking was how extraordinary it was that all these mothers showed up to donate their items! Let’s not forget how sentimental some of these moms were to let go of some of their children’s things. I know the feeling; I go through it every time I do an  organizational cleaning . I assured them that their items would be thoughtfully distributed to RtG’s clients. I’ve seen it first-hand. I wrote an article for the Huffington Post  about my experience watching one of Evelyn’s items handed out to a RtG client while on a visit to their office, and it warmed my heart.

Before getting involved in charity work, I selfishly thought I never had enough time. I’m older and wiser these days I like to think. Yes, my time, like most is very limited. But I have found an organization that I believe in whole-heartedly. I would have never thought it could be possible to do a donation drive but it was actually no real sweat off my back, as the saying goes. In fact, it was a total cinch to put together and ended up being a lovely affair.

I got to meet more amazing moms, catch up with moms that I already knew and help a cause that I believe in. The most powerful part of it all was seeing how strong the comradery and bond of motherhood really is.

 

Emma xxx

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