Photo by Jim, the Photographer

In honor of Father’s Day, we want to share a moving testimonial from a father.

Curt’s story was highlighted at our annual Let Good Grow event by Phoebe Rubin. Phoebe is a volunteer at our partner agency, the Bayview Mission, a ministry of Grace Cathederal in San Francisco.

Here is what Phoebe shared with us:

I am a mother and the idea of running out of diapers horrifies me. That’s why I’ve volunteered at the baby ministry at Bayview Mission in San Francisco for the last four years.

I’ve given out diapers hundreds of diapers to families, and I know that access to diapers can mean the difference between having food, medicine and shelter—and not having those things.

I’m want to tell you about one family in particular. Curt is in his early 40’s and takes care of his baby Mia full time. Before his accident, Curt was a college-educated artist who made large metal sculptures and did construction work to pay the bills. Not anymore. Curt’s leg was badly injured when he fell from a 3^rd story window at work. Surgery on Curt’s leg was botched, and his request for a second surgery was denied. Now, walking is a challenge for Curt. He lives on disability. One of the few times he goes out each week is when he comes to the ministry to pick up diapers and baby food for Mia.

Knowing Curt has made me grateful for my health, and the health of my family. That’s because Curt told me: that he never, in all of his life, dreamed that he would lose his health.  Curt grew up in a middle-class family. He never imagined himself disabled, needing help, instead of working and creating his art.  I bet many of you can hardly imagine that either.

About 3.5 years ago, Help a Mother Out started bringing diapers to our ministry. To us volunteers, being able to help families like Curt’s felt like winning the lottery. I have to admit that I look forward to seeing Curt roll up in his car each week with Mia.  He is such a well-informed and fun person. Every week I learn something new from him about local politics or current events.

Curt would say that diapers from Help a Mother Out have made it possible for him to buy things his family could not survive without. Instead of worrying about how to buy diapers, Curt can concentrate on parenting Mia. And that investment is paying off big time. Mia is a happy well taken care of baby.

Because of HAMO, Curt can do what he needs to do for his family—and his own health–rather than worrying about diapers. One day a few weeks back, after providing diapers for Curt dozens of times, there was a day when we ran out. The need is so enormous that, even though HAMO works around the clock, they can’t always provide diapers for every baby. I had to go out to Curt’s car and turn him away. He took the news calmly, but I wondered what was going through his mind, facing the week without HAMO’s help.  As I turned to go back inside, my heart felt heavy.  At that moment, it struck me what an enormous thing a diaper really is, and what a difference it can make in a life.  I’m happy to say that I gave Curt a bundle of diapers this week, thanks to HAMO.  Curt thanked me, and I thank HAMO for making lives like Curt’s, and his baby Mia’s, easier.

Curt’s story reminds us to be grateful for what we do have while encouraging us to remember that there are those who encounter unexpectedly difficult challenges in life.

As you honor the fathers in your life, we want to thank you for all that you do for dads like Curt.

How will you celebrate Father’s Day?

Photo by Eric Fischer

Did you know that 23% of children in the US are living in poverty?

So over 16.837 million children under 18  years old live in families with annual income below $22,811 in 2011.

Based on analysis of the US Census, the Annie E. Casey foundation has posted statistics by state for 2007-2011 on their data center.

Looking at how California measures up to the other states:

• In 2011, California ranked the highest with over 2 million children living in poverty increasing each year from 1.5 million in 2007. Texas and Florida take the 2nd and 3rd ranking with 1.829 million and 980,000 respectively.
• New York ranks the highest with 521,000 children in poverty but Los Angeles ranks 2nd with 276,000.
• The median income for California is $59,100 and Texas is $52,300. But CA’s higher cost of living is approximately 10% higher than Texas.

These stats indicate the need for heightened awareness of income disparities. Food and diaper deserts are increasingly found in low-income neighborhoods. Continued efforts to address inequalities of access to basic needs are essential for the large (and growing) number of children and families living in poverty.

How does your state stack up? Are you surprised?

Clover By Clover’s generous support of our 3rd Annual Benefit Tea last month certainly made our meaningful celebration that much more so. Thank you!

Clover by Clover is a service that helps you take back the birthday party. Or the holiday. Or the graduation. Or the [insert celebration]. Take it back from the 1,000-piece toys that your relatives insist on giving the children. Take it back from the cheap plastic crap you already have too much of! Take it back from having your kids get more stuff that may quickly get broken, outgrown, or tossed into the “donate” pile.

Now you can set up a fundraiser for any special occasion that will benefit a worthy cause. Clover By Clover helps you facilitate it, and you can specify the cause and the amount that will be sent to them.

For example – for your son’s 9th birthday, instead of gifts, you ask friends and family to make a donation to the Clover By Clover page you set up to benefit, say, Help a Mother Out, or one of their other fine charity partners. At the end of the donation period, he has raised $400. He keeps a percentage of that money to spend or save, and the other part goes to the charity.

Founders Erin Aliaga and Betsy Ellis Chung started Clover By Clover because they thought that the latter scenario was preferable to “seeing stacks of toys at parties for children who really didn’t need (or even want) more.” They wanted to “make gifts more meaningful and celebrations more thoughtful.”

We interviewed Lena Yu, Program Coordinator for Chinatown center-based programs. Lena started off as a volunteer at APA while she was studying Community Development within the Asian American Studies program at SF State University. After graduation she decided to take the opportunity to stay with APA because she fell in love with the warm and caring staff and wanted to continue to see the happy faces of the children she got to work with.

Why is APA’s mission important to you?

Growing up in a traditional first generation family, there were times when my family struggled and I felt like there was no one that understood what I was going through. APA’s mission and work touches on this and works hand in hand with struggling families to build a good foundation in order for this to happen.

What are some of the unique cultural challenges for the Asian community?

Asian families struggle just like any other family in America, but it can be especially hard to reach Asian families because of the taboo and stereotypes due to culture, traditional values and a lack of understanding in this new country. The immigrant parents often carry over practices such as physical punishment, verbal threats, and emotional abuse. Parents are often under stress and turn to parenting styles they grew up with.

Another cultural challenge is of course the language barriers that families face.  Not being able to communicate your needs is something that can leave parents feeling helpless and hopeless. Having someone, like APA to hold their hand and help guide them makes the journey less scary.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Watching the families grow and have a great time at our center.  Many mothers that come into the center are often new immigrants and have very few friends and support. Many become great friends outside of the center and that is the best feeling for me.

Watching young children graduate from our parent-child groups and entering preschool and kindergarten makes me feel like a proud parent as well, especially when they come and visit us many years later.

How do you view HAMO’s role in APA’s vision?

HAMO has been partners with APA since 2010 when diaper banks were being closed down due to lack of funding and staffing. Diapers have been a main concern and working with HAMO we hope to continue to provide this essential resource to families and help alleviate some of the stresses they face. Our monthly diaper distribution, thanks to HAMO’s kind donations, has really helped us reach out to isolated families that are hidden and do not know where to turn for help.

Is there something you would want the SF community to know?

In the nooks and crannies of beautiful San Francisco, there are struggling families trying to survive and live day to day.  It is important to remember how fortunate one is when others around them are facing constant trials.  Giving someone strength and hope is one of the greatest gifts any one person can give to another.

The 3rd Annual Benefit Tea in support of Help a Mother Out happened on Saturday, May 11, at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco. It was a beautiful spring day with just a touch of fog left clinging to the edges of the amazing view from The Top of the Mark – the restaurant on the highest floor of the hotel that welcomes visitors to glimpse out the windows for a photo op.

But the best view of all was the sea of faces of the guests gathered around the tables in the Peacock Room where HAMO supporters showed up in person to enjoy each other’s company and listen to how they have helped the mission grow, and how they can continue to do so. The program, emceed by KABC 7′s Kristen Sze, opened with Kirsten Patel reading a piece called “The Club,” an excerpt from the Listen To Your Mother show that partnered with HAMO for a productive and beneficial Mother’s Day weekend.

Time to eat and sip some tea followed, with mingling and chatting and meeting new people.

Our table hosts created lovely table decorations and favors

The program continued with testimonials from HAMO beneficiaries via the new documentary featuring three brave women – Jasmine, Kim, and Abaynesh – and a speech from a worker at a partner shelter. Co-founder and executive director Lisa Truong spoke about guilt, and how government agencies routinely call her for diapers because HAMO is one of the only games in town when it comes to family support for diapers. And then HAMO board member Catherine Hazelton, visibly pregnant and a picture of motherhood, introduced the pledge cards and the newest way of supporting HAMO, the multi-year angel. Donors can now select to give one, five, or ten thousand dollars a year for five years – a wonderful option especially if there is an employer who gives matching funds.

Several amazing guests at the tea stood up to announce their intent to donate at one of those levels. In the end, the pledges bested last year’s total, and got us nearly half way to our 2013 fundraising goal! At this rate, we’re moving from “shoestring to sustainability,” which will allow us to help more people.

The most powerful thing about the tea was that all those people came, donated at whatever level they chose, and took away the power of the mission.

Let good grow.

Thank you to our event volunteers from partner agency WDDC, as well as our event sponsors including Alyssa Brennan, Clover by Clover, Earth Baby, Lucy’s Cookies, KidsintheHouse.com,  Plum Organics, UrbanSitter.com, and Skincare by Feleciai.

Photo from RookieMoms.com

A kind act happened recently at a Walmart in Loveland.

While a young couple was counting their money to see if they had enough to pay for diapers for their young daughter, another couple who were strangers offered to pay for them. The strangers paid for the diapers and everything in the cart, explaining that people have helped them and they were just paying it forward.

This random act of kindness and help from strangers prompted the young couple to share this story with the local news in hopes of spreading the word. A simple gesture can mean so much to other people, so let’s pay it forward!

Have you paid it forward? Or experienced a pay it forward moment?

Photo credit via Creative Commons: lululemon athletica

It’s National Women’s Health Week!The goal is to empower women to make their health a priority.

MomsRising, a mom-run organization focused on addressing critical issues for women, mothers and families through grassroots action, is celebrating by playing Healthy Moms BINGO.

You can download your own card and share with friends!

The game encourages us women to do the following 5 healthy steps:

1. Preventative screening
2. Get active
3. Eat health
4. Pay attention to your mental health
5. Avoid unhealthy behaviors

What a fun way to to get healthy!…and maybe win a prize!

Hilarious video! Guess men wouldn’t trade places with women

Photo credit via Creative Commons: epSos.de

Our friends at the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently published a study that found that prescription contraceptives are more expensive in low-income zipcodes than in wealthier areas. Cost is a leading barrier to access to birth control and contributes to unintended pregnancy rates.

Low income families are also challenged by the cost of diapers and food deserts. Diapers cost an average of $75 to $100 a month, not to mention all the other expenses for a child! Limited or no access to fresh fruits and vegetables adds to the fact that basic health needs are not met. All of these issues compound the challenges that low-income families have to fight against.

Now we see from this study that yet another significant hurdle exists for homeless and low-income mothers: inequality of access to birth control.

Dr. Jeffrey Peipert, vice chair of clinical research at Washington University in St. Louis Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, responds in the Huffington Post:

“The big question is why don’t we, in the U.S., level the playing field so all women can have equal access to no-cost contraception? Why should we have any inequalities at all?”

How is it that lower-income families may have to pay more for birth control? Have you ever been in a position to need help accessing birth control?