The first thing you need to know about hosting a diaper drive (or volunteering in general) is that you do not need to collect the most amount of diapers ever collected in diaper drive history. Sometimes we think we need to do everything on a grand scale for it to be successful. This kind of thinking can deter people from ever starting an event. If you are interested in hosting a diaper drive remember that whether you collect 2 or 2000 boxes of diapers, you are a massive success. You helped. Period.
Through writing my previous post for Huggies I was made painfully aware of a real need for diapers in communities across North America. Know that I am under no obligation to host a diaper drive in my community because I was sponsored to write a blog. I was simply asked to write two blogs to raise awareness for Huggies Every Little Bottom campaign. I could have written them and moved on, but I can not.
I can not “unlearn” something. I can not unlearn that 1 in 5 Canadian mothers struggles with diaper needs, that some mothers dry out disposable diapers and reuse them or that some have to let their babies sit in dirty diapers longer than they should to make their diapers last. For more heartbreaking realities click here.
I am currently planning a diaper drive in Ottawa and these are the steps I am following from Huggies website on how to Host a Diaper Drive.
Find a local charitable organization to donate the diapers you collect.
This was easy for me. I called the Ottawa Food Bank with whom I’ve volunteered before. I learned that they go through 250-300 cases of diapers a month. These diapers are purchased with money donated to them. Many of us only think of diapers when donating to the food bank. My contact tells me that diapers, pull-ups, wipes and other baby essentials are always needed.
Set a date and find a location for your diaper drive.
You can run this at work and have your desk be the drop off location. Remember, you are doing good at any level. Currently I have United Way offices as a drop off location and am talking to other interested parties. We’ve also decided to run our diaper drive for a two week period starting November 22 and ending December 7th. Working with the United Way in Ottawa we’ve decided to end our drive on their second Community Day of Action in order to get volunteers to pick up diapers at our drop off locations.
Find volunteers, including ones who can deliver the diapers you collect.
So when I say “we” I mean me and Stéphanie Montreuil, who saw what I was doing on Twitter and said “I want in!” Hooray for Stéphanie! Stéphanie can be found blogging at The Lotus Pad and is also the Ottawa face of the Fuchsia Factory. She is wonderful and I couldn’t do this without her. I also have Kelli and Connie, my fellow yummies to help out too. Once you put the call out, I guarantee the volunteers will come.
Find a theme, and remember the more fun, the better. We’re working on this but so far we have Ottawa Diaper drive. Very creative I know.
Get the word out and raise awareness.
If you are on Twitter and Facebook share the news via social media. For your friends who don’t participate in social network, email is a great tool. Put up signs and posters, and call your local radio, newspaper and TV station. All you can do is try to help raise awareness for your cause.
Email Huggies to let them know when and where your diaper drive will be held.
Huggies would love to help spread the word for you. Email the details to [email protected]
Collect the diapers and donate them.
Count how many diapers you collect and spread the good news. Make sure you tell Huggies so that they can add to their tally. Huggies is aiming to help raise 22.5 million diapers. Take pride in whatever you raise. You are a hero. Walk on a cloud for a few days.
Send Huggies a recap and inspire others.
Share your story. Email your friends, call them, send smoke signals......you rock! Tell Huggies too so that you can inspire others to help.
This blog is proudly sponsored by our friends at Huggies
There comes a time in every bloggers “career” when they inevitably ask the question, “Do I suck?”. We wonder, “Does anyone even read my blog?” I must admit I was at this point my friends.
Then, last night, I received a lovely forwarded email from Erica from a woman named Beth. Beth thanked Erica for the website and listed me as one of her favorites. Me! Oh sure, I was last on the list after Sharon, Julie, Lisa and Sarah, but I don’t really notice things like that. I was on the list after all, which means....wait for it....I have a fan! An honest to goodness fan. You may now get in line directly behind Beth.
Oh Beth, you do not know what joy you’ve brought me. When I write now, I’ll always have you in mind. I picture you as quite beautiful, with above average intelligence and a sharp, razor wit by the way. No pressure being my only fan of course. There are only a few conditions attached to the position.
Please order your “I’m a fan of See Mummy Juggle” t-shirt right away. Avoid the Christmas rush.
If you’ve been drinking while reading my blog, please continue to do so. Sobering up may bring you to your senses. I can’t risk losing you at this point.
I will only need you for a few events throughout the year to help prop up my over-inflated ego now that I have a fan. Hmmmmm, fan. Fan. I just can’t stop saying it. It has such a nice ring to it.
Wait, scratch the previous condition. Perhaps if you met me, you’d realize what a doofus I am and run screaming to the exit. Let me think on this one Beth.
In all honesty though Beth, what you did perfectly encompasses the message of kind that we’ve been spreading. You took two seconds out of your busy day to say “Good job”. It is a small gesture that means so much. You’ve made five bloggers day (although I’m not sharing my number one fan with them).
There’s lots of things you want to come back from holidays with, like souvenirs or a great pair of shoes, but bed bugs are probably not on the list. Like it or not though, the little pests are on the move. I have now scratched exactly 345 times since the beginning of this paragraph. As you may have guessed, I’m a little bit psycho about the little buggers. So here is a crash course on bed bugs.
Where you’ll find bed bugs: They like beds. Hello? This is kind of a no-brainer. Hotels, hostels, dormitories. They’re easy like Sunday morning and they like to sleep around.
Because getting bed bugs in right up there with alien invasion on my paranoia list, I’ve compiled a little list of things you should do to avoid bringing home more than you bargained for on holidays.
Inspect the bed in your hotel room BEFORE you unpack. Look along the seams of the mattress for small flat bugs or small blood spots.
Never, ever, ever put your luggage on the bed. Don’t. Even. Think. About. It.
Place your dirty clothes into plastic bags and suffocate the little creeps. Don’t feel bad about it.
Vacuum out your luggage and any other hard surface such as your vanity case before putting it away.
Leave your luggage outside your house if you can’t get to it right away.
If you live in a cold climate leave your suitcase out in below zero weather for 24 hours and they’ll freeze to death. Hot climate? Leave your luggage in a sweltering car for as long as possible.
If you travel frequently, it’s important you stay vigilant at home. Bed bugs can survive for up to a year without feeding. Vacuum your beds frequently and wash your sheets in hot water once a week.
Don’t let your guard down. Bed bugs have been found in the swankiest hotels across the globe. No one is immune. Comforting, I know.
Finally, heaven forbid, if you do get bed bugs in your house, call in a professional right away. They are very hard to get rid of once you get them and you’ll need the help.
Excuse me, I need to go scrub my body down with a steel wire brush now. Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.
*I am totally kidding about the alien invasion thing. I do not have this list hanging on my office wall.
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