Baby care drive was a huge success!
By Joan Janzen
KINDERSLEY—Good things happen when people see a need and do their best to meet it. Last month’s “It Takes a Village” baby care drive was inspired by two ladies who volunteer at FoodMesh Kindersley, Lenora Grassl and Jessica Dezan.
“It was Lenora’s idea, so we thought we’d try it,” Jessica said. “We saw a need for it at FoodMesh. Having kids in diapers, I know how important it is. I’ve always wanted to do something like this.”
Darian and Tobias from Kindersley are two of the twenty-three children who were blessed by the “It Takes a Village” baby care drive. PHOTO COURTESY FOODMESH
They didn’t waste any time getting the word out, requesting donations of baby products and donations. “We got way more than we were expecting!” Jessica said. “We were blown away by the generosity of companies from the area and people just dropping stuff off.”
The donations of knitted and quilted blankets exceeded their expectations by a long shot! “We thought we would get one blanket for each family, but we could have given two blankets to every kid!” Jessica reported. “The quilts were so beautiful! It warmed my heart!”
Although it was difficult to determine the exact dollar value of the donated items, Jessica guessed they received close to $3,000 worth of items and $2,000 in monetary donations.
“We had enough donations, so we were able to pick up missing items.
Every family got roughly the same thing according to the ages of their children,” she added.
Seventeen families applied to the FoodMesh email address to receive a care package. Twenty-three children benefitted from the first annual baby care drive, and their parents were pleasantly surprised when they came for the pick-up.
“They were blown away! They couldn’t believe how much stuff they were getting. They had to take more than one load to get it in their vehicles!” Jessica said.
After everyone drove away with their packages, Jessica and Lenora decided to use the leftover items as a giveaway thank you to the community. Anyone who liked, commented and shared their Facebook post was entered in a random draw for two newborn care packages for new moms or moms-to-be in the Kindersley area. Cassandra Campeau and Mackenzie Reiss were the lucky winners.
It’s obvious to everyone that the “It Takes a Village” baby care drive was a huge success. “We’re hoping to do it again next year and make it bigger and more exciting and get more companies involved,” she concluded.
They even have extra blankets for next year, but they’ll also need extra help. “We learned so much and learned we’ll need more help next year,” she added.