Blog — Help a Mother Out

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Diaper Love Project

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Diaper Love Project

A Photographic Series from Help a Mother Out and Christie Hemm Klok


Laura and Edgar (age 11 mos, diaper size 6) live in San Francisco. They receive diapers from Help a Mother Out.

Laura and Edgar (age 11 mos, diaper size 6) live in San Francisco. They receive diapers from Help a Mother Out.

“I always dreamed of having a happy family and happy children. We have two children, my son who is almost 1-year old and my 4-year old daughter who is in Pre-K. I worry most about taking care of the children and how to take care of the baby. My daughter has crossed feet and when she walks she falls down easily. Now she is in therapy, but that was very scary.

Last week the best thing that happened was when my husband brought home a rose for me. I met my husband in Guatemala. He came to the United States first and when I came afterwards he asked me to get married. I felt very happy. I came to the United States six years ago. I could not afford food in Guatemala and came in search of work and because of poverty in my country. My brother and sister-in-law live together with us in the apartment, and before the children I worked as a food preparer in a restaurant.

My favorite thing to do with my family is to go out to the playground, read books, play with the baby in the house, or go to the playgroup. My desire and hope is to have my children grow up to be healthy and receive an education. I want to have a happy family.”

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Photo credits: Christie Hemm Klok

Honor a Mom You Love. Get Ready for Mother's Day and Give Hope.

Photo by Christie Hemm Klok.

Dear Friends,

I spend most of my time looking at the numbers, but I always stay focused on the larger goal, remembering why it is we do what we do. As a mother myself, I care deeply about baby and family well-being. This is the reason that I support Help a Mother Out and the reason I am reaching out to you today.

Mother’s Day is an incredibly special time for Help a Mother Out, as it marks the official founding date of this amazing organization, and this year is extra special as we celebrate our 10th Anniversary. Mother’s Day is May 12th, and I need your help to make this Mother’s Day incredibly successful.

  • Donate now to double your donation. Every gift you give between now and Mother’s Day will be generously matched, dollar for dollar, up to $15,000, by the Harry L. and Helen M. Rust Charitable Foundation. This means that your gift will go twice as far in helping Bay Area families get access to a reliable supply of clean diapers.

  • Your gift will be used wisely. As the Treasurer of the Board of Directors, I can assure you that we are good stewards of your money. Every dollar you give helps to improve baby and family well-being.

  • Honor a mom you love. Make a donation in honor of a mom you love, and we’ll send her a swell card (snail mail or email).

  • You can make an impact on the lives of Bay Area families. Clean diapers reduce the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, improve baby’s health and comfort, and enable baby’s participation in early care and education programs. Help a Mother Out is working towards a world in which every baby has access to clean diapers, and your gift matters.

As Mother’s Day approaches, I ask you to join me in supporting this wonderful organization. When you give a gift to Help a Mother Out, you are giving the greatest gift of all -- hope.

In Community,

Mitra Rezvan, on behalf of the HAMO Crew

Treasurer, Help a Mother Out Board of Directors

p.s. You can help spread the word by sharing this with your network. We need your help to make the generous $15,000 match!

Poverty Goes Hand in Hand with Stress for the Whole Family

California is upping its game to fight childhood trauma and toxic stress. Dr. Nadine Harris Burke, our first Surgeon General recently appointed by Gov. Newsom says, “Exposure to early adversity dramatically affects the developing brains and bodies of children.”

At Help a Mother Out, we know that access to diapers is a small thing that greatly alleviates a mother’s stress. Children are especially sensitive to stress because their brains and bodies are just developing.

Dr. Robert Block, Former President of American Academy of Pediatrics says, “Adverse childhood experiences are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today.”

Research traces adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, to the later onset of physical and mental illness. Poverty and exposure to adversity can lead to a greatly increased chance of childhood trauma.

Learn more about the new efforts in the movement to combat ACEs in this article from California Healthline: California Looks To Lead Nation In Unraveling Childhood Trauma

And, see Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’ impassioned TED Talk below.

Thank you for helping us increase access to diapers for families in need. The impact of this small thing can be great.

Diaper Love Project

shutterstock_1144450718.jpg

Diaper Love Project

A Photographic Series from Help a Mother Out and Christie Hemm Klok


Callie and Mimi (age 17 mos, diaper size 4) live in San Francisco. They receive diapers from Help a Mother Out.

Callie and Mimi (age 17 mos, diaper size 4) live in San Francisco. They receive diapers from Help a Mother Out.

“Our family is me, my husband who works, our baby girl, and my mother. I share our apartment with another family now. My wish is that I would like to have a living space for just my family. Getting diapers has reduced the stress for my family and lowered my anxiety, too. I just lost my job and I am looking for a new job now. I am very worried about money. If I didn’t receive diapers from the program, it would impact my finances very much. They are expensive and we have had to buy food with that money. I’m very grateful for the help.”

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Photo credits: Christie Hemm Klok

Replenish the Diaper Bank for Families Affected by the Gov’t Shutdown

We’ve recently cleared the shelves of our Diaper Bank to meet the urgent need of our unpaid federal workforce and their families. Our shelves are bare and the demand for diapers from families in need is still critical.

Donate today to replenish the Diaper Bank. your donation will help ensure that more babies have the diapers they need. Click here to give now >

You can also bring diapers to any of our drop-off bins: Click here for locations >

And, you can purchase diapers directly from our Amazon wish list.

Diaper Love Project

shutterstock_1144450718.jpg

Diaper Love Project

A Photographic Series from Help a Mother Out and Christie Hemm Klok


Ying has two children in diapers. Baby Daniel is 5 months old and wears a size 4 diaper. They receive diapers from Help a Mother Out and live in San Francisco.

Ying has two children in diapers. Baby Daniel is 5 months old and wears a size 4 diaper. They receive diapers from Help a Mother Out and live in San Francisco.

“I am worried about finances all the time and I’ve needed to choose between buying diapers and formula. I do not have enough breast milk so I need to feed formula to my baby -- but my baby doesn't like the taste of the powder formula, he likes the taste of liquid formula. Because of the diaper program I don't have to spend money on diapers so I can spend money on other things for my family. If I didn't have access to diapers it would be hard on my family’s finances. Sometimes if I didn't have enough diapers I would extend the life of the diapers I did have and take more time between diaper changes. I am on WIC* and I do not qualify for CalFresh* now because my husband is working full time and I got cut off from CalFresh. Receiving diapers has really helped lower my financial stress. My hope is that my kids are happy and healthy. That is what I want.”

*These federal and state assistance programs do not offer diapers.

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Photo credits: Christie Hemm Klok

Diaper Love Project

shutterstock_1144450718.jpg

Diaper Love Project

A Photographic Series from Help a Mother Out and Christie Hemm Klok


Tina and Carlos (24 mo./diaper size 6) live in a small San Francisco apartment and receive diapers from Help a Mother Out.

Tina and Carlos (24 mo./diaper size 6) live in a small San Francisco apartment and receive diapers from Help a Mother Out.

“I receive diapers every month from the program. It has helped us a lot because we can use the money that we are saving on diapers to buy food or clothing for my son. It has really helped to lower our financial stress. If we didn’t receive these diapers, I don’t know what I would do. So we would need to make it work with what we had left at home. My hopes and dreams are for my children to be happy, to find something that they love and enjoy that they are happy with. And for us to be healthy and happy as a family. I worry about him getting sick, but at the moment everything is okay.”

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Photo credits: Christie Hemm Klok