I’m very excited to report that a great new charity is born!  It’s called Baby Steps and it’s a clothing drive for children ages 0-4 who are among the 900 families living below the poverty line in the Montclair area.  The new or like-new clothes will be collected and given out to these families twice a year, in May and October.  The drive will begin this May, 2010.

How Baby Steps Was Born
This charity is both a grass roots and interagency joint effort among the Montclair United Way, The Salvation Army Montclair Citadel and local parents. It began with the parents, who often have so many clothes to dispose of as their babies and toddlers grow and who wanted to see the items go to the best use possible.  Many of them give the clothes to family members, friends or drop them in a bin – unsure of exactly where they end up.  Getting clothing directly into the hands of those children who need them most is a very exciting and simple way to help. 

Baby Steps will put the clothes directly into the hands of the local families who need them most.  These families already come to the United Way under the WIC Program (Women, Infants, Children) for food stamps, counseling and other services.  And The Salvation Army provides a host of services through the Emergency Assistance Fund for Families.

How to Get Involved
If you have some new or like-new clothing to donate for children ages 0-4, you can drop them off on Wednesday, May 12th at The United Way Building on South Fullerton Ave, next to The Montclair Public Library.   You will receive a receipt for tax purposes.  If you would like to volunteer some time to help sort through and give out the clothes, just contact me and we’ll sign you up!  If you would like to make a donation of money instead of clothing, your checks can be made payable to The Emergency Assistance Fund for Families and then The United Way and Salvation Army will put it to good use.  You may, if you wish, earmark the money for a specific purpose.

Baby Steps Clothing Drive Information

Clothing Drop Off Day: Wednesday, May 12, 2010   9:30-4:30pm

Location:   The United Way Building
                      South Fullerton Ave (next to library)
                      Montclair, N.J. 

Volunteer times:  Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 13, 14 and 15th