Parenting is hard, even in the best of situations. But for families in need, the burden of parenting can be especially difficult. Becoming a parent doesn’t make you immune to hardship. Instead, it means that any challenge you face will impact those you hold most dear, your children.
All parents worry about their children. But for parents dealing with financial hardship, medical issues, domestic violence, and other concerns, these worries can include whether or not they are able to provide basic necessities for their kids.
We wanted to know where parents in need could find help. So we did some research and we discovered that there are some amazing organizations doing great work across the country. Here are four organizations helping moms and dads in need that really caught our attention.
GOOD+ Foundation
In 2001, new mom Jessica Seinfeld realized that as her baby grew, she outgrew things incredibly quickly. Suddenly, Jessica had an abundance of gently used baby items. She founded an organization she named Baby Buggy with a simple premise: to facilitate the donation of gently used infant and child clothes and gear to needy families in her area. Since that first day, more than 20 million baby items have been donated to a network of over 150 antipoverty programs across the United States.
In 2016, Baby Buggy became GOOD+ Foundation. With a renewed focus on breaking the cycle of family poverty, GOOD+ Foundation has expanded their services. They still give baby items to low-income parents, but they don’t stop there. They also provide long-term job training, counseling, and parenting support.
GOOD+ Foundation is dedicated not only to ensuring children have everything they need, they are also committed to empowering parents to lift their families out of poverty and towards a better future.
Help A Mother Out
Founder Lisa Truong saw a segment on Oprah in 2009 that made a huge impact on her. It was the story of a family with young children and what happened when both parents lost their jobs. Unable to pay the mortgage, the family lost their home and ended up living in a shelter. Lisa told her friend Rachel Fudge about the story and they both agreed that they wanted to help.
Since neither Lisa nor Rachel had ever faced homelessness, let alone with a young family, they were uncertain as to what the families in shelters needed most. They reached out to family services programs in the local San Francisco and learned that the greatest need wasn’t blankets, clothing, or food. It was diapers.
They organized a donation drive and collected 15,000 diapers in the first month. In the 8 years since Lisa first saw that story on Oprah, Help a Mother Out has given away over 5 million diapers to families in need.
Cradles to Crayons
Every parent wants to give their children everything they need. But the unfortunate truth is that not every parent is able to it. Cradles to Crayons believes that children should have access to the things they need to not just survive, but to thrive – regardless of their family’s financial situation.
With offices in Massachusetts, Chicago, and Philadelphia, Cradles to Crayons strives to help the nearly 800,000 children living in poverty in these areas. Due to their partnerships with school districts, homeless shelters, early intervention programs, state agencies, community health centers, and headstart programs, Cradles to Crayons is able to assist families with the greatest need.
The essential items Cradles to Crayons provides include shoes, clothing, warm coats, hats, gloves, baby items, school supplies, and art supplies. Each donation to Cradles to Crayons lightens the burden on parents trying to make ends meet.
Safe Horizon
According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in every fifteen children are exposed to intimate partner violence every single year. Even more heart wrenching, of these children, over 90% are witnesses to the violence.
Parents who are victims of domestic violence may have a difficult time leaving their abuser out of fear of being able to provide for their children. That’s where Safe Horizon comes in to help.
The leading victim assistance nonprofit in the country, Safe Horizon provides parents who are survivors of domestic violence with the support and tools they need to rebuild their lives.
At Safe Horizon, they provide a range of services from operating a hotline and providing a safe place to stay to counseling and assistance with the family court and criminal justice systems. With Safe Horizon, survivors of domestic abuse who are parents are given access to the tools they need to move their families forward into a future free of violence.
We all know that parenting is tough. But what many people do not realize is that you don't have to face it alone. These are just a few of the fantastic organizations dedicated to supporting moms and dads in need. If you are a parent in need, you can find additional resources on the Office of Family Assistance website.
Conclusion
We've been inspired by several organizations that help families and parents in need—it was hard to choose which to feature! These 4 are among some of the most amazing charities that help families. In addition to the ones we've featured here, feel free to do your research to find others that do incredible things.
