NYC Moms

A Time for Children, A Time for Shopping

Now that all I have is two overgrown babies (they're 8), I love baby stuff.  I love the little onesies.  I love the hats.  I love these teeny tiny cowboy booties. And I really love buying stuff like that at a store I can feel good about supporting.  Recently opened on the Upper West Side, A Time for Children is just that type of place. 

Walk in, and someone greets you with a genuine "Hello, may I help you?"  It doesn't sound canned, like the cashiers at Old Navy asking the next "guest" to step down to the register.  (Hey, if I'm a guest, how come I'm paying?)  Here, the people working there really want to be there.  Why?  Because they're not just working, they're being trained in how to deal with customers, how to stock items, how to market.  And because they know that 100% of the net profits from the store go to The Children's Aid Society, a charity which has been helping New York’s children and families in need since 1853.  Let me say that again: 100% of the profits go to charity.

And lest you think that a store like that must carry hideous crocheted tea-cozies, acrylic knit afhgans, and macramé  belts, let me assure you that this store has GREAT merchandise.  Stuff like socks from Little MissMatched (a personal favorite of mine), baby clothes from Hanna Anderson, loads of Paul Frank items, and a well-edited selection of children's picture books. 

'Tis The Season To Reflect

RECAP!

Around the time of the holidays, I can't help but think of all those who won't have a table full of food for Thanksgiving or their religious holiday of choice.  This is also the time of year when many of us distribute our contributions to charity for the year.  Others may collect food for local food banks, ring the bell for the Salvation Army, or volunteer through our churches and synagogues. But what happens the rest of the year?

If you are anything like me, charitable giving and serving the community became even more important to you after you had children.  Once I'd held that small helpless baby in my arms, I knew that I had to do what I could to ensure that every baby in my community had the same opportunities and love that my own children have. Whether you grew up volunteering and fund raising, or came to it later in life, I know that many of you, many of us, also had the same reaction to motherhood. As a result, the Silicon Valley Moms, Chicago Moms, DC Metro Moms, and New York City Moms are all writing about community outreach today.  Please join us, enjoy the discussion, and enjoy the holiday season.

Here is a RECAP of all the posts that went up on our "Community Outreach ..." day across the Silicon Valley Moms, Chicago Moms, DC Metro Moms, and New York City Moms Blogs.....

Give til it hurts

I am taking the Barbara Kingsolver approach to charity giving this year by going local, organic, and sustainable in my first recommendation. With this in mind, Donors Choose is an obvious pick. Donors Choose allows you to search your local school, in any state, to find projects currently proposed by teachers there. They provide a description of the project and its total cost. You are able to contribute any amount toward it. My favorite proposal at PS 9 Teunis G. Bergen School, in my neighborhood, is a bookmaking project for pre-K students. The project costs a mere $409 and they have earned $300 toward their goal. Rather than continuing to staple plain paper together, they would like to upgrade to bookbinding and collage materials. The teacher writes, "the pride on their faces when they read their books back to you is fantastic!" It's important to me that the proposal came organically from the teacher's experience with the class and that the money has a specific, alloted purpose. Teunis G. Bergen himself would be proud!

Give me a C!

For years, I taught art at an expensive upper West Side private middle school that prided itself on its charitable programs.  Eleven, twelve, and thirteen year olds who came to school wearing iPods, Tiffany bracelets, and True Religion jeans would spend the morning slathering bread with peanut butter and jelly for Gods Love We Deliver, bringing holiday songs to senior citizens in a local nursing hone, doing art projects with little kids in a shelter.

On this particular day, the children returned to the school for the afternoon, after having completed their morning o' good deeds.  Because it was difficult to corral them back behind their desks (and equally hard to corral the teachers who'd scatter a bit on the way back to the building), some in-school small group activities had been planned. 

A Heartwarming Housewarming

“It’s a housewarming party.” read the invitation, “Bring a gift.”   Nine years ago, an exhausting combination of relentless searching, vicious bargaining, and luck had landed my husband and I a lovely apartment.  Thrilled, we decided to have a housewarming party.  And rather than get gifts we didn’t need, we decided to collect gifts for those in need. 

“We’re so happy in our new home we want to help others be happy in theirs,” the invitation continued inside the flap.  We asked guests to bring, in lieu of a housewarming present for us, new or used household items, clothing, toys, or gifts to benefit Homes For The Homeless, a non-profit organization that helps homeless women and children find and furnish permanent homes.

Our friends were floored. “I’m proud to be your friend.” was one message left on our machine.   “Are you doing this to show the rest of us up?” asked one (now ex-) friend.  When I laughed in response, she said “No really.  What’s the deal?  To let us know you have a lot?  To make us all look bad?” 
   

'tis the season for giving: One Laptop Per Child

Through their Give One Get One program, One Laptop Per Child will send an XO laptop to a child in a developing country when you purchase one for your child. The cost is $399 and the concept, as well as the computer, is brilliant. The project came out of MIT and the laptop was designed by computer experts and academics. The laptop runs on Linux, a free open-source operating system and all the software is also free, and open-source (as in, the opposite of Microsoft). It looks like they have thought of everything- from the durable physical design to its language capabilities and software flexibility.

Keep in mind that it is designed for kids and for conditions in developing countries which is a good thing: they know their audience. The keyboard fits kids' hands and the computer is green and plastic. The battery lasts a long time, for countries where power is scarce.

The best thing about the project is its optimistic outlook. The goal of One Laptop Per Child is to empower children to learn by getting them hooked up with their own laptop and it's to do with what they want. The faith they have in children around the world is the aspect of the project that moves me.

Why aren't more people asking us to donate money for Tabasco Flood Relief?

This is cross-posted from our sister site, Silicon Valley Moms Blog.  We felt that it was important to get the word out through all of our blogs.  Please help us spread the word.

'This is not just the worst natural catastrophe in the state's history but, I would venture to say, one of the worst in the recent history of the country,' Mexican President Felipe Calderon, talking about the flood in Tabasco, Mexico.

BBC News: More than one million people are believed to be affected, with 300,000 thought to be trapped in their homes and more rain forecast in coming days.

Hi there, people of the silicon valley and web!  Today, I have a question for you.  Do you have a housekeeper, a gardener, a babysitter or nanny, or another house worker who is from Mexico?  Have you ever been waited on, had your food cooked by, or your table bussed by someone from Mexico?  If you're a mom, have you had some of the Mexican people, with their lovely, child-supportive culture, give you kind looks and a helping hand when your WASPy neighbors were ignoring you?  Have you or your children derived benefit from the added dimension that our overlay of Mexican culture in California gives you - in any way?

OK, now tell me this.  Have you reached into your pockets and sent money to the people of Tabasco, currently reeling from one of the biggest catastrophes to happen to Mexico in years?

Me either.

Why is this?

Today on the radio, I heard a statement that  went straight to my heart.  "Please ask the people of the world to turn their eyes onto Tabasco," the man said.  It made me think.  I haven't heard any news of local moms holding bake sales to benefit the people of Tabasco, Mexico, and I haven't seen any mails sent out in my email groups about how to help.  Nobody has made it easy for me to just Paypal dollars, you know?