Baby supplies are being offered to families in need via a drive thru service on Thursday afternoons. For more information and to sign up for support, please complete the form for your county of residence:
Over the past 16 months, the Child Development Council has provided over 82,800 diapers and 9050 days’ worth of meals of infant formula to families in the community. At the end of June, the Council will transition away from the drive thru model in favor of implementing a more sustainable service to families with infants and young children. The remaining Baby Supplies Drive Thrus will be offered on May 27th, June 10, and June 24th in both Cortland and Tompkins County.
**Families who would like ongoing support, are encouraged to enroll in our Family Services program. Please visit our website or contact Melissa@childdevelopmentcouncil.org for more information.**
Looking Back
When we started the Baby Supply Drive Thru in late March 2020, we were responding to a desperate need. Job loss and layoffs were rampant and families with young children suddenly found themselves struggling to provide infant formula and diapers for their little ones. Grocery store shelves were bare and when items could be found, families realized the prices had skyrocketed to the point of being unaffordable, particularly for those who rely on SNAP and WIC or recently experienced loss of income and resources. Seeing the need, the Council jumped into action and began providing infant formula, diapers, and wipes to families with young children.
Thank You!
The Baby Supplies Drive Thrus were successful because the community saw the value of supporting families during this unprecedented time. Thank you to the local volunteers, particularly those from Gadabout that delivered hundreds of bags of supplies to families with transportation barriers- rain, shine, snow, or sleet, and local cycling groups who made families smile when their supplies were delivered by bike! Thank you to community members who donated funds and diapers from their own supplies. Thank you to the local funders who provided over $56,000 to purchase the supplies needed to keep babies fed and their bottoms dry: Community Foundation- Birth to Three, Park Foundation, Health Foundation of Central and Western New York, United Way for Cortland County, United Way of Tompkins County, Tompkins Trust Company, and FEMA (facilitated by HSC).
And of course- we could never have accomplished this without the hard work of our dedicated Child Development Council team who spent thousands of hours ordering, organizing, packing, delivering, and passing out supplies, as well as connecting with each and every family who signed up for supplies.
We appreciate you recognizing the importance of caring for our littlest community members.