These Moms Have a Simple Solution for Helping Families in Need
Moms Juliet Fuisz and Sarah Steinhardt had heard all kinds of stories from people of all walks of life in their long careers as broadcast journalists. But as they simultaneously navigated the challenges of their first weeks post-baby—Juliet with her daughter and Sarah with her son—one particularly resonant narrative bubbled to the surface, and that’s that early parenthood is really, really hard.
“Some women give birth, and things feel easy, but Sarah and I were never those women,” Juliet recalls. “We were fortunate to have resources, but the physical toll, emotional adjustment, and anxieties when you have such a helpless newborn hit us really hard.”
They knew if it was this difficult for them it had to be exponentially more of a hardship for families without the resources they had—after all, 21% of American children live in poverty. Through the postpartum weeks, Sarah and Juliet would text in the middle of the night about what they were going through, and out of their shared struggles and shared concern for other families, Welcome Baby was born.
“Our mission is twofold: to help new moms but also to help newborns. There’s an amazing power in knowing that we’re easing financial stressors and general emotional anxiety,” Sarah says.
To do that, Welcome Baby collects baby goods and then partners with hospitals and community health organizations to deliver boxes of essentials to families who need them. One package contains everything a parent needs to care for a newborn in the first four weeks of life, including 220 diapers and a month supply of wipes, as well as items like swaddles (Happiest Baby has been proud to donate more than 500 of our Sleepeas!), blankets, baby carriers, thermometers, and baby wash. for Wecome Baby's packages)
“There’s something very tangible about these items,” Juliet explains. “There’s something about seeing the swaddle blankets and onesies, there’s a real emotional attachment anyone who has cared for a newborn feels. It’s a tangible problem and tangible solution. No matter what other challenges she’s going through, we know that this mom has a diaper in her home within arm's reach when she’s exhausted, anxious, and her body hurts. We think that’s powerful.”
In the beginning, Sarah and Juliet started packing Welcome Baby boxes in their own living rooms, but their operation has since grown to benefit communities spanning New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California.
Since 2018, they’ve donated more than 1,500 packages to new parents. And, their impact has become as tangible as their mission.
Sarah remembers one moment in particular that crystalized the positive effect of their work. She had just made a drop off to a family shelter in Queens when one of the dads ran out and stopped them.
“He said he wanted us to know grateful he was, and that he and his wife felt like they’d been forgotten or cast aside,” Sarah remembers. “Something about that has stayed with me since then. I think about this bond we all have as parents. If I could tell any of our recipients anything, it’s that they’re not forgotten. We think about them every day. We are so grateful that our recipients let us into their lives.”
You can support Welcome Baby by making a donation at welcomebabyusa.org—or you can make a donation in someone’s honor via their “Spread the Love” gift cards, which are $150 apiece (the cost of one package). It would make a great shower gift for that mom who already has everything!
“There are so many challenges in that first month after giving birth,” Sarah says. “We feel really excited that this solves one problem. A mother who receives this will have what she needs to help her baby thrive.”
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