Keeping our Community Safe: WestSide Baby to suspend normal operations beginning Friday, March 13.
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Beginning Friday, March 13, 2020 WestSide Baby operations will be suspended so that we can focus on adapting to meet the most urgent needs of the community we serve and so that we can do our part in keeping our community safe. We will be constantly assessing how we can support children’s most basic needs during this suspension of operations.
As of now, we are unable to comply with Public Health guidelines within our normal operations. WestSide Baby relies upon groups of volunteers, many within populations most vulnerable to COVID-19, to sort and process a large volume of items collected from our community. Our normal operations pose too great of a risk of spreading COVID-19, to not only the individuals here, but to the greater community that we serve. As of March 13, we will be suspending operations to in-kind donations of items at all WestSide Baby collection sites as well as suspending our volunteer shifts.
By suspending normal operations we are able to put our focus and energy towards what we already know: 23% of families with young children across King County experience difficulty affording enough diapers to keep their child safe, warm and dry and COVID-19 will have the greatest detrimental effects on the health and well-being of our community within families who are already struggling to make ends meet.
We need you to stay informed with us and we need your support now more than ever. For 19 years, WestSide Baby has hosted our signature fundraiser to build community and raise about 20% of our annual revenue. Our Community in Bloom event, previously scheduled for March 22, has shifted to an online campaign with multiple ways for anyone to engage. Generous support during this uncertain time will allow us the certainty to deploy emergency resources to meet children’s needs now and fill a critical gap year-round.