Toni Sarge – WestSide Baby

01Mar 2022 by Toni Sarge

WestSide Baby in the News

News

WestSide Baby in the News WA bill proposes subsidy to help some families buy diapers Families receiving TANF could get more money for diapers if Senate Bill 5838 passes in the Legislature. Crosscut | March 1, 2022 Sequoia Dolan considers herself Wonder Woman. She gets up before 6:30 a.m., prepares breakfast for her children, drops her son off at school, waits at the bus stop with her daughter and then spends time with her 2-year-old. Her little one is still in diapers, which may become easier for her to afford if Washington lawmakers can pass Senate Bill 5838, which would give extra money to families trying to make ends meet. To get through the month, Dolan typically buys a box of diapers from Costco and another from Safeway before heading…

12Jan 2022 by Toni Sarge

Introducing the Diaper Need Act: Helping families with babies and young children afford diapers

News, Portfolio

Introducing the Diaper Need Act: Helping families with babies and young children afford diapers Diaper cash assistance: Addressing #diaperneed for Washington families The 2022 legislative session has begun and WestSide Baby and the Washington Diaper Bank Coalition are excited to announce the introduction of The End Diaper Need Act, with bills in both the House and the Senate (See the bills here: HB1947 & SB5838). WestSide Baby legislative champions Representative Noel Frame, Representative Jesse Johnson, Senator T'wina Nobles, and Senator Ann Rivers are leading the way for this important legislation acknowledging the high cost of diapers for families. The challenge. Unlike other essentials such as food or health insurance, no public assistance programs help families pay for diapers – and diapers can cost up to $100 a month for a newborn. The only other state in…

10Jan 2022 by Toni Sarge

Washington State Diaper Bank Coalition Collaborates to End Diaper Need

News

The Washington State Diaper Bank Coalition In 2017, WestSide Baby formed the Washington State Diaper Bank Coalition by conducting phone calls and informational interviews with diaper banks across the state. We more formally convened via regular email communication shortly after that. The coalition primarily served as a connection point for diaper banks of different sizes, serving different populations, to occasionally connect and ask questions. In 2019, the coalition more regularly communicated regarding important advocacy goals including exempting diapers from sales tax, and engaging legislators around a diaper subsidy program for low-income working families. All diaper banks reported an increase in distribution in 2020 continuing into 2021. The coalition consists of the 10 diaper banks recognized by the National Diaper Bank Network: Eastside Baby Corner (1990) serving East King County, South…

30Nov 2021 by Toni Sarge

COVID-19 Health and Safety for WestSide Baby’s Community

News

Thank you for continuing to do your part in keeping our community safe & healthy! COVID-19 Health and Safety COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement UPDATE: November 30, 2021 As we evaluate compliance with new King County and City of Seattle Executive Orders requiring vaccines, we will suspend consideration of all vaccine exemptions until further notice. WestSide Baby will require staff and volunteers to be vaccinated by Monday, November 15, 2021, with considerations for exemptions for religious, medical, deeply held personal reasons, and children under the age of 12 (until the vaccine is available to children under the age of 12). We have chosen to require the vaccine because it is proven to be the most effective tool to keep ourselves and others safe and healthy, especially as the children we serve are unable to. Getting…

10Nov 2021 by Toni Sarge

Give JOY! Give Warmth! GIVE with WestSide Baby!

News

Give JOY! Give Warmth! GIVE with WestSide Baby! Give JOY!Give Warmth!GIVE with WestSide Baby! JOY: a source or cause of great happiness This week, our dedicated volunteers and staff are busy filling hundreds of requests for warm coats, rain boots, and other winter essentials. Every single request is handled with care and hope that JOY will be felt when the child receives their items. Give JOY! In the next six weeks, WestSide Baby, with the help of our partner agencies, will distribute over 800,000 diapers and 500+ clothing bags to children within our community. Will you help us spread more JOY this year? Give Dollars for Diapers Give dollars for diapers through a one-time gift, or by subscribing to our Boxes for Babies monthly giving program, where your year-end gift…

08Sep 2021 by Toni Sarge

Diaper Need is an Economic Justice Issue

News

Diaper Need is an Economic Justice Issue By Siona Wadhawan In honor of September's Diaper Need Awareness week, our summer intern, Siona Wadhawan, wrote blog posts highlighting how diaper need is often MORE than just what it seems. Stay tuned for Part II later this month! While families across the U.S continue to face financial burdens exacerbated by the pandemic, diapers are becoming increasingly more difficult to afford. Diaper prices have risen at alarming rates since the beginning of the pandemic, becoming more expensive and inaccessible to working families. According to the Wall Street Journal, prices rose over 12% in under 2 years from the end of 2019 to June of 2021. This rise in prices comes on top of the increased financial hardships families are facing due to Covid-19…

03Aug 2021 by Toni Sarge

Join our board: Currently recruiting new members to start in January 2022!

News

WestSide Baby is currently recruiting new Board members to start in January 2022 Are you dedicated to improving the lives of children and families in your community and do you want to bring your lived experience, community connections, skills, and expertise to a nonprofit working toward social change? We encourage you to apply for a Board of Directors position, to start in January 2022! Interview with WestSide Baby's Board of Director's Vice-Chair, Erin Hulme WSB Staff: What are you and other Board members hoping to learn from new Board members? Erin: We are seeking new Board members with lived experience of the mission of WestSide Baby. As an organization authentically looking to meet community needs, we want our Board members to be able to speak to this need and engage with the true concept of diaper need, not just…

06Jul 2021 by Toni Sarge

Collaboration is key in ending the basic needs gap

Portfolio

Our Provider Partners Part III Erika Schultz / The Seattle Times Collaboration is key in ending the basic needs gap A Deeper Dive into WestSide Baby's Provider Partner Programs Read Part II of our Provider Partner Series In order to ensure WestSide Baby is moving toward our vision, we collect and analyze data on a biannual basis. As Part III and the final part of our Provider Partners Series, we wanted to share some of the data and information we learned in our data collection process in 2020 and in early 2021. Who are our providers? In 2020, we partnered with 83 agencies, 95 programs, and 115 unique sites around King County. Here is the breakdown by Program/Agency focus: How do we ensure our partnerships are equity-focused towards our vision of ending the basic needs gap? …

09Jun 2021 by Toni Sarge

One Year Later: Frequently Asked Questions about WestSide Baby’s Operations and COVID-19 Response

News, Portfolio

FAQ June 1, 2021 ARCHIVED: THIS POST IS NO LONGER UPDATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 2021. King County & WestSide Baby in Phase III WestSide Baby exists to provide basic essentials for children in need. Our operations during the COVID-19 pandemic have, and will continue to, center our community – families furthest from access to essential items. We continue to work through our network of 100+ partner organizations to find out what families need and focus our efforts to source and supply those items. During this pandemic, we will also center the health & safety of our staff, volunteers, and donors by keeping volunteer and item collection within the guidance provided by Public Health Seattle & King County and the Washington State Department of Health. As of June 2021, WestSide Baby is in Phase 3 of our COVID Modified…

30Mar 2021 by Toni Sarge

Building up communities to become whole, together!

Portfolio

Our Provider Partners Part II Building up communities to become whole, together! Partner Agency Highlight: Friends of the Children - Seattle Read Part I of our Provider Partner Series Our partners span multiple disciplines and social services areas including public health, social work, food security, domestic violence, early learning, infant mental health, education, and more. Research supports that the agency partnership model has many positive implications for both the partner agencies and the recipients including increased communication between providers and clients, client program retention, and connection to other services—all of which ultimately contribute to lasting, positive outcomes for families. Friends of the Children Seattle Friends of the Children–Seattle is a chapter of a nationwide organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through salaried, professional mentoring. The national organization was founded…