Elysia Douglas has been serving as a birth doula in the Atlanta area for 3 years. She operates under the business name of Mother~2~Mother Labor Support Services. This year she has been looking for something she could do to make a difference in the community through her business. It was tough because the North Fulton area is known to be more affluent and resources often seem to flow abundantly. Read about her mission to provide what many of us with little ones often take for granted: diapers.

* * * * *

I recently became aware of a need in my community through a visit to North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC). While there, I overheard a conversation of a father who needed diapers for his little girl. NFCC could only give him about 10 diapers. As we all know, that meant he would need more diapers by the end of the next day. He asked the director why they couldn't give him more. She explained to him that they get very limited quantities of diapers and they must limit how many they give out in order to make sure everyone gets some.

Having four children of my own, I know what it's like when you're low on diapers. At one point, I had three little ones in diapers at the same time. This really pulled at my heart strings. When parents are low on diapers, they tend to leave them on the babies as long as possible. This can lead to diaper rash and possible other problems for babies. I don’t want to see this happen to babies in my community and I finally realized what I could do.

I decided to organize the Pamper Me, Baby! Diaper Drive and help little ones with one of their most basic, but essential needs. I contacted the director of NFCC’s food drive coordinator, Mel Fortin. Mel thought it was a great idea and gave the approval for me to proceed on behalf of NFCC. This will be the first of many Pamper Me, Baby! Diaper Drives. I hope to make a big push for diapers semi-annually or possibly quarterly. If nothing else, I want to bring awareness to the community of this extraordinary need.

Please contact me at info@mother2motherlaborsupport.com if you or your company would like to make a donation of diapers. Donations can be made via the NFCC website at www.NFCCHelp.org. Under donation information, select "Special Event" and type in "Pamper Me, Baby". The donations are tax deductible and a receipt can be provided at your request.

North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) is a non-profit human service agency dedicated to preventing homelessness of individuals residing north of the Chattahoochee River in Fulton County. NFCC assists families with basic needs such as food, rent and utilities, clothing, and adult education classes during short term emergencies.

Elysia Douglas is a certified birth doula through DONA International and a trained community childbirth educator. Over the last three years, it has been her honor to assist over 50 families in the Metro Atlanta area as their journey of parenthood unfolds. For more information about doulas or Mother~2~Mother Labor Support Services, please visit her website at www.mother2motherlaborsupport.com.