Dan's Papers - August 17, 2007 - Recycle, Volunteer, Give

What is America's favorite pastime? I think it is clear that the answer is babies. When we were young - two or three years of age - it was the happiest time of our lives. We valued our parents, our candy and our toys, and seemed to bask in our own self-fulfillment everyday. Baby Buggy, a charitable organization that collects old baby essentials and distributes them throughout the New York area, is working to provide every baby with the same childhood that we all loved so much.

Baby Buggy started in 2001 and has been thriving ever since. Since its opening, the non-profit organization has supplied New York children over two million everyday essentials, such as clothing, baby cribs and many more usual household objects average parents would find in their child's room. Baby Buggy, along with its 80 social security officers, always makes the child or the family in need the main priority.

Now, Baby Buggy will be having a drive out in the Hamptons to collect any sort of baby paraphernalia, which may not be as important to you anymore as the kids grow older. The drive will continue until Saturday, August 18. In the second consecutive year that the organization has come out to the East End, Baby Buggy will be raising money and items for the Retreat in East Hampton, the Human Resources of the Hamptons in Southampton and the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center.

According to Baby Buggy, over 500,000 children in New York live in poverty. Baby Buggy's goal is to decrease that number as much as possible through extensive work, benefits and charity drives. Their dedication is not trumped by any other company in New York, as the organization has redirected over two million donated items to families in need around New York City.

Baby Buggy has teamed up with many other charity and non-charity organizations in order to remain a prominent organization in the world of philanthropy. The group has formed an alliance with NYC Health and the Hospitals Corporation, which has enabled them to send over 3,000 "safe sleeping" places to Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Buchwick. Now, as the Bedtime Bash project has become more successful, the three generous companies will bring the same project to the Bronx.

Baby Buggy, with the Department of Homeless Services' Homelessness Prevention Program, has also donated child items to over 1,700 families who were fighting to hold on to their houses. This makes it easier for a family to pay its rent without fretting about its child's well being. Not only is Baby Buggy helping many babies stay out of extreme poverty, but it is also helping many families.

In 2006, Baby Buggy merged with Nurse Family Partnership in order to help even more families located and living in the five boroughs. Nurse Family Partnership pairs nurses with mothers who are raising a first-born child with little money. Their nurse teaches the inexperienced mother how to care for and support her child. The goal of the organization is to teach mothers who are living in poverty around New York how to display warm and healthy parental skills.

If you want to continue to donate to charities like Baby Buggy, you are encouraged to call any of the local organizations out on the East End such as The Retreat in East Hampton at 631-329-4298, Bridgehampton Child Care Center in Bridgehampton at 631-537-0616, Human Resources of the Hamptons in Southampton at 631-283-6415, Peconic Community Council in Westhampton Beach at 631-727-6931 or Hispanic Outreach Ministries in Riverhead at 631-369-4601.

Baby Buggy's drive will last on the South Fork until Saturday, August 18. Money and items donated will be redirected to the Retreat in East Hampton, the Human Resources of the Hamptons in Southampton and the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center. For more information about Baby Buggy, you can visit their website by going to . There, you can find out about their current drives and future drives out on the East End or anywhere else in New York.