Nonprofit collecting items to help struggling new parents

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Nonprofit, Little Hands Virginia, has launched a Bundles of Joy Drive to support parents in need in the Richmond Metro Area. The campaign is collecting pajamas, socks, diapers, wipes, soap, lotion and diaper cream for new babies.

With new babies, there are a lot of special firsts, especially around the holidays. But for many new moms in the area, the first problem they encounter is meeting the very basic needs of their baby. The team at Little Hands is working to alleviate that burden.

Little Hands collects the supplies and distributes them to partners, such as Social Services and the Health Department.

“That’s really what drove me to start this," said founder Taylor Keeney. "To make sure every mom in the community isn’t stressed about just having diapers or having to put clothes on at night time. Or make sure they’re waking up and putting a clean diaper on their baby. That’s why these programs exist. To take the stress off moms so they can focus on raising their children.”

Items can be dropped off at the West End Branch Library on Patterson Avenue, but Little Hands can arrange a pickup if an organization collects several. You can also buy off of a Target Registry for the organization or make a financial donation. Forty dollars will buy a whole bundle.

“There’s some really special stories that have really touched our hearts as we’ve been helping the Richmond community," said Keeney. "There’s a mom who lost everything in a fire and had a premature baby and was leaving the NICU and she literally had nothing. So, we had the opportunity to put everything together and they reported back that she was so so grateful.”

Bundles will be collected until Dec. 21. The biggest request for individual items is diapers. I

You can donate $40 and Little Hands will complete a bundle, or collect the items yourself:

Each bundle should include:

• 3-5 Onesies
• 2 pajamas
• Sacks
• Pack of diaper & wipes
• Baby soap & lotion
• Diaper cream

Bundles can be for a boy or girl in any size newborn to 24 months. Donate a bundle here.

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