When I was invited to my coworker’s baby shower, it wasn’t a standard games-gifts-gab type of party. Instead, a small group of us volunteered at Basically Babies, an Alberta charity that supports “extreme need” families who have a newborn baby by providing a layette containing a full year’s supply of clothing.
Although it was my first time hearing about Basically Babies, the organization has been around for over 30 years. The initial idea began in 1994 when a group of six young moms realized that, while babies require a lot of gear, they all had too much. The friends wanted to find a way to give some of their baby gear to others in the community.
And, like a baby, the organization grew and grew. In its early days, Basically Babies was supporting about 10 to 15 families each year with a layette. Today, that number reaches up to 1,100.
What’s a layette?
A layette is the gift of a complete first-year baby wardrobe. Each basket contains approximately 120 items and is stuffed full of outfits, snowsuits, jackets, sweaters, sleepers, shoes, socks, and other baby items. The clothes and sizes are chosen based on the sex and birthday of the baby. After all, a baby born in January will need much smaller winter wear than one born in May.
Layettes are distributed with the help of a network of partnering organizations that identify families in extreme need and make a request on their behalf. While no two situations are the same, extreme need often includes new refugees and immigrants to Canada, mental and physical health concerns, unemployment and legal barriers, homelessness and addictions, and mothers who are escaping abusive situations.
Build-a-basket
When my group arrived at the Calgary location, we were shown an introductory video about the history and reach of Basically Babies before embarking on a guided tour of the facility.
The care and attention put into these baskets cannot be overstated. The 2,850 square-foot warehouse featured rows upon rows of colour- and size-coordinated ready-to-pack clothing items, bags for sorting, and bins of categorized clothes to be cleaned and sized.
Our time was spent with the donation bags. It was super fun chatting and laughing with my coworkers as we each went through bags, occasionally sharing our discoveries with the group. My bag contained the adorable baby clothes that I believe were from the 80s. I felt emotional imagining a loving mother dressing her baby like an adorable little doll in matching sets and hand-knitted sweaters. Whoever that baby had once been, they’re likely all grown up now, and someone loved them very much.
Quality counts
While my bag of clothes was truly charming, many of the items were too outdated to include in layettes. Others had too much wear and tear, be it wonky zippers or faded milk stains. It’s incredibly important that the items donated to Basically Babies are in the best possible condition, because for too many vulnerable families, “secondhand” often means “second-rate.” A layette is about dignity just as much as it is dressing babies.
At the end of our volunteer session, we had several baskets of immaculately clean, mended, modern, and high-quality babyware. Whatever didn’t make the cut would be recycled for fabric to be made into bibs or washcloths, or donated to Goodwill, a Basically Babies partner organization that allows extreme-needs families to shop for free.
How to help
Basically Babies is always accepting donations of clean, good quality, gently used, or new baby clothing sized up to 24 months, as well as small baby supplies or items during their office hours in Calgary and Edmonton. Financial donations are also welcome.
You can also help out by volunteering! Whether you’re looking for a regular commitment, want to attend the monthly evening drop-in session, or are curious about doing a private volunteer session like we did, check out the Basically Babies website for more information.
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