Spring is just around the corner and so is Nestlings Spring Fashion Show. On Saturday, April 21st at 1:00 pm we will be hosting our first ever Fashion Show Fundraiser along with a Silent Auction.

We will be holding our fashion show at the Macatawa Bank on 8th Street and are partnering with some 8th Street Merchants. Items are being collected and donated for the Silent Auction that will also be held. Hors d’Oeuvres will be served during the event.

Nestlings is supporting quite a few agencies in the area and delivering about 2000 diapers per month to families and babies in need. Without your support of Nestlings and our events we could not help them. Ticket cost is $10.00 for an afternoon of fashion, food and fun so save the date and mark it on your calendar. We look forward to seeing you there and spread the word to all your fashion savy friends.

Now that you have your crisp new 2012 planners cracked open what fun things are you adding to it? Winter in West Michigan can be long if you don’t plan to get out and enjoy one of the many local events going on.

Thanks to Sarah’s Deals, a West Michigan deal blog, you have the opportunity to purchase discounted Griffins Hockey tickets and support Nestlings Diaper Bank at the same time.

Purchase tickets through the link below and $3 per ticket will be donated to Nestlings Diaper Bank which means you will be able to get out to enjoy a Griffins hockey game (at a discount!) and support a local nonprofit organization at the same time. (And while you’re watching the game you can have the added enjoyment of knowing that the $3 ticket donation helps to buy approximately 15 diapers!)

Purchase now here http://griffinshockey.com/promocode

Discount code is sarahsdeals

Ticket Prices: $11 upper seating, $15 lower seating

Valid for the Saturday, January 21 game. Doors open at 6:00pm.

Fun things going on at the game that night include:

• Fleece Hockey Helmet Giveway: The first 1,500 fans will receive a free fleece hockey helmet, courtesy of MetroPCS.
• ZOOperstars: Returning to Van Andel Arena for the second straight season, the ZOOperstars will entertain fans during both intermissions.
• Jersey Auction: Fans will be able to bid on patriotic Griffins jerseys, worn on Salute to Heroes Night (Dec. 3). The jerseys will be signed by the respective players and auctioned off at the Fifth Third Vault following the game to benefit the Griffins Youth Foundation.

Purchase your tickets now here using discount code sarahsdeals and then pass the info on to a friend (forward via email, post on your Facebook page). As with many social events, the more people the merrier! And in this case the more people who purchase tickets using this code the more funds will be raised so Nestlings can provide local infants and children with the basic necessity of a dry diaper.

Thanks! And will hope to see you at the game!

As we close out the year we often look ahead to the new year with anticipation of… filing taxes. ?!?!

While it is certainly not something most of us look forward to we can anticipate with certainty that we will soon have to file our taxes. And that consideration often has us adding up our deductible expenses. If you have diapered children you know what a large expense diapers are. Is the expense of diapering a child tax deductible? No. Unfortunately not.

But your donation to Nestlings IS fully tax deductible!

Diaper need is an ongoing problem and many babies need you. Your tax deductible donation will be helping to care for local infants and toddlers by providing the comfort of a dry diaper for children who are often left in wet or dirty diapers longer than necessary because the parent or caregiver cannot afford diapers.

Why help?

Babies born into low income families have been known to be left in dirty diapers for hours and in some cases days.  When left in wet and dirty diapers babies tend to cry more, causing stress on the caregivers and the child.  This increases the odds of neglect, physical abuse and causes undue stress to the baby during critical emotional and physical developmental years, possibly inhibiting brain growth, learning and social abilities in the future.

Your generosity buys…

$10.00 = 50 diapers

$20.00 = 100 diapers

$30.00 = 150 diapers

$40.00 = 200 diapers

$50.00 & up = 250 or more diapers

How many dry diapers will you help to provide for local babies? 

Please donate here online (look for the blue box in the top left). Prefer to mail a check?  Checks payable to  “Nestlings” can be mailed to 11926 Burning Bush Ct., Holland, MI  49424.  Donations are tax deductible as Nestlings is a 501c3 organization.

We thank you and appreciate any support.  Enjoy a happy and healthy new year with your family and loved ones.

Last month we celebrated 6 months of support – a big milestone for a new nonprofit organization. Today we wanted to share some other examples of the community effort that enables Nestlings to carryout our mission of diapering local infants and children.

Shortly after Thanksgiving we received a $32 cash donation from an office in the Holland area – the result of a Casual Friday collection. It was a wonderful surprise to be selected as their charity of choice.

Other generous donations included a $50 online donation that was made after the Babies Helping Babies Challenge was sent to Moms in Tow members, a group of social active moms in West Michigan. And just last week we were thrilled to receive a check for $80 from a group of PartyLite consultants who decided to collect donations for Nestlings at their monthly meeting.

It was encouraging too when we received an email from a corporation in Holland asking if their order service department could do a December diaper drive and collect financial donations to help Nestlings purchase diapers.

And the $5 donation we received when making a delivery to one of our social service partners was especially heartwarming. The donation was given to us by one of the women who does in-home visits to local mothers in need of additional support. The diapers she receives from Nestlings allows her to give hope and encouragement to moms in Ottawa County. She gets to see first-hand the difference something as basic as diapers can make in the health and well-being of local infants and children. She knows, too, that we will maximize that $5 to purchase as many diapers as possible at the best possible price.

Nestlings truly is a community effort and we are so thankful for the support we receive from individuals and businesses in Holland, and throughout Ottawa County, that enable us to continue supplying a basic need in a child’s early development – diapers.

We look forward to hearing from you or your business if you, too, would like to help us make a difference in our community by diapering children in need.

Tania, Pat, and Amy | Nestlings Diaper Bank

Thanksgiving is…

A holiday.

For thanks.

For giving.

Thanksgiving is…

Family, Friends.

Sharing.

Remembering.

While many of us are preparing to enjoy feasts of food with family and friends, we are reminded that countless others don’t know what they will feed their family tomorrow, or who they can rely on for support and encouragement. And for homes with infants and toddlers not only food is important but diapers, too, are a necessity. Diapers seem like such a simple thing but to low income families the cost of diapers is a large burden and source of stress for mom and baby.

Nestlings mission – working toward happy and healthy families by diapering babies in need – is just beginning and we need your support.

Remember that diapers are an ongoing need.

Would you consider hosting a diaper drive with your church, your office, or even with your friends and family? Nestlings makes it simple for you. Just collect diapers at a central location (Every pack of diapers matters!) We will pick them up, sort, store and deliver the diapers to local organizations where they can be used efficiently.

In this season of giving eating we often think of the hungry. We consider it terrible not to feed a baby for a day, but we rarely consider the health consequences for babies left in dirty diapers all day – a reality for many local families who cannot afford a supply of clean diapers.

Consider making a Thanksgiving wish come true. Make a financial donation so we can purchase diapers in the sizes most urgently needed and continue providing diapers that help local children. (Did you know we can buy an average of 100 diapers with just $20?)

Thanks again for the last 6 months of support. We are giving thanks for many blessings and look forward to helping many more infants and toddlers in the coming year.

Tania, Cheryl, and Amy | Nestlings Diaper Bank

Did you know Nestlings Diaper Bank is just a baby?

We are an infant organization.

Dramatic changes occur in the first six months of a child’s life, and similarly Nestlings is celebrating the growth and development of our newborn nonprofit organization.Since beginning earlier this summer we have been able to collect, sort, and distribute nearly 8,000 diapers that directly benefit local babies.

And the “warehouse” is still a living room.

And our “staff” still consists of the 3 volunteers who started Nestlings. 

(If you missed it, you can read more from the Holland Sentinel article printed back in July: Women form nonprofit Nestlings to meet diaper demands of families – Holland, MI)

And just as growing babies require support and nurturing in order to develop to their potential, Nestlings could not continue to serve the diaper need in Ottawa County without the support from friends throughout the community. The future growth and potential of Nestlings continues to rely on the ongoing support of members of the community.

Soon you will be able to read more updates on the results of the diaper drives that have sustained Nestlings this summer (we have lots of people to thank!), and also where all those diapers have gone (they go out faster than they come in), so if you’ve been wondering what we’ve been up to… stay tuned!

The need for diapers is constant so a continuous supply of diapers is also necessary. Nestlings supply of diapers comes from what is collected at local diaper drives or diapers we are able to purchase when we receive financial contributions.

The other supply of diapers comes from diapers donated by the local community and dropped off at one of several local businesses throughout Holland and Zeeland. These businesses make it easier for the local community to donate diapers anytime to Nestlings by displaying one of our diaper donation boxes in their store or place of business.

Yesterday Nestlings was able to collect 441 diapers that were dropped off at Smedley Dental in Zeeland.

Several collections of diapers have also been picked up from Inspired, a Gathering Place in Holland (next to ImageMakers Salon).

Thanks so much to individuals throughout the community who stopped by these businesses to drop off new packages of diapers as well as the diapers they had left over after potty training and size changes.

If you would like to donate diapers to Nestlings but cannot attend one of our diaper drives you can visit one of these local businesses to drop off diapers (confirming hours of operation with the business is suggested). Nestlings periodically picks up the diapers that are collected and counts, sorts, and stores them so they are available to deliver to local agencies when they place their diaper order with us.

Holland 49423

MacMedia 160 East 19th Street (616) 392-7832

Deanna’s Playhouse 11172 Adams Street (616) 396-7566

Holland 49424

Inspired, A Gathering Place 650 Riley St Ste A (616) 403-0585

Jordan Financial Associates 421 136th Ave (616) 796-8238

Zeeland

Mom & Baby Again 121 E Main Ave (616) 741-9112

Smedley Dental 133 1/2 E Main Ave (616) 772-7010

Howard Miller Public Library 14 S Church St (616) 772-0874

Nestlings is a community effort – Thank you for your support!

The Center for Women in Transition, located in Holland, helps women and children throughout West Michigan deal with the significant life changes that result from domestic violence. Nestlings developed a partnership with the Center for Women in Transition earlier this summer. We have been able to deliver nearly 2,000 free diapers (and in the specific sizes that were needed) which helps their organization support and encourage more women and children as they go through the challenging time of transition in their lives.

What difference do diapers make?

The Center for Women in Transition emailed us recently to thank us for the consistent supply of diapers and shared this story:

Maria* has been attending our Domestic Violence Education and Support Group for quite some time. Maria is a victim of domestic violence and suffered both emotional and physical abuse from her previous relationship. Maria and her children are safe now but the emotional abuse has caused long term damage to her self-esteem. She comes to our office frequently for support. She and her two children don’t have much financially and she struggles to make ends meet. Today when Maria came to our office with her one year old son, she told the crisis staff person that he was in a wet diaper and embarrassingly admitted that she is feeling overwhelmed and doesn’t have enough money to buy diapers right now. Our crisis staff person immediately thought of our recent Nestlings donation, and went to our storage room to get three packs of 12 diapers and a box of wipes. Maria was so thankful for the assistance! Although this doesn’t sound like much to many of us, this was an enormous help for Maria. What a relief it was for her to be able to make her son more comfortable and to have one less stressor in her life!

*client’s name and some identifying info has been changed to protect her identity

Local organizations like the Center for Women in Transition – and numerous other social service agencies in Ottawa County – work hard every day to serve the families that walk in their doors. Nestlings is thankful to support these organizations with free diapers so they can continue their focus on building relationships and empowering families to get through difficult transitions.

This simple basic thing – providing diapers – makes such a direct impact on peoples lives. Thank you for supporting Nestlings so that we can continue making a difference with diapers.

The Great Start Collaborative of Ottawa County is focused on the healthy development of infants and young children. They know how important the first three years in an infant and toddlers early brain and social development are, and how it is significantly impacted by the early relationships the child shares with parents and caregivers.

It is because of this that the Great Start Collaborative and Ottawa County Parent Coalition have coordinated the Dump Truck Diaper Drive in an effort to fill a dump truck with diapers that will support Nestlings mission of providing diapers to families in need. The Dump Truck Diaper Drive is one concrete and effective way to help ensure that all babies in our community grow and thrive.

The dump truck, provided by Denny’s Excavating of West Olive, will be on Main Street in Zeeland during the Pumpkinfest activities on Saturday, October 8. Can YOU help us fill the truck? Your participation will help ensure that babies start life healthy
and ready to learn. Donate purchased packages of diapers or new, unused diapers left over from potty training or size changes (the greatest need is for diaper sizes 4, 5, & 6).

Get on the road to helping us support the ongoing diaper need. One child goes through a truckload during the diaper years.

Nestlings receives diaper orders from local nonprofit agencies who have applied to partner with us. After becoming an approved agency partner we provide an order form so they can simply request from us the quantities and sizes of diapers most needed by the families they currently serve.

When Nestlings began distributing diapers to our agency partners earlier this summer we weren’t sure which sizes would be most requested or most needed but after delivering thousands of diapers in recent weeks we have found – similar to other diaper banks around the country – that the most commonly requested items are size 4 diapers, size 5 diapers, and size 6 diapers. We have found this information helpful so that we can watch for diaper deals on these sizes of diapers and wanted to share these statistics so that those who support us by purchasing diapers and donating diapers might also be aware of the fact that while ALL diaper sizes are needed and appreciated the ones we have distributed the most of so far are sizes 4, 5, and 6.

In fact there is currently a critical need for sizes 4, 5, and 6 so please consider making a donation of $50, $500, or even just $5 so that we can purchase the much needed sizes to fullfil agency orders as soon as possible. You can donate securely through Paypal using the button you see on the right side of the page.

Thank you for your consideration and for sharing this page with your friends who might like to be a part of helping every baby have a clean diaper.