Those suffering the stresses and financial strains that come with being a young mother need look no further, as a new community group is here to help.
Hoboken Moms Helping Moms is a group that, after humble beginnings, has begun to make its mark as a charity providing mothers with much-needed items for their young ones.
Donated items were first held in the garage of Bridget Nunan, who saw the need for a place where mothers could drop off or pick up items such as strollers, diapers, food, bedding, clothes, wipes, toys, and more.
“A lot of my mom’s friends had babies, and they always had extra things,” said Nunan, who started the drive last year. “Everyone was always giving things away because they didn’t fit their children or didn’t need them anymore.”
Nunan said she began holding “baby drives” so that mothers could have a place to not only get rid of unneeded goods, but also pick up free items if they needed them.
“It’s really fostering a sense of community between everybody.” – Bridget Nunan
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Nunan decided to reach out to other mothers through both the popular Hoboken Moms Yahoo! newsgroup,which has thousands of members, as well as other hospital-based support groups.
“In Hoboken there are a lot of mothers that are less fortunate and need [things] and can’t purchase them,” said Jackie McCormack, one of the moms in the group.
McCormack said that after assisting Nunan with four “baby drives,” the need for a bigger space became evident.
“The fourth drive was too big to hold [in a garage] anymore,” said McCormack. “Too many showed up and it got a little crazy.”
“We’re certainly growing, and we have a really great group of six moms who all work really hard to make all this stuff happen,” added Nunan.
Since its growth and recent popularity, the group decided to secure a community room within the Housing Authority building at 211 Jackson St. Their first drive at the new location will be held Saturday, June 23 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., and currently has 23 mothers signed up.
To donate, attend the drive, or for more information on the group, email hobokenmomshelpingmoms@gmail.com.
Moving forward
As the group grows, McCormack said that they have begun contacting mothers to get a better grasp on transferring items from one parent to another.
“We like to do a match of people,” said McCormack, adding that the group also assigns times for mothers to attend the drives in order to avoid overcrowding.
The group has begun collecting pickups from moms in order to encourage more donations.
McCormack said that they will now hold a “baby drive” every three months. After Saturday’s drive, the group will likely host another one in September.
McCormack said that the group is considering on getting donations from local businesses.
“Right now, we just have individual families giving donations,” said McCormack. “I think it would be nice to engage a lot of local businesses that are geared toward families.”
Community response
Nunan said that since she began the group roughly a year ago, the response from the community has been more than encouraging.
“It’s been amazing,” said Nunan. “The moms who come are just so grateful.”
Nunan said that the group has developed the habit of letting donators know where there items of ended up.
“We share stories with the moms who donate to let them know that their stuff has really gone to a great place,” said Nunan.
McCormack and Nunan said that many mothers have begun pitching in and volunteering their time assisting the group with its drives.
“A lot of these moms have begun volunteering their time at the drives with us,” said Nunan. “It’s really fostering a sense of community.”
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.