By: Madison Keatings
As the Edmonton winter approaches, the vulnerability of many in our community is on the rise. Combating this vulnerability is the Alberta-based charity Basically Babies. Basically Babies began in 1994 when a small passion project of helping other young moms taking place in a basement, transformed into a full operation serving both the Greater Edmonton Area and Calgary. Basically Babies reaches families in extreme need through the fabrication of layettes—layered gift baskets that solve the one-time need of outfitting a baby during their first year of life. Layettes provide a total of 120 baby essentials and clothes.
Janet Sadowski is among the group of women that jump-started this project and has been involved from the ground up. Having worked with the organization for over 27 years, she now sits on the charity's Board of Directors and continues to volunteer in a number of capacities. Janet reflects on how being a part of Basically Babies has altered her life saying, “Seeing the need that’s out there completely changes your perspective on the world around you. It makes us realize how much we have and softens our hearts to those who have so little.” There are hundreds of families in Alberta alone who have little to no resources. Using the abundance of resources from other families to “outfit newborns in need”, was the charity founder, Shannon Stewart’s vision.
Basically Babies operates through a network of partnered recipient organizations. Agencies in the Greater Edmonton Area and Calgary identify families that will benefit from the service that Basically Babies offers. A variety of criteria is then considered by the charity including income, level of education, native language, place of origin, and family support when approached with a case. Selected families are faced with a wide range of challenges. But regardless of these challenges, whether it be homelessness, abuse, refugeeing, or teenage pregnancy—Basically Babies vows not to judge a person for the situation they are in. Janet explains how the layette is much more than a gift basket, “We want to help these families to celebrate their child, and provide the layette as an educational tool. The construction of the layette teaches families how to use and layer clothing and an opportunity to bond and learn from the caseworkers that deliver it.” While the delivery process is not conducted by the Basically Babies team themselves, Janet reflects on the opportunities she has had to speak with some of these families after their experience: “The times that I have had the opportunity to talk to the families we have gifted to about what it meant to them, many of them expressed how deeply it touched them that strangers would do such a thing. And how it has helped significantly in reducing their worries, to know that their baby is taken care of.” During our interview, Janet addressed that while the charity is not solving all of the challenges that recipient families face, Basically Babies is proud that its partnerships with other health-care and social-work agencies in the community attempt to provide the long-term life-skill building support so desperately needed by these struggling families.
I had the enlightening experience of touring the Basically Babies Edmonton warehouse and got to witness the layette construction process from the beginning. From the minute donations come through the door, attention to detail is of the utmost importance. At Basically Babies, a high standard of excellence is embraced by numerous hardworking volunteers. The warehouse is lined with aisles of clothing materials, blankets, plushies, and other layette essentials—each one having been examined, organized, washed, stain-treated, and ironed, multiple times to ensure and maintain pristine condition. To operate and expand the organization, an incredible amount of manpower is required. Having said that, there are three main ways you can help!
The first way you can contribute to Basically Babies and their charity work is by volunteering. Basically Babies is consistently looking for volunteers. To begin, head over to the Basically Babies’ website linked below to fill out a form declaring your interest in volunteering. Following this, volunteers will be provided with an application form—and a potential interview. Another way you can contribute to the work that Basically Babies does is by starting and contributing to related conversations. Janet explained to me the importance of doing this by saying, “As soon as we see the need that's out there, it becomes easier to talk about these issues, and help these families.” For this reason, please consider sharing our various posts about our work with the organization, and any other information about Basically Babies online. Lastly, you can contribute to the organization by donating. Basically Babies accepts various forms of donation, including clothing and baby essentials, financial donations, and donation drives. Check out their website for more details regarding donation policies.
On Saturday November 19th, 2022 from 10 AM to 4 PM, Champions of Change will be carrying out a fundraiser in which all proceeds will be donated to Basically Babies. The fundraiser will consist of a bottle drive in which participants will go door to door in teams collecting bottles. The meeting point and location of the trailer being used for storage during the collection is in the South parking lot of the Terwillegar Recreation Centre, at 2050 Leger Road NW, Edmonton AB. The sign-up sheet for the bottle drive is linked below, please consider donating your time! You can also take part in our fundraising drive by dropping off your bottles at our trailer during the designated hours, or by making financial donations by e-transfer to chmpchng@ualberta.ca.
For more information on the organization’s story, the layette process, and how you can get involved, check out the Basically Babies website at: www.basicallybabies.org.
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