They receive no government funding, and very little official recognition, but their work relieves local, state and federal governments of the huge burden of providing for low-income Americans.
There are charitable groups like the Eastside Baby Corner all over America, operating with extremely low overheads and relying on volunteer labor and the urge of citizens to give, to provide a service with a fiscal worth of many millions of dollars.
In 2007, the Baby Corner collected about $200,000 in cash donations, but provided distributions worth about $4.3 million.
For the Eastside Baby Corner, their business is helping families make ends meet by providing them with clothes, equipment like high chairs and strollers, books, toys, even diapers and baby food.
And with the unemployment rate rising in Washington as the economy continues its contraction, more and more people are relying on the Issaquah-based charity to put clothes on their children’s backs.
The organization was recently recognized by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce for its outstanding commitment to the community.
But now it is the Eastside Baby Corner that is having trouble making ends meet.
For as the recession brings greater demand for their help, now it is affecting the supply of donations, as the families that used to give so freely feel their own financial stresses.
“In the last few months, we’ve seen an enormous drop off in in-kind donations,” said Eastside Baby Corner’s Director of Fund Development and Community Relations, Helen Banks Routon. “We are struggling with dwindling donations as well as rising need.”
Routon said the scene at the group’s warehouse in Issaquah tells a worrying story.
“It used to be that we were getting so many donations that it would form a pile, five or six feet high. Now you can see the floor,” she said. “We are pretty much maxing out our supplies.”
Routon said that parents who were previously donating items, such as clothing, were now trying to make clothes last a little longer, or passing them on to friends or family, as a way of cutting expenses.
“We are also seeing an increase in items being offered for sale on Craigslist, or at consignment stores,” she said.
The Eastside Baby Corner provides assistance to about 160 community agencies, such as Hopelink, YWCA, the Issaquah Food Bank, the Eastside Domestic Violence Program, and Catholic Community Services.
It also provides clothing, books and other items to children in the Issaquah and Lake Washington School Districts.
In a typical week, the charity gives out more than 100 clothing bags, about 140 pairs of shoes, nine strollers, 20 beds and mattresses, 20 carseats and more than 100 boxes of diapers.
But whereas in the past requests for such items were answered by Eastside Baby Corner and turned around in about a week, now backlogs are starting to form.
Increasingly, requests for help are going unanswered.
There is almost nothing more to give.
Issaquah Food Bank Executive Director Cherie Meier recently told The Reporter that her organization had seen a reduction in donations of about a third, the majority of which come from grocery stores.
Meier said the closure of the Albertsons store on East Lake Sammamish Parkway had resulted in the loss of about 10,000 pounds of food a week.
At the same time, demand for what they can provide is growing.
“A year and a half ago, we were serving about 350 families, and today we have 475 families requesting help,” she said.
Meier said that they were in desperate need of a range of items to help local families, including juice, cereal, baby formula and fruit, as well as baby clothing, socks and underwear.
For information on donating to the Issaquah Food Bank, visit www.issaquahfoodbank.org
For information about donating, visit Eastside Baby Corner.
But, Routon said, the dark picture was often illuminated by an increase in effort from volunteers.
And a number of community groups have pledged to rise to the challenge now facing this vital service.
“When we’ve put out the call that things are bad, we’ve had some really good things happen,” she said. “The Issaquah Kiwanis group donated the proceeds of their 80th anniversary auction. And after one of our board members went and spoke with them, the Snoqualmie Kiwanis decided they could do something, and will be holding a drive in early June. We are also getting great help from groups like the Bellevue Presbyterian Church, and the Girl Scouts.”
But, Routon admits, the majority of their donations come from individual families.
And is those families that are feeling the pinch.
The Eastside Baby Corner is not alone.
All across America, and around the world, charities that rely on donations are struggling to cope with booming demand and dwindling supply.
Check these links for more stories.
<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/poverty/news/article.cfm?c_id=286&objectid=10556877
“>http://www.nzherald.co.nz
<a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/livingston/index.ssf/2009/04/livingston_nonprofits_see_fewe.html
“>www.mlive.com/news/livingston
<a href="http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/cmv/news/43118222.html
“>Covington and Maple Valley Reporter
