In honor of Mother’s Day, HomeAid Orange County is collecting baby essentials as part of its annual Young Lives Campaign.
The nonprofit is collecting donated items at locations around the county, including two spots in Newport Beach: the YMCA on University Drive and the Fairmont Hotel on MacArthur Boulevard.
Items such as diapers, baby wipes, baby food and hygiene products will be collected for homeless families in Orange County.
The organization will collect through Mother’s Day.
It is HomeAid’s 5th Annual Essentials for Young Lives Campaign. They have partnered with the Children and Families Commission of Orange County for the county-wide effort.
Last year, the campaign collected 321,565 babies items, valued at more than $360,000.
“This year the campaign has more than 25 companies and community organizations throughout Orange County who have volunteered to serve as donation sites for the 2012 Essentials for Young Lives drive,” said Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens. “With wide-spread community support, we hope to reach our goal of collecting one half million items.”
Hutchens is the honorary chair for the Essentials for the campaign. She is inspired by how the community rallies each year to help those most in need, she said.
“We are so grateful for the assistance of Essentials for Young Lives in helping us serve the thousands of women and children who turn to us in their times of crisis,” said Scott Larson, Executive Director of HomeAid Orange County. “These contributions are critical to the health and safety of at-risk babies and their mothers, and they send an inspiring message to struggling families that the Orange County community cares about them.”
Donations are divided among 16 agencies that serve homeless families across the county and have partnered with HomeAid.
The list of public donation drop-off sites is available online at www.essentialsforyounglives.org.
