Since I was a child, I have always gotten a lot of joy out of helping people and it's still continued on into my adult years and I meet people from all over the world that are struggling in ways I cannot fathom.
In 2013 I joined a Facebook support group called the Burnaby Mommy Group which was at 200 members. The rules were that you had to live in the Lower Mainland and of course, be a Mom. Check and check! After a few months, the Founder asked volunteers to take over the Admin role as she was too busy. I also noticed that no one was really posting anything and I thought it was a waste of a great platform. So I signed up and now it's four years later.
In this role, I approve members and review posts. I regularly post events, parenting topics, non parenting topics, things people in our community need to know and everything you could possibly think of. I even started a Files section that categorizes all of our popular topics in easy to ready format with hyperlinks so all of the resources and information is at their fingertips. It's been a lot of work but it's a labour of love!
Last January I decided to host a fun event that focused on the Mompreneurs of the group (Entrepreneurs that are Moms). One of our main (and only rule besides, don't be mean) is that a member may not post about their own business. This is to prevent constant spamming in our group. I understand that Moms have a business to run and want free advertising but the businesses are niche and don't always understand that Sally + many others do not want to buy her nutritional supplements and don't want to see it advertised every week! So to get around this one rule, once a year I will feature 25+ businesses in exchange for discounts and freebies. The last event was run in November (twice in one year due to popular demand) and I ran the entire event in 3 hours. It was a lot of work but so fun to hand out prizes.
Once that was over, I was thinking what other events I could run in the group and came up with the idea of hosting a hamper for a few families in need.
So I created a spreadsheet and linked it to my group explaining that families in need could PM (private message) me with a request to be added to the hamper family list and in exchange I would give them a code word to maintain their privacy. Within 72 hours, I had 12 families signed up. All with different struggles - new immigrants, health issues, domestic violence and single Moms.
The families were asked to fill out their tab of the spreadsheet with requests for clothes, toys, groceries and gift cards.
I then reached out to the group to ask for donations of items or cash. Initially we started out with an email money transfer (no fees) but some of the group was hesitant about that idea so I reluctantly created a GoFundMe account (they take 8% of the proceeds for fees). So far we have $600+ raised and some items being pledged. In early December, a team of volunteers will offer drop off and pick up services so we can prepare for delivery to our families.
I'm now seeking outside of our group to help hit our goal. If you have $5 to spare, I'd really appreciate a donation!
Our GoFundMe is www.gofundme.com/burnabymommygroup
If you are a Lower Mainland Mom - feel free to join our group https://www.facebook.com/groups/burnabymommies/
Bless you and have a wonderful holiday season!
Jodelene