Have you heard about Heiny Helpers?

I am happy to feature this post from guest blogger, Caela Simmons Wood of First United Church of Bloomington, Indiana. Heiny Helpers have plenty of heinys (or is it heinies?); what they need is plenty of help. Here is what Caela has to say about this amazing ministry:

If you're reading this, chances are good that you already know how awesome cloth diapers are. Cloth diapering just one baby can keep about 7,000 "disposable" diapers out of the landfill (I put that in quotes because they don't decompose for at least 500 years!) And it's so much easier on your wallet! Most families who cloth diaper find they can save about $2,000 per child!

But there is a great irony in the world of cloth diapering. The parents who could benefit the most from the financial savings associated with cloth diapering are oftentimes the very parents who can't get together enough cash to begin the process. Sure, saving $2,000 sounds amazing. But when you start looking into the options and find that you probably need at least $200 to get a decent set of diapers together, it starts to look easier to just keep buying disposables one pack at a time.

A few months ago, three mamas at my church got together and decided we wanted to help families experiencing low income, break into the world of cloth diapering. We met a few times to brainstorm and, before we knew it, we had birthed a new organization: Heiny Helpers (yeah, we think our name is pretty cute, too. Thanks!).

The mission of Heiny Helpers is to provide cloth diapers and cloth diapering support to families with low income in Bloomington, Indiana. We do have dreams of someday moving outside our Midwestern college town -- but, for now, we've got to stay local. We are partnering with two local establishments that sell cloth diapers -- The Green Nursery and Bloomington Area Birth Services -- to purchase new diapers. We are also soliciting donations of used diapers far and wide.

In our first few weeks of operation, we have already discovered that we're tapping into a much-needed service. We have already put 10 babies in cloth and we've received requests for cloth from Michigan and Georgia. Unfortunately, we aren't set up to help those folks yet.

If this is something that sounds good to you, we could really use your help. Right now, we're living off a generous start-up grant, but those funds will soon be depleted. We are in need of cash donations and also welcome donations of new or gently used diapers. Please check our website for more details on what we can use and our contact information for shipping.

Also, if you are a blogger or have any other media connections and would like to help us spread the word about Heiny Helpers, we'd love to be in partnership with you. Please email us and follow our shenanigans on our Facebook page.