Jessica Stein | A Girl Travels

I first learned about Baby Buggy through Urban Girl Squad. Established in NYC in 2001 by Jessica Stein, Baby Buggy works with a network of over 50 community based organizations (CBOs) to distribute new and gently used essentials: from cribs and strollers to clothing and bottles, all of which are vetted for safety.

How It Works:

Baby Buggy distributes product through 50+ carefully selected CBOs, each of which apply annually to become a recipient. Each month, the organizations submit the items they need for the families they serve. Based on available inventory, Baby Buggy does our best to fill these requests, providing approximately 60,000 items each month.

What They Give:

Since their inception in 2001, Baby Buggy has donated over 5.9 million items including more than:

6,700 Cribs
6,700 Strollers
4,000 Front Carriers
3,300 Highchairs
2,800 Bath Tubs
2,200 Baby Monitors
2,400 Playpens

How to Give:

Give Gear
Give Time
Give Money
Organize A Drive

Visit Baby Buggy to learn more

Love AGT :)

Forestdale, a child welfare agency headquartered in Queens, is a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the inner-city families of Queens that dates back more than 150 years. Their involvement in the community allows them to touch the lives of nearly 1,000 New York City families each year with programs like; Foster Care, Teen Parents in Action (Teen Health Clinic), Family Crisis Intervention (Preventive), their nationally-recognized Fathering Initiative, and their Educational Excellence and Workforce Development Initiative.

Last week over a hundred people danced to music by celebrity DJ Teal, viewed a gallery showcase from the Forestdale youth, bid on silent auction items donated by friends of Forestdale, sipped coctails, and enjoyed passed hors d’oevers and musical performances by Broadway actors Maura Kelly, Pamela Stein, and Nick Tangorra in support of Forestdale’s annual gala event at Stitch Bar in NYC.

Broadway actors Maura Kelly and Pamela Stein

Reverend Dr. Alfonso Wyatt gave the invocation and Benefit Chair Sinead Whelan and Executive Director Anstiss Agnew welcomed everyone to the event, then special attention was given to Peter Vallone(Former NYC Council Speaker) and Jetblue Airways for their support. Jetblue Airways has helped them build a playground for children in foster care and those experiencing a family crisis, helped them send teens on college tours, and hosted a toy drive for children without families and for families living in shelters. Forestdale received a big surprise when representatives from JetBlue informed them they would be receiving $25,000 to help with assist more students and families.

Executive Director Anstiss Agnew with a rep from Jetblue Airways

Executive Director Anstiss Agnew with Peter Vallone

The silent auction had lots of cool items to bid on from a necklace and earring set donated by Mina D, Mets and Yankees tickets, throwback jerseys from Patrick Ewing and , a signed baseball by David Wright (NY Mets), and lots of other goodies.

The event was so much fun to attend and I learned a lot about the organization and how they plan to impact their community in a positive way. Forestdale’s goal is to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, homelessness and despair that cycle through multiple generations of our country – the wealthiest in the world. In order to effect systemic change, our society must come together and create a corps of volunteers as a human safety net.