In Kind Boxes

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May Update

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What a great month May was! We are so excited to have helped some wonderful new organizations via our gift box donation program. We were also lucky enough to be featured in a few Mother’s Day Gift Guides, and we even got a mention in Forbes!!

Organizations we supported this month with gift boxes donated through our Nationwide Gift Box Donation Program are:

Mother’s Day Gift Guides we were included in:

On MSN.com: “Great Mother’s Day gifts that won’t leave you broke” by Trae Bodge

Working Momkind: “Unique Gifts for Mom This Mother’s Day” by Melissa Scheerer

Entreprenista.com “Gift Guide for New and Expecting Moms”

TrueTrae.com: “Mother’s Day Gifts $100 and Under” by Trae Bodge

We are so grateful to our amazing friends Anna Welch Prost & Cheryl Francis who mentioned In Kind Boxes as a local organization that they support or admire. They were recently interviewed for a Forbes.com article titled “Willamette Valley Wine Moms On What Makes Their Region Special” by Jill Barth.

We were very lucky to receive some product donations this month, that we are excited to pass along to you!

Mabels Labels was very generous to send us some of their stickers. They have fun sayings on them “Always tired, Always worth it” & “Mommin’ Ain’t Easy”. These will be included in gift boxes, as well as with swaddle orders. As something special for you, they have offered a discount code to shop in their store!

  • Use code: INKIND10
  • Valid for 10% off sitewide, coupon is not valid on sale, face mask, stamp and reflective products.

We have a very special add on item now available with gift box purchases. Dr. Browns generously donated 300 of their silicone breast pump kits to us!!! We are so excited to be able to donate these to our local partners, along with our gift box donations. Thank you Dr. Browns!

Thank you for your continued support of what we do! We couldn’t do what we do without you.

~Maria

Mamas Making an Impact with Sara Annapolen

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Earlier this month I got to meet with Sara Annapolen for an Instagram Live. The “Mamas Making an Impact” series is all about highlighting moms who are paying kindness forward through their work. This installment was especially fitting because May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and postpartum mental health was something we covered during our conversation. If you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, I hope you do! Go to In Kind Boxes page on Instagram to check it out.

Sara has very graciously donated some of her beautiful hair bows for us to include in gift boxes, while supplies last. Another way that Sara is giving back to In Kind, is by donating partial proceeds from the sale of her Exhale Flower Collection through her shop’s Joy + Justice program. We are so grateful to Sara supporting our mission to help moms in need on their postpartum journey. We hope you’ll go and check out her shop, and support a fellow mom run business.

hair ties with colorful bows tied to them
Gift box filled with organic essentials for new mom and baby

April Update

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This month had many highlights for us. One of the main events for the month was Earth Day Oregon. Earth Day Oregon is a fundraising event for Oregon nonprofits. In Kind’s Sustainable Development Goals are at the heart of our mission. Our two main goals are:

  • Good Health and Well-being
  • Reduced Inequalities

Earth Day Oregon is a way for us to highlight our third goal, which is partnerships for the goals. We were very lucky to have three amazing local businesses step up and support In Kind Boxes this year. We are thankful to Urban NW Homes, Elephant’s Delicatessen, and A to Z Wineworks as our business partners. These businesses brought awareness to our mission on Earth Day via a social media blast, and we are so grateful for their support.

Leading up to Earth Day, we were given the opportunity to be featured on a morning news segment with Jenny Hannsson, and Emily Burris on KOIN AM Extra. Maria was on Live news on April 20th, with A to Z’s Sam Tannahill to discuss why our core values as businesses make a great match for the event. Please click here to watch.

On Earth Day, Rex Hill donated 10% of their online and tasting room sales to In Kind Boxes! Stay tuned to see how much they raised. Again, we are so grateful to our business partners. We know this past year has been tough for businesses, and the fact that they said yes to us, and wanted to support our mission to help moms means a lot.

You have been supporting us in your own way as well. Thank you to friends of In Kind Boxes who hold fundraisers for us! We see your Facebook birthday fundraisers, and it makes our hearts feel so full that you choose In Kind to support. Nike staff, thank you for donating through the Benevity portal. Nike is matching donations made to nonprofits through there, and your support means so much!

If you didn’t know, donations make up the largest part of our funding. Without your donations, we wouldn’t have been able to donate the nearly 200 gift boxes we have in 2021. Every amount, no matter the size, is helpful. We use those funds to purchase the products we fill our boxes with.

Speaking of donations, we were able to send gift boxes to moms in need across the United States because of our Nationwide Gift Box Donation Program. We supported Jace’s Journey, Bottoms Up Diaper Bank in Alabama, and BeLoved Black Birth Centering in California.

Something fun we started on Instagram in April is our IG Live series called “Mamas Making an Impact”. We are using it as a way to build community, and share stories of postpartum to help moms feel less alone in their journey. We are also highlighting women in business who are spreading kindness through their work and giving back. If you don’t follow us on Instagram please do! It’s the best way to stay up to date with what we’re doing.

I couldn’t do what I do without your support. Thank you!

~Maria

Mamas Making an Impact with Vicky Gkarmiri

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This past week we had Vicky Gkarmini on our new Instagram Live series titled, “Mamas Making an Impact“. Vicky is an amazing mama to three boys, and also has her own small business called Next Door Goddess. I asked her to join me on the IG Live last week because she is so fun to talk to, and I knew she had a lot of love and encouragement to offer new moms.

I also had Vicky on the IG Live because she is using her beautiful jewelry to support our mission to help moms. She has designed some lovely bracelets that would make the perfect gift for Mother’s Day, that are available in her shop. Thirty percent of those bracelet sales will be donated back to In Kind Boxes!!! If you have your eye on something else in her shop, Vicky will be donating 10% of those sales to In Kind as well. We are so grateful to Vicky for her kindness and generosity. It means so much to us when people get behind our mission, and support it in their own special way.

On top of all of that, you will find a Next Door Goddess bracelet featuring a lovely freshwater pearl, and the words “Mom Goddess” in gift boxes while supplies last! Go to our shop page to check it out.

We hope you’ll go over and take a look at Vicky’s Nextdoor Goddess shop here.

Thank you for supporting small businesses!

~Maria

March Update

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In March we donated our 100th gift box! One gift box donation delivery day that contributed to that was to the Ronald McDonald House. We delivered 20 gift boxes that day. Those gift boxes are to have on hand for mamas who happen to arrive without their postpartum essentials. We’re happy to be able to provide those to mamas, and be part of the support they receive while at RMHC.

This month we were very grateful to collaborate with the mom owned business Boy Meets Girl USA. Boy Meets Girl USA is a purposeful, edgy, and young streetwear brand that loves giving back. They generously donated Muscle Tanks for us to include in gift boxes. Stacy Igel, their founder, has supported many worthy causes and organizations making a difference in the world, and we’re so thankful she chose us to support. 

Boy Meets Girl Muscle Tanks have been added as an optional add-on item for gift boxes. Quantities are limited, so get yours while you can! These muscle tanks are not only stylish, but also very comfortable, and great for summer. We posted a reel with some easy ways to breastfeed baby, while wearing your tank. 

On March 17th we had something very exciting happen. We were featured on NBC New York Live’s “Female Founded Brands to Check Out”, by Joelle Garguilo!!! Joelle is an awesome woman who is always highlighting small businesses and lifting others through her work. We’re so thankful to her for including us in this amazing lineup!

Other fun things that happened for us this month were hosting two special giveaways. One was a collaboration for mamas, with another mom owned business, Baby Leaf Covers. If you haven’t heard of them, please go and check out their page. Baby Leaf Covers are super versatile and can be used 6 ways, and they’re also very cute, and soft. The other giveaway we did was in honor of World Doula Week. Doulas are such an amazing resource for families. We wanted to thank them for all of their hard work, and offer 3 doulas gift boxes for them to pass along to the families they support.

I’ve also enjoyed spending some time on Clubhouse. I recently created a club called Moms Supporting Moms there, where I am hoping to have rooms that moms use as a safe space to share and connect. If you’re on Clubhouse come and find me! There are so many interesting rooms to be part of. One morning I was even invited to come and share In Kind’s story in a room about kindness. It’s so fun to be able to connect with people from all over through that platform. If you have a chance, it’s worth checking out!

Two final highlights in March were in regards to funding. OnPoint Community Credit Union donated $1000 to In Kind Boxes!!! This will go a long way towards our next big donation delivery day to Virginia Garcia. Second, we received confirmation that our Community Enhancement Program application through the City of Sherwood was approved for a $1000!!! We will be receiving those funds in July, and they will be used towards the gift boxes we donate to the Sherwood Family Resource Center. We’re grateful to the city for approving this for us again this year.

Next month we have lots to look forward to with Earth Day Oregon coming up. We look forward to sharing about our business partners for the event: A to Z Wineworks, Urban Homes NW, and Elephant’s Deli, and amplifying the message of Earth Day together.

~Maria

February Update

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This was a very fun and busy month for us!

Some things that happened locally were that we were able to surprise our local Sherwood School District Staff and Teachers who are expecting (or have newborns) with a donation of gift boxes! We’re so grateful for all of the hard work our schools do to make learning fun for our kids. This has been a tough year for all of us, and we’re happy to provide them gift boxes to support them in postpartum.  Gift box donation deliveries were also made to the Mother and Child Education Center, and to the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center’s Women’s Clinic.

Another way we gave back this month was through our Nationwide Gifting Program. We saw that families in Texas needed our help, and reached out to some organizations in Austin and Dallas. We ended up shipping gift boxes to the Austin Diaper Bank, and the Genesis Women’s Shelter in Dallas. Along with those, we also selected three recipients who had been nominated through our website to receive gift boxes. 

On February 17th, it was Random Acts of Kindness Day. On that day, The Hungry Hero Dessert Co. hosted a cupcake fundraiser for us! Alex baked up some extra delicious cupcakes, and helped us raise $337!!! We are so grateful to Alex, and the Sherwood community for showing up to support us that day. All funds raised go towards purchasing the supplies we use to fill our boxes.

Another exciting thing that happened that day, was that Maria was invited to share about In Kind Boxes in the One Kind Thing Room on Clubhouse. We are grateful to Phoebe Hunt for reaching out and asking us to participate that day. We love the chance to share about our mission to help moms.

We had a few technical difficulties with the website this month, so we took that as an opportunity to make a few updates. You will now find these additional payment options: credit cards (outside of PayPal), and Apple Pay. We also lowered the cost of shipping for US orders, by making it a flat rate of ten dollars. 

One final highlight for us, was receiving our hard copy edition of MORE Magazine. We are so thankful to the amazing Arianna Cruz for asking us to be part of such an incredible project. If you have a chance, you should go and check it out. We can’t wait to see their second issue coming out this Spring!

We are on track to send out our 100th donated gift box in 2021 in the first week of March!!!!

Thank you for your support. We couldn’t do what we do without you. 

~Maria

January Update

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In January we launched our Nationwide Gifting Program. We selected seven mamas to give gift boxes to based on their need, and also on the way they are giving back in their own community. Another donation made was to the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center Women’s Clinic. They received 25 gift boxes, and we plan to be back again in February, as we’ve been told there is a baby boom happening!

We were very lucky to have connected with Sara Kalish last month. She is an amazing photographer, who specializes in newborn photography. Sara hosted a giveaway on her Instagram page for us, and took some beautiful gift box photos for us that we’ll be sharing soon. Thank you Sara for helping us build awareness for what we’re doing. If you are looking for a newborn photographer go and check out her website– Sara now offers virtual sessions!

In other exciting news, our gift box sponsorship program is now up and running in both Chicago, and Seattle. In Chicago gift boxes are being sent monthly to Chicago Birthworks Collective, and in Seattle, Babies of Homelessness. 

We look forward to expanding our reach across the United States, and helping more moms feel loved through the gift of our boxes. Thank you for your continued support. We can’t wait to see what this year brings!

New Programs Announced!

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We are so excited to expand our network of giving across the United States this year!! We want to support more parents on their postpartum journey in 2021. In order to do that, we have increased our reach and opened our Nationwide Gift Box Donation Program. We now have an application process where people can nominate a mama or birthing parent to receive a gift box on us! Applications will be reviewed monthly, and gift boxes will be donated based on need. We are starting the program with donating five gift boxes a month, but we hope to give more as funding and demand increases. To apply for a box, or nominate someone who could use our help click here.

The second program we have opened nationwide is our Gift Box Sponsorship Program. If you’ve ever wanted to support families in your area with In Kind gift boxes, now you can! For a set donation, you can sponsor an organization near you to receive a gift box a month for a year. For more details, please click here.

We would love it if you would continue to share about these programs for us, and help us get the word out. Thank you for your continued support!

~Maria