Signs You Need A Career Change & How To Turn Your Passion Into Purpose | Baby2Baby Founders

We talk about diapers perpetuating the. cycle of poverty. So, if you don't have. six to eight diapers to drop your child. off at daycare, you can't go to work and. you can't go to a job interview. So, they're stopping. It's really like a. block for women and parents being able. to go to work. So, it's really this. symbol of poverty. That's how we look at. diapers. Hey everyone, I've got some. huge news to share with you. In the last. 90 days, 79.4%. of our audience came from viewers and.

listeners that are not subscribed to. this channel. There's research that. shows that if you want to create a. habit, make it easy to access. By. hitting the subscribe button, you're. creating a habit of learning how to be. happier, healthier, and more healed. This would also mean the absolute world. to me and help us make better, bigger, brighter content for you and the world. Subscribe right now. The number one. health and wellness podcast. Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. The one, the only Jay.

Shetty. Hey everyone, welcome back to On. Purpose, the number one health podcast. in the world, thanks to each and every. one of you that come back every week to. listen, learn, and grow. Now, you know, one of the things I'm fascinated about. is people who find a passion and are. able to turn it into a purpose. People. who have a cause that they care about. and they're able to get organized around. it to make a change and impact in the. world. And today's guests have done. exactly that. Nora Weinstein and Kelly.

Sawyer Patrickoff are the co-CEOs of. Baby to Baby. Baby to Baby is a national. nonprofit organization that serves more. than 1 million children living in. poverty every year. Serving children. across all 50 states, Baby to Baby. distributes diapers, formula, clothing, and basic necessities that every child. deserves. The organization has. distributed over 450 million essential. items to children in homeless shelters,

domestic violence programs, foster care, hospitals, underserved schools, and. families who have lost everything in the. wake of disasters. Since last year, delivered more than 1.5 million. emergency supplies to children affected. by the Maui wildfires. Please welcome to. the show Nora and Kelly. Thank you both. for being here. Thanks for having us. And I'm so grateful to have you both. here. And honestly, when my team and I.

met you both last year, we got to come. and join your volunteer program, which. was a service day for our team. We made. a commitment at the company that we. wanted to find programs that meant. of some importance to the team, causes. that people were passionate about on the. team, and yours was right up there, and. the team wanted to get right behind it. And getting to be there that day and. learn about the incredible work you were. doing, I was totally blown away. Uh very much in admiration of both of. you and your stories and journeys. And.

then of course, I got to attend your. gala, which was phenomenal and. spectacular. And I can't even remember. now how much you raised. Was it 12. million in that gala that you raised? Like We remember it was 12.6. We're. like, hold on. I was like, this is Yeah, yeah. 12.6 to be I love that, Kelly. Good. Be exact. It was just a It was. incredible to see just two people who. are so passionate about a cause, active on it every day, and creating. amazing value from it. So, congratulations first of all, and thank. you for this opportunity. Thank you. Yeah. All right. Well, let's dive.

straight in. Uh Nora and Kelly, I want. to talk to you both individually and. collectively about your respective. journeys. This is not what you've done. forever. I believe it's 12 years now. that you've been building Baby2Baby. We. just hit 13. Just hit 13. Amazing. Congratulations. So, let's talk about. your individual journeys. And I want to. find out when you were in your previous. lives, was this a passion of yours? Was. this something you were aware of or were. you lost in a completely different. world? Whoever wants to go first. I will.

I. looking back. I think this makes so much sense that. this is where I've ended up. Um. as a kid, I was giving back. I think. it's really important when parents. instill that in their children. Um I. went to Hebrew school and. giving back was a core part of what we. learned. We had something called sadaka, which was bringing change every week to. school and whatever you could collect in. your house and that money was going to.

go toward helping others. We also had. a food pantry that was attached to our. temple and we would go on the weekends. and my parents would bring me and we. would give food to people who were. less fortunate. Fast forward, I became a lawyer. And in my law firm, Skadden Arps, which. I love dearly, it's a big corporate law. firm doing giant securities cases, but. there's an option to do pro bono work. And pro bono work is obviously helping.

people who are less fortunate without. charging them. Um and that's what I. gravitated to immediately because it was. just to me that was so obvious. Why. would you want to work on a big. automotive or oil case when you got to. help a low-income woman get housing. So, it was a no-brainer to me. I was I was. so thrilled to have the opportunity to. do that from the law firm and that's. just all I wanted to do. So, looking. back. I was going toward this direction of. giving back and Baby to Baby is.

certainly a huge extension of that, but. I do think it was always there and I do. think it's important to. teach your children about giving back. from a young age. I think a lot of the. people we meet on this journey. that care, they started caring as a. child. Mhm. I love that. Thank you so. much. Kelly, same question. Well, I was a model. So, you know, you. wouldn't think of that probably as a. giving back career, but it was a career. that took me all over the world, but.

also. when I was home in my home base of New. York, I would volunteer at a Head Start. center in Harlem that I knew people who. worked there. And so, I would work with. kids in my free time. I always loved. being with kids. I wanted to be a. teacher when I was younger. And so, I. was in the classroom with these children. and they had no shoes that fit, clothes. that were, you know, too small. They. would wear the same clothes to school.

every day. They wouldn't come to school. because they didn't have these basic. things. And so, that sort of instilled. in me this. you know, need to help children with. basic essentials. Like I saw what could. happen if they didn't have them. They. couldn't get an education. They wouldn't. show up to school. So, that was. something that was part of my free time, but I loved it so much. I was really. passionate about it. And when I moved to. LA and Nora and I met, my father-in-law. happened to introduce us cuz he knew I.

had a passion for giving back to. children in need and Nora did as well. So, he set us up on a blind date. And. that was how we met. And so, it all sort. of happened from there. That's genius. Yeah. What I'm I'm sure he's taking all. the credit now. That's. He definitely is. Trust me. That's amazing. No, what I love about. both of those stories independently and. I love what you're saying Nora, this. idea of how. giving back has been a part of your. culture ever since you were young. And I. can definitely identify that and. recognize that. I remember my parents.

didn't have a lot growing up, but giving. back was always part of their life. And. I think even when I was growing up, there were times in my mind where I. thought, "When I have more, I'll give. more." Uh-huh. But I found that that was. the wrong mindset, it was the wrong. mentality. What I found is whatever I. have, whatever I can give, is a great. place to start, whether it's time or. energy or money or whatever else it may. be. And I guess. did you feel like in your career, Nora, when you were going down that path and. you were choosing pro bono work, did.

that positively or negatively affect. your career? And and how did that. impact, you know, being a lawyer and. navigating that world? It it was. positive in every way because, again, I. the the the big firms do take on this. pro bono commitment and they owe the. hours and so they need some of their. associates and partners to be people who. love it. Um and so I that was that was. lucky. And then you get so much legal. experience because at a big firm.

big complex cases, as a junior lawyer, you're having a very minor role in a big. complex case. And pro bono cases, you. work directly with individuals and so. you you're you advance that much more. quickly. You're you're in court, you're. in front of judges, you're with a. client. And so I I actually think it's a. win-win for the law firms because you're. you're gaining experience. and also Yeah. giving back. Yeah, the. reason I ask is I feel like people. always feel and I wonder whether you.

come across this, but I I feel a lot of. people always feel like if I give back. I'm going to slip behind. Right. to fall behind or if I focus on that. And I remember I was at a consulting. firm, Accenture. Uh-huh. And giving back. was a big part of their culture as well. and we had service days in the company. and uh we had something called ADP, which was Accenture's area of doing pro. bono work and it was encouraged, but I. find that that's newer and growing now. Mhm. Whereas, you know, I I imagine like. 10, 20 years ago, that wasn't the norm.

So, Kelly, how have you felt about that. in terms of like this identity of giving. back? Do you feel like it's. kind of seen positively or is it always. something that people think, "Oh yeah, I'll think about that later." How do. people approach that? I think what we do. at Baby to Baby is we try and make. giving back fun and interesting and we. try and make it for whether you're an. individual, a company, you want to come. with your, you know, whole class from. your school and you're a teacher. So, we. try and make it, you know, fun and.

trendy and we've tried to like, you. know, bring some excitement into giving. back. And as you saw when you came for. your team building day, I think it's. really working and I think we get so. many great. different organizations from, you know, your team or the Girl Scouts come in or. we'll have classrooms full of kids, but. we also have big studios come in and. different companies come in for their. give back day and we've been able to. really make that part of Baby to Baby.

from day one. People love it. People I I. I agree that it's changed, but I think. and I think for. um. reasons for all kinds of reasons. I. think a a lot of individuals are just. love it and love giving back. I think. children organically like to give back. I think companies have to give back and. so there are companies that have it in. their culture because it's organic and. the leaders want it and there are. companies that just have to have it.

because I think employees demand it. So, what we're finding is that when we, you. know, we're obviously a national. organization, but even in our. headquarters our volunteer sessions. where we have the most they fill up in. seconds after we put up and we have two. two of them. we have sessions twice a day and the. minute they open up about a month ahead. of time and they are they fill up. immediately and people are calling to. get, you know, can they come later at. night? Can they come on the weekends?

People want to teach that they people I. think are desperate to teach their kids. to give back and I think actually the. more they have a lot of times people rec. you know people are they recognize how. much they have and I think they really. think it's a responsibility. especially if they didn't grow up that. way. I think we talked to a lot of. people who didn't grow up with as much. now find themselves in situations where. they have so much and they don't know. how to teach their kids the way that. they were taught and how could someone. in a privileged situation teach their.

kids that that is not how the world. lives and so I think people are just. dying for dying for I think people are. are really craving opportunities to give. back and I don't think there are that. many. So we have found that it's often. expensive to have people volunteer or. there's nonprofits that are on a smaller. scale where I'm sure they would want. help but they can't always afford to. have people come in. It's messy, it's. time consuming and so there aren't as. many programs as there actually used to. be and so I think when people identify a.

place that can really use them in a way. where they know that they're being used. in a purposeful manner and not just. doing busy work and when they're at Baby. to Baby they're seeing they are folding. outfits for children and putting. together. We try to make it very. specific so that people understand how. they're giving back and even though we. talk a lot about big numbers and 450. million items we're giving out in a. million kids people want to focus on. individuals. So when they're folding an. outfit and choosing what outfit to give.

a two-year-old who's in foster care who. they know is coming in such a horrific. circumstance and they're going to get to. choose the outfit that goes to this. child who's in such need people feel a. lot of pride and want those. opportunities. Absolutely. Yeah, I. remember when we were there that day I. felt your team did a phenomenal job. Obviously we met but I thought you and. your team did a great job of educating. us in what we were actually doing and. and where it was going and how it works. and I and I found that to be you're so.

right. Like as a volunteer, you felt so. much more closely connected to the work. that was going on. So, when you both. meet, was it love at first sight? Was it. like, "I love this person. We're in. sync. Like, we should do something. together." Like, what was that energy. like? Because obviously this was a a. warm intro, I guess. It was from someone. you trust and respect. But, what what. was what came out of that initial. meeting? So, we had dinner with our. husbands. um just down the street. And um we were, you know, probably 10 minutes of the. conversation was about I was giving.

back, you know, I was modeling, living. in New York, just moved here, and giving. back at the Head Start Center. Nora told. me about her pro bono work with women. and children. So, we sort of connected. on that and then sort of went on our. merry way. And that was kind of it. And. then, I think we reached out to each. other um later on, but it wasn't that it. wasn't like the next day. It was a. little while later, and we had coffee, and we were talking about like how could. we start something? What could we do to.

help, you know, women and children? That. was both of our passion. And what we. decided to do was go and meet with. different nonprofits in Los Angeles at. the time and see what was missing. So, we went to homeless shelters, domestic. violence shelters, um Head Start. centers, schools, um. and we asked what was missing. Where. what was the need? And across the board, no matter who we talked to, it was, "Oh, we're doing the programming, but what's. missing is families are struggling to.

afford diapers, food, these basic. essentials." And sort of a light bulb. back to the Head Start Center where I. saw the children who couldn't come to. school cuz their shoes were three sizes. too small or they hadn't eaten breakfast. or all of these basic things that their. needs weren't being met. And it all came. together, and what happened was we um. talked about what we wanted to do. Diaper need was one of the things that. every single person said. Wow. And at the time, you know, there.

was this statistic that one in three. families were struggling to afford. diapers. Obviously now, later, 13 years. later, unfortunately, that statistic is. that one in two families now struggle to. afford diapers. So, we kept hearing this. theme of like diaper need, diaper need, and what could we do about it? And so, it was a problem that we kept seeing. that we wanted to solve. And so, day. one, that was sort of like, "Okay, how. could we make this work? What could we. do together to fix this?" So, that was.

sort of like the lightbulb moment for. both of us. I love that process and I. want our audience to take note of that. because I think one of the biggest. things I hear from my community is, "Jay, I care about so many things. How. do I choose what to focus on?" Like, there are so many challenges in the. world and I don't know how I fit in. And. I think often those questions are very. sincere and genuine, but they stop us. from making change and having an impact. because we kind of get lost in. decision-making and choosing. And I love. that approach that you both had of,

"Let's actually go and research. Let's. go and learn. And let's listen to say, 'Where's the gap? What's missing? How. can we solve that?'" And sorry, go on, Norrie. Yeah, I can see you like. because it it is all of that, but it's. asking the people who need the help. And. I think that was like the key that we. discovered, which was that we And this. is. helped us for 13 years, is that we can't. assume what someone. needs. You have to go to the community. and ask. And that helped us on day one.

when we were asking, "What is the basic. need?" So, that you'd understand cuz I. don't think it's what we were expecting. We weren't expecting that they were. going to say the whole need is diaper. need. We But then it made sense when we. listened. Well, no one's going to come. to our parenting class. No one's going. to come for a well visit. No one's going. to file their insurance claim. We can't. get to these. people, specifically moms, if they have. a baby in a dirty diaper. It's just. logically doesn't make sense. But then. today, with when we're dealing with our.

disaster relief program, and we talk to. we're talking to our team is talking to. families or the social service agency. that serves the families in a disaster, again you're saying, "Don't assume what. someone needs in this particular. hurricane. Ask them." Because maybe. they'll say, "Well, in this case the water has been. contaminated and we need water before we. need anything else to make formula.". Early on when we knew people needed gear. like cribs and strollers, we thought we.

worked with companies that had big fancy. strollers. And we thought, "Let's get. Let's try to get those donated." And. then we went to the community and they. said, "No, we don't want a big fancy. stroller. We want a fold-up $20. stroller. We're getting on the bus. We. have multiple children. We're walking to. school and work.". And so again, our assumption would have. been, "Let's get the highest tech. stroller out there." The reality was, "No, we actually need a. practical stroller." So I feel like we.

learn that lesson over and over in. everything we do. Listen Listen to the. community you're serving and let them. tell you what they need. Yeah, that's. such a great insight. I feel like it's. such a privileged position to think you. can predict what someone needs and what. someone wants. And I think even when I. came in you were doing my diapers, I was. like, "Really?" I couldn't believe it. Like I was I was somewhat like. mind-blown by the fact that that was the. missing link. And then when you start. learning about it and how much more it. affects as opposed to you think it's. just the diaper. And I know we can go.

into just, you know, the extent of. impact that has and all the other. supplies that you both focus on. providing. You almost think, "Wow, I I would never. have known that." Like I wouldn't have. come to that off my own accord. And I. think sometimes a lot of us are trying. to figure out what people need Right. in. an in a silo, isolated from the problem, from the situation, from people, and. we're rarely going to get to the right. answer. What did it feel like, you know, you're both having successful careers, you're happy. doing. service work on top of that, like you're.

doing the pro bono work, you're going to. Head Start. Like in one sense, it's. almost like, well, this is great. I. serve, I work, I have a good career. What makes you both go, okay, no, we. need to do this full-time. Like this. needs to be our primary focus. Because. that feels like a genuinely big leap and. commitment. And taking away from two. great career paths. How did you say, no, no, no, this is enough of a priority? Was it something you were building while. you were working, or did you both go, no, we're going to stop working and.

start building? Which way around did it. go? It all happened very fast. So, I think. we were. um slowing down on our other on our. other careers and projects, but once we. started, it was it took off very. quickly. So, there was immediately no. room to do anything else. Um we actually. had a. event very early on where we wanted to. kind of announce this that we had taken.

over Baby2Baby and that we wanted to. make a really big impact, and we wanted. to work quickly. We both are, I think, have very big ideas and dreams. And so, we put together a small event to. just make this announcement. And we. didn't want to spend any money, so we. went to friends and had a publicist. help, get a photographer there, and a. friend who had a hotel space to donate, and some alcohol. So, if case we were. asking for money, we wanted to make sure.

people were in good moods. And um Does that work? Yes. Yeah. It's one of our big secrets. Got it. As you probably saw at the gala. Yes. Yeah, we. had this event talked a little bit about. the mission of Baby to Baby and where do. we where do we want to go with it and. two of our. day one board members Jessica Alba and. Nicole Richie both came to the event and. had their picture taken. by the pro bono photographer. and the picture showed up a few days.

later in Us magazine. Kelly and I at the time had one intern. and we had a very small 600 square foot. storefront space. and. we got a phone call a few days later. from a big publicity company that. represented Kimberly Clark who owned. Huggies diapers. And they said we answered the phone and. they said they had seen the picture and. they wanted to know if they could donate.

a hundred thousand dollars and a hundred. thousand diapers. Again this is. week two on the job. We had a. four boxes of diapers sitting next to us. and we were like yeah, we'll take a. hundred thousand diapers. Thank you. Please send them over right now and then. they said. well do you guys accept pallets and. we're googling like what is a pallet? We're like yes, we take pallets. and a model not a lot of pallets in our. life. And then they're like do you guys have.

forklifts? I'm like of course we have. forklifts. Yes and I'm like where do you. rent a forklift? And we're trying to. figure it out and we're like sure no. problem no problem and then the truck. shows up. The biggest truck we've ever. seen taking up. wearing these shoes with your heels in. case they're listening and. we got on the truck and our intern. popped on too and a very nice driver and. we learned quickly what it meant that.

they were on pallets, which made them. difficult. with the exacto knives, getting the. plastic off and the crates open, and. trying to unload them ourselves with the. truck driver and the intern, the four of. us. But we did it, and we filled our. small storefront space and spilled out a. little bit. And the moral of the story. is, well, there are two morals of the. story, but we gave them out in one day. So, we called this is 100,000 diapers. It's a lot of diapers, and we called.

contacts at homeless shelters, some. schools, some local hospitals, and said, "We have diapers for free to give out. Would you like to come get them?" And it. was astonishing to see. They were truly. We say they were truly like gold that. people were picking up and how. what it meant to people and the relief. that it was showing. Again, this was not. You know, we don't serve individuals. directly because it's in general because. it's has been more efficient for us to.

scale to give to other organizations. that can give them out to their clients. and fill the whole shelter or school or. know who's in the most need, which is. important to us. But they get they went. out the door in one day. Now, we can talk later that that was 100,000. diapers. Now, to date, we've given out. 200 million, but at that time, it was so. many, and I think it taught us probably. our two most important lessons. One, diaper need was enormous and not going.

anywhere. And two, the power of these. celebrity endorsements and sponsorships. So, just from. two women getting behind us, a company wanted to give us that, and we. have created that into a playbook where. with dozens and dozens and dozens of. amazing women, actresses, celebrities, entrepreneurs, CEOs, we've been able to take advantage of. their platforms. and that is what is catapulted us to be.

able to give away hundreds of millions. of items. Yeah, absolutely. What a first. week at the job. That's That's pretty. intense. And I can And I can totally. resonate with I remember I was 16 years. old and I used to work at a grocery. store and I remember on. I remember unloading my first ever truck. of pallets of water and I had one of. those manual forklifts like not even. like. that. Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. They wouldn't. let me do that. And so they were like. you're you're 16 you should be able to. And literally I remember putting this.

manual forklift in, putting it in a. pallet and I then pulling it out and it. was one of the heaviest, most arduous. tasks ever. And now that I've been to. your warehouse and seen just how many. not only diapers you have but supplies. you have and just the the scale of what. you're dealing with is I wanted to read. out, you know, I was looking at some of. these statistics because I just want. people to understand. uh the the problem statement or the. level of challenge. I This just blew my. mind and I want to share it because.

yeah, it's super important. Listen to. this everyone. So, Kelly already said. this one. One in two families struggle. in the US to afford diapers for their. children. I just would never think of that. Diapers cost $80 to $100 per month per. baby and the average low-income family. pays nearly $1,000 a year for diapers. This part I think was Wait, just to. interrupt, those numbers are all. true but getting worse. So, with. inflation we're finding that our the. families we serve are saying the prices.

are 30% up from that in the last few. years. So, the problem is getting worse. Wow. And then this one. Diapers are the. fourth highest household expense after. rent, food, and utilities for families. with diaper need. Child care centers. often require 6 to 8 diapers per day for. children to enroll and attend daily. Uh. That's the one we want people to know. about. Yeah, we talk about diapers perpetuating. the cycle of poverty. So, if you don't. have six to eight diapers to drop your. child off at daycare, you can't go to.

work and you can't go to a job. interview. So, they're stopping it's. really like a block for women and. parents being able to go to work. So, if. you could don't have the money to afford. diapers and you can't drop your child. off at daycare, how can you go to work? So, it's really this symbol of poverty. That's how we look at diapers. Let's. Yeah, let's talk about that a little bit. more because that's what I meant earlier. when I was talking about how like. diapers is almost like the Mhm. the. central point of all these other issues. that the work actually affects. So,

poverty is one of them. That's a core. one. What are the others that you feel. are massively affected? Well, we know that when we give families. diapers, that they're paying their rent, putting food on the table, and keeping. their lights on. And as you already said. by reading off all our favorite stats, that um that is something that a diaper. is stopping people, you know, from doing. anything. It's really you can't leave. your house if you don't have diapers. Families are using newspapers or towels. as substitutes. So, if you don't have a.

diaper, how can you go and take your. baby to the grocery store to even buy. food for your other children? It's just. diapers are this symbol of poverty to us. that that's why every day diaper need is. the number one thing we're focused on. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I I'm going to. go on because these To me, these were. just these were huge. These were some. amazing stats about the incredible work. you've done around it. So, in 2021, Baby. to Baby developed your own diaper. manufacturing system. Mhm. producing diapers at 80% less than.

the retail cost in order to help meet. meet the exponentially increasing. demand. Walk me through that direction. because now that's like you're going. from having 100,000 diapers sent to you. Right. figuring out that it's too expensive. Well, we've been getting diapers donated. from companies like Huggies, for. example, with the Jessica Nicole event. and um the story Nora just told, but. also, you know, corporate partners have. been a huge part of Baby to Baby's. growth. Using Jessica as another example. with Honest Company, they donated 10.

million items to us, a lot of those. being diapers, but diapers are just the. number one thing we're, you know, trying. to get and we're doing it in every which. way. So, we're trying to get corporate. sponsors to donate to us. Then, we've. gone to Sacramento to testify to have. the sales tax removed from diapers. That. was something we were able to do. Um. then, we did a Goop campaign with. Gwyneth Paltrow where we launched a fake. luxury diaper that was intended to make.

people angry and it was a spoof and. Gwyneth was like, "I I'll take the heat. for this." And she launched a diaper and. it had, you know, diamonds and fur and. it was made of like alpaca fur and it. was $120 for a pack of 10, but it was. meant to show that $120 is what you need. to diaper your baby for a month. And. once she did the grand reveal, it was. like, "Yeah, this is meant to piss you. off because diapers are taxed like a.

luxury item. How insane is that? And. what can we do about it?" So, then you. were able to go onto Goop and Baby to. Baby's shared platform and reach out to. your state senator and say like, "This. is ridiculous. How can we still tax. diapers like a luxury item?" And since. we did that, seven states followed suit. There are still 26 states left that tax. diapers, but we're still working on. that. That's, you know, more to come on. that. But, manufacturing the diapers was. something we started because we were.

able to buy diapers for cost from our. manufacturer. So, they were giving us. low-cost diapers, but at some point, the. manufacturer who we were working with. understood our mission, knew what we. did, and we talked to them about like, "Okay, what if we stripped off the. cartoons and made these diapers plain. and white and we just use one color for. the packaging? How low would you make. them for us? How, you know, what could. we get the cost down to?" So, 80% less. than retail is how much they're were. making them for now. They're Baby to.

Baby diapers. They're plain white, but. they work just as well as any, and we've. been able to distribute 200 million. diapers because of this relationship and. because of manufacturing. So, it was. something innovative we came up with. during COVID because the need was so. great, but it's really been able to, you. know, stretch our donor dollars so much. further and been able to diaper a lot. more babies. I think we had really kind of hit rock. bottom with the desperation for diapers. during COVID. So, it was already, I.

mean, we're saying it's one out of two. families in the United States. It's just. an impossible statistic to digest, but. it was seeing and hearing one by one the. alternatives that the families were. taking like using a newspaper to diaper. their child, like using a towel, like. taking a diaper off a baby, cleaning it, hanging it to dry, and. putting it back on their baby. And there. was a point during COVID where the.

diapers were also off the shelves. If. we, you know, you can remember, most. people were talking about the toilet. paper shortage, but diapers were right. there with them. And. um it was just so. upsetting to everyone at Baby to Baby. that our team really made this. I really had this idea to say, "We have. to do something about this." That. our our need had gone up 500% just at. Baby Baby to Baby alone in the weeks. when COVID started. And so,

we that was when we kind of in. desperation went to these manufacturing. partners and said, "We know we're doing. a lot. It's not enough." And we talked. about scratching surfaces earlier. You. know, we're even now, we're proud that. we've given out 200 million diapers. It's more than any organization like. ours in the country, but it's not. enough. We have this year alone, just. from the families we serve, we have. requests for 1.5 billion diapers. So,

we just had to do more, and it was. manufacturing and the manufacturing. system that allowed us to really take. the leap. Because now, when we get. donations, we know they can go so much. further. So, we're making packs. Families in our program are buying packs. for an average of $20. We're making. packs for 350, and of course, not charging them, and. donating them, and it's it's something. that manufacturing is allowing us to. move the needle. Still scratch the. surface, but move the needle.

Absolutely. No, definitely moving the. needle. And I mean, I'm blown away. because it's like it's incredible. marketing mixed with incredible systems, incredible management. Like, you know, the campaign that you were just. mentioning with Gwyneth and Goop, like. that is like something out of like a. movie, like to be able to pull something. like that off. And to actually think. about it in that innovative way, and. to then build a system that's. manufacturing your own diapers because. you see the value of cost. I mean, you're operating like an incredibly. innovative, fast-forward fast-forward.

thinking company. And you're applying it all to doing good. in the world. Like, has that always has. this strategic marketing brain always. been between you two? Like, how have you. you know, how have you been able to. think about changing the world in this. way? Because I think that, like you. said, I think change can often feel. boring, it can feel like slow, it can. feel like it has to be done in a certain. way, but you are willing to like push. boundaries, and maybe some people get. upset in the beginning to get them to. make a point. Like, that's a really.

original, unique way of thinking about. change. I think we're not scared to push. boundaries and I think both of us, you. know, people say to us all the time. like, "Oh, did you ever think. be this big?" And we say, "Yes, we did. We did." Because we saw the need. We. saw, you know, what we needed to do and. we went for it and we do that every day. And so, being innovative and coming up. with fun, you know, exciting marketing. things or whatever we're doing, I think. bringing the community together and.

collaborating with whether it's. celebrity or corporate partners is. something that we love doing and that we. will continue to do and we've done it in. so many ways. Like this year, you know, we talk about all the time, um, we. partnered with the White House and HHS. in 2023 last year and we launched a. pilot program that was creating maternal. newborn supply kits. And we did it for. the three states with the highest. maternal mortality rates and the highest.

child poverty rates. And so, it was a. pilot program for these three states, Arkansas, New Mexico and Louisiana. And. in partnership with the White House and. HHS and the Vice President came to. launch it with us. This year, we're now able to go to 10. states with Huggies, back to Huggies. Huggies came back in and their. partnership with a multi-million dollar. pledge, we're now going to take it to 10. states. So, that pilot program, you. know, it's public private partnerships,

it's corporate partners, it's using, you. know, celebrity like we did from day. one. We just had Olivia Wilde, Kelly. Rowland and Ciara came to help spread. the word that we're, you know, now in 10. states and we're bringing this pilot. program to 10 states this year and just. being able to do things like that, I. think definitely keeps our days exciting. and, you know, makes it interesting and. innovative and I think nonprofit can be. So, I think we're trying to like make.

that part of nonprofit. It doesn't have. to be boring. It doesn't have to be. status quo, you know? Mhm. Mhm. everyone won in that example that Kelly. just gave about our. uh maternal mortality initiative. Um in. that. the the celebrity ambassadors who are so. amazing, the three women that came to. uh. get attention for the program, they care. deeply about maternal mortality. Um. obviously your audience is familiar with.

how in the United States the maternal. mortality rates are worse than they were. 20 years ago, and that black women are. dying at three times or four times, up. to four times, the rate of other women, and I think. everyone wants to come up with a. solution, I hope. And so, in that. example, it really was a real. public-private partnership with Again, we had the White House and Department of. Health and Human Services on that end, needing to give it legitimacy and the.

platform that they bring to the table. Huggies was such an important partner on. the corporate end, because these. programs need money and they need. supplies. And so, they had the diapers, they had the breastfeeding supplies, and. they they were able to donate those. Um women like Olivia Wilde and Ciara and. Kelly Rowland, they care deeply about. maternal mortality and wanted to bring. use their platforms, use their enormous. social media numbers, and bring. attention to a problem and show that. they were coming up with a solution.

Baby to Baby has this incredible team. that is there to have worked for 13. years to identify which states and which. organizations in which states have the. most vulnerable. mothers who could get to the right. hospitals these items that they so. desperately need. So, I think it it's. really attacking I think one of the. things that Kelly and I really love. about it is attacking these problems. from multiple angles. And so yes, we. bring in the like we understand. um and can explain to people why we need.

the help of the corporation, what the. government can do to help, what part the. celebrity or ambassador can play. And I. think they all appreciate that and. again, it's led to this great program. Yeah, what I'm hearing is like a very. deep understanding of the problem. is what's allowing you to engage with. all these stakeholders. Like the reason. you're able to get the government. involved or get corporations involved or. get celebrities involved is because you. deeply understand the intricacies of the. challenge. And I think often when we. want to do good in the world or when.

we're trying to do good in the world, we're hoping that that good intention is. enough or we're hoping that that. passion is enough and actually deeply. understanding the challenge and the. stresses that people are experiencing, the problems people go through on a. daily basis. is at the heart of that. And one of my. favorite uh thoughts is from Martin. Luther King where he said that people. who love peace need to learn to organize. themselves as well as those who love. war. And I love that statement because I.

often feel that those of us who want. peace in the world or goodness in the. world can be kind of a bit woo-woo about. it or we can be a bit like, you know, peace and love and it can be kind of. like this really nice idea or nice. ideal, but it doesn't have systems, organization, strategy. And it seems. like you've both been able to take your. passion and intention and bring that in. so wonderfully, uh which is such an incredible example. for so many not-for-profits. Thank you. and I think we really don't.

differentiate between nonprofit and. for-profit in that way. And so that's. that's something that we care about, reminding people that again the the the. work is different, but the way that you. run a company in our minds should be the. same and that's kind of who we model. ourselves after. Um. Unfortunately, but I we have seen a lot. of well-intentioned people. not give back in the right way. So, to. your point, I think in disaster relief. in particular is an area I know we.

talked about on your tour, and we see a. lot of people trying to be helpful in. disasters and doing it in an actively. unhelpful way. And that is the place. that I think the most we've watched. people and it's hard to watch and we're. trying to kind of correct people's. behaviors in in how they. react to disasters because. the public, I think, and I'm sure your. listeners care deeply about disasters. And by disasters, I'm mainly talking. about natural disasters. So, hurricanes, fires, floods, mudslides.

People feel so helpless in those. moments. I think people watch them on. the news, they get so much attention, they see horrible things happening, and. they don't know how to help. And what. we've done at Baby to Baby is try to. very specifically help children and help. families in those instances because a. lot of great organizations are helping. They're typically focused on adults, and. we focus on children. But in terms of. people. helping in.

sometimes a misguided way. we often go to the spots where the. disasters are occurring, and we'll watch. people and they show up with bags of. used clothing and used coloring books or. um. unsized things or half-opened. games and toys and things. Again, I. think that people care so deeply and. they're wonderful, and they're seeing a. child on the news and thinking, I need.

to go I want to go give that child my. blanket or this game or a toothbrush. But what we've learned is that you have. to listen and understand what these. families need. And tied for as important. as that is what the organization who's. helping them needs because in an in a. disaster, everyone is spread thin. Often. the people who are helping in a. disaster, their own families are. suffering from that same hurricane or. fire or flood. And so, and the. organizations are often small. They're.

not always large-scale organizations. Often they're small volunteer-based. groups that are trying to do their best. to give out supplies. So, when you inundate them with things. that they don't need at that time, they. don't have room, they don't have the man. or woman power to accept the items. People fly planes into places without. having a the right destination or um. And so, we we talked to. partners who are on the ground saying,

"These donations are blocking the. roads." So, they're not just not. helpful. They are actively unhelpful. They are blocking our roads. We are. trying to find missing people. We are. trying to get emergency services out, and people are in their very, very. well-intentioned ways really hurting the. system. So, what what we have learned. organizationally is to listen so. carefully and not just understand you. need blankets, you need diapers. What. size diapers do you need? How many do. you need? Because if your space can only.

accommodate three pallets, you cannot. send them six in the middle of a. disaster. You have to send them three at. a time. And I think for people. listening, you have to listen to organizations you. trust in how to help. It might be money. It might be the most helpful thing would. be to send $10 to an organization. It. might be an organization that allows you. to say, "We need toothbrushes." But you. can't guess what people need. You have. to step back, listen, and then try to.

help people in the way that they need to. be helped. Absolutely. Yeah, no. And And. And so again, it's such a. alien space when you're not on the. ground or you're not aware like you it's. it's just something you would never know. about. Like when do you ever learn about. what's needed in a disaster or how. you're trying to help in a. well-intentioned way whether it helps or. it doesn't or or gets in the way. So I. really appreciate that kind of spotlight. on that topic which which you wouldn't. come across at all. Walk me through like.

you've. like you said and you're both modest and. humble beings and so there's the feeling. of like there's more to do and I think. there's a honest side of you that sees. that as well and that there's just. obviously so much more work to do. But. walk us through some of the resistance. that came early on like building. something this big or some of the. challenges or pitfalls that you both. had. Days where you woke up wanting to. make the biggest change but things. weren't going in your favor because I. think again whenever and this is why I. love podcasts it's whenever we hear. about something we always hear about how.

amazing it is and the glory of it and. you don't really get to see like how. much hard work goes into it every single. day and the times when it isn't the big. celebrity turning up to the you know. front door and it's and it's not always. like that and and yes you've had amazing. support and I'll we'll talk about that. in a second but that's not you know as. we were talking about earlier that's not. 364 days a year. There's all of this. time where there's real work happening. and I'm sure in the and I'm sure getting. a sales tax change is like a arduous. process with so many you know I'm I'm.

guessing and I could be completely wrong. but I'm guessing there's like multiple. steps to even get one state to accept. that let alone the numbers you have. Walk me through some of the key. challenges you've seen in trying to. build an innovative fast-growing. impactful nonprofit. We talk about this. a lot. We have yes days and we have no. days. Okay, what is yeah tell me about the. So yes day is if everything's going. right and we're asking this celebrity to. host this event for this you know. corporation and we're going to get a.

donation of 5 million diapers and 5. million wipes and everything's going. great and they say yes and then you're. reaching out to a donor and saying, "Oh, you know, we need a grant for formula. The formula shortage is still continuing. and we are trying to provide like, you. know, a million more bottles across the. country because another plant is. shutting down." Or we're asking for a. sponsor for our holiday event so we can. take over Dodger Stadium again this year.

or back to school so we can take over. Madison Square Garden and bring kids to. like have the most spectacular day of. their lives and kids that never get to. do those things. So we're asking all day. long for things and some days there's. yes days and we get yeses and then a lot. of days there's no days. So we've we got. this advice very early on that if you're. having a yes day, keep asking. So we. keep asking, we keep going and then when. we're having a no day, we're like, "Oh, feels like a no day." and we'll give.

like some of our team members like, "No. day, everyone. Stop asking for things.". But, you know, we're not afraid to ask. and I think we learned this very early. on because we're not asking for. ourselves. We're asking for children who. don't have diapers, who don't have. clothing, who don't have food, families. who are struggling to afford these basic. things. So never are we afraid to ask. and even if we do get no's, which we do. all the time. It may from afar appear, "Oh, Baby to Baby so successful." Sure.

It looks like. that text and email chains where we've. written to the person like 15 times and. it's all blue or green or We're not. hearing back and we were Yeah, Yeah, we're used to that. It doesn't matter. cuz we're not asking for ourselves. We're asking for, you know, children who. are struggling to afford these basic. things. So it never phases us. Two. examples of some challenges. One is. we did not. get the sales tax repealed on our first. try. In fact, we got. very. directly rejected on our first few times.

going to Sacramento. trying to get California to repeal the. sales tax in California. We just got big. no's and we. were sent home and packing. Um but we. went back and again, I think we really. don't take these things personally. I. think we feel the two of us, that is. another thing we share. We feel so. strongly that our mission about our. mission and what it is and what we're. doing that it it's like, well, you lost.

the opportunity. That's a mistake on. your part to the state. So, we just kept. going back. On the third try, we brought Julie Bowen. with us, which was helpful. Again, we. always learn sometimes an ambassador is. what is what. um closes the deal. Um Governor Newsom was extremely helpful. to us and it was a third time's the. charm example. But we were shut down and. if we hadn't gone back. a number of times and of course, you're.

correct. That is not what we post about. and talk about the two the times that we. got back on the Southwest flight from. Sacramento with a big thumbs down. We're. not posting about the no's. Um but it, you know, it worked and then and so that. was a good story. I think. one of the hardest decisions we've had. to make is that at the beginning of Baby. to Baby. we would allow people to drop off or. send us and mail in gently used items.

Clothing, toys, um. cribs, car seats, you name it. And it. was a beautiful thing because it it's. really where the name Baby to Baby comes. from is the idea of giving. another child something that you have. used and now this other child can grow. from that is. wonderful and we hope that. smaller organizations continue to do. that, whether it's an organization or a. religious institution or a women's.

shelter or it it it's wonderful when. people can do it. What we found was in. order to scale Baby-to-Baby, that could not be the core of our. mission because getting tons of pounds. of people's gently used stuff, as. noble as it sounds, was not. working for us. It was expensive to go. through because it's so important to us. that that everything we give out is. something that is in pristine and. perfect condition to these children who.

deserve things to be in pristine and. perfect condition. And so, we had to. have someone touch every single item of. clothing and see that a onesie had spit. up on it, see that a puzzle that was 300. pieces had 300 pieces and not 258. because no child wants to do a puzzle. with 258 pieces. It doesn't matter who. you are. And. there were expired things, there were. things that weren't for children, and. people again, I think they were. well-intentioned people, but they. dropped in.

their adults. what are some things that we got. Oh, some nice. bras, some nice hats, bras, all sorts of. things. And only about 1/3 of what was. donated when we were accepting gently. used items. At best, 1/3 was usable. Wow. And that's expensive and time-consuming. and not helpful. So, we have. the the lion's share of what we do now. is all corporate donations. Um we gave.

out $63 million of goods last year. Uh we still we don't want to scare. people off with those numbers because. one a donation of. four cans of formula is amazing for us. There is truly no day. too big or too small. Because four cans. of formula is. many bottles for many babies who need it. so. deeply. So, we love small and big. donations, but that but we take new and. corporate and palletized donations.

because it's what it's the way we're. able to give out 50 450 million items. But, that was a very hard turning point. and when you're talking about lessons. and challenges, um I think it was. upsetting to a lot of people because I. think people really love the idea of. passing things forward. And again, we. love it, too, which is why we adopted it. in the beginning, but it proved to be. not effective for scaling. And so, that. was a that was a hard decision to have. to make. Yeah, what I'm hearing is just.

this idea that. you know, these things are beautiful and. they're all wonderful. And when we can. share what we have and something that's. been used in advance and if it helps a. community center or someone in our local. or family member or something that's. recycled is beautiful. But, when you're. trying to scale across the country, it's and and also disasters as well, that isn't necessarily the most. effective way. And I feel that. that's again going back to this idea, no. wonder Time 100 named you one of the. most innovative companies. Like, that.

lesson of being able to adapt and be. flexible and learn and grow and say, "Okay, well, we actually believe in. this, but it doesn't actually work.". Yeah, it was very hard to say that. Yeah, I can't imagine what that feels. like cuz you're like, "Wait a minute, this obviously makes sense to us and it. makes sense to me listening to you. both." But, then like, "Oh, I get why. that isn't the idea that takes off and. that isn't the idea that works in. practice." I mean, that thinking that. thought process goes back to being of a. fast-thinking company. This These. challenges the they. they haven't like it feels like you both.

have just got more passionate, more. driven. right through them. Yeah, yeah, it feels like that. Like, I. mean, like, you know, I'm talking to you. both today and I don't feel any. dwindling of enthusiasm in all you're. building. It feels like you're full. steam ahead. too. They're like, "Oh, so are you guys, you know, bored? Are you guys ready to. it at all. Yeah. No, we're like, no. There's We're. reaching 1 million children across the. country. There are 10 million more. children in poverty that we're not yet. reaching. We talked about we've. distributed 200 million diapers. We need.

1.5 billion, and that's just to cover. the kids we're serving now, the 1. million children. So, we have so much. further to go, and I don't think either. of us are stopping or done anytime soon. fun things happen. I mean, we do have We. are We've built. a place, and we're so lucky about this. with these amazing ambassadors, where we. also we we work Our team is the hardest. working team on the planet. But, we also. get some great incoming calls. I mean, we get calls to say that someone I'm.

thinking Julie Bowen again, but that. Julie Bowen played on a Who Wants to Be. a Millionaire. and won $500,000, and can Where Where. should she send the check? We have Kim. Kardashian raising her hand at our gala. to give us She's given us. over $2 million, and then we'll say for. our. Mother's Day event, can she donate SKIMS. and the makeup products so the moms feel. as good as they should at Mother's Day. We have Chrissy Teigen just, you know,

designed a wagon for us, and it was for. hundreds of thousands of dollars from a. company. Or we have all these like. ambassadors all day long that are doing. these amazing partnerships. Molly Sims. just did a Erewhon smoothie to benefit. Baby2Baby. Just like all day long we. have these exciting things, and some of. them are just incoming, and some of them. we're reaching out to people. Jenna. Dewan, 9 months pregnant, just hosted. our Mother's Day event, and was the. ambassador, and Aquaphor gave us an.

amazing donation of product and money. And so, just on and on, we have these. amazing people supporting us and showing. up for us. like the Gwyneth story, I mean, Gwyneth. gets. all the credit for that campaign. So, people are coming to us. I think once. you once we um. you know, we were saying how we had. Ciara at the headquarters the other day, and she was helping us amplify this. maternal mortality project. The next.

day, she called us that she had just. talked to a sponsor, and she wanted to. see if she could they could help donate. items for these kits in the future. She. also wanted to tell us that she and. Russell Wilson, her husband, wrote a. children's book. Could she donate. thousands of books to put into the bag? So, I think when we're the more we. educate uh all of these women about what. Baby2Baby's doing, they then they bring. us these amazing opportunities cuz they. they want to help, and I think other. people that haven't that don't have.

careers in giving back, they have extremely busy lives, but they. want to give back. They love the idea. So, if we can give them a tangible way. to give back and not spend a lot of time. and use their platforms and use their. connections, they're excited to help and. do that. I think Kamala Harris, I think. you know, we're so grateful she came to. the warehouse to launch the program. She met with mothers in our program who. were giving birth and was hearing from.

them, and I think she was also proud to. be there. So, we do we have a lot of. we have a lot of fun incoming phone. calls these days. How how was it the. first time like what was walk me through. the interaction of getting Jessica Alba. and Nicole Richie to get involved when. it was just like there was nothing there. in one sense. It was beginning days. Like what was that conversation like? Why did they get involved? And Well, they were friends, but also I think um. when you're a mom and you they just both. had babies around 13 years ago. and I.

think when you understand. that you know you need all these things. when you give birth. As an experience. Yeah, and you see how. much you need. You see how expensive it. is. You see the wastefulness of people. are giving you seven strollers for your. baby shower. You need one stroller. What. could you do with the other six? Who. could use them? And it was a lot about. that. I think. you know, mothers, parents, people. connect to the cause because it's such a.

simple cause. Children are going without. basic essentials. How could that be? What could I do to help? And we make it. very easy. We say, oh, you know what? Here's what you can do to help. We'll. make it very easy. We'll make it very. simple. We need you to show up here to. this one event. And they got their photo. taken. It was in Us Weekly and that. really put us on the map and that really. spurred on like these celebrity. partnerships. It taught us the power of. celebrity, what they could do to help. children in need and how we could help. make that happen. And so we've continued.

that for 13 years, but we really do look. to them as the two people who sort of. set off that light bulb for both of us. and really started the whole thing. I. think that. these women trust us and trust. that has been so important to build. So. now when there is a you know, there's. hurricanes going on and there hurricanes. and tornadoes in the. in the Midwest, when there were the. fires in Maui, when there um. was the formula shortage, when there are.

news headlines that and people as moms. and as humans care about them, they call. us to say tell me how I can help ever. since that day. So they're saying, you. know, during COVID we had. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and. Gwyneth Paltrow and Jen Garner and. Jessica Alba and um they they came and. put backpacks into cars that were. driving by and putting lunch and. backpacks with mask full masks putting.

them into windows in our baby to baby. distribution drives because they knew we. would have one. They knew we'd be set up. and they'd be able to help. And so I. think what that caused on day one was. this trust and then they will disasters. a big part of it. But when there is a. any issue they care about in any state. we have ambassadors from. Texas and Oklahoma and New Mexico and. New York and they know if there's. something big or small. Sometimes it's a.

building fire that impacts the city and. they know there were families there. When they see families and they see. babies are outside or not being taken. care of, they know that baby to baby's. disaster team is going to be there and. they call us. How can I amplify it? And. sometimes the answer is they can post on. social media. Sometimes the answer is. even though this person might be famous. what we what we need right now is money. So we need you to do one of two things. We need you to ask your followers for. donations. or if you're in the position, we need.

you to donate to us yourself. So in the. Maui wildfires for example, um. Matthew and Camila McConaughey. Camila is one of our many angels and. they had a they had a deep caring for. Hawaii and Maui, knew that we would be. on the ground there, knew that we would. know. how to help and what to help with. They. called, they asked how they could help. and the answer there was we were trying.

to get cargo planes in. We knew the. exact menu of what these organizations. needed. Maui's was a very specific. example because it was easier for us. Our history had been in trucking. And. Maui can't truck to Maui. So these. things now had to go on planes and it. was a. and the fires were ongoing and horrific. and they said how can we help? And we. said, "Actually, what we need you to do. right now is help us pay for this first. cargo plane to get out cuz we know if. you do that, others will follow." So,

they That was just pure funds. They gave. us, the cargo plane went out, it got to. Maui, we helped so many families. 9. months later, we're still helping. families. Disasters do not end a week. later. The families, they're still. displaced families, there's families. living in hotels, there's families that. have lost jobs. And because of that. initial. vote of confidence from two very. well-known ambassadors, we had people. all over the country sending us $25. donations that add up significantly and.

have allowed us to have this long-term. recovery. And Matthew did a video with. his son that went viral and it was, you. know, everywhere. It was all over. Instagram, it was in People, and it was. saying like this is what my family's. doing. I want to help these families in. Maui. We are going to come together and. we're donating this amount. Please join. us. And because that video went viral. and he used his platform, and that. really took off in such a way, that's. why we've been able to continue helping.

for 9 months because we were able to. raise that money in that moment and that. really extended our, you know, finances. to be able to pay and ship and send more. and more pallets and pallets of basic. essentials into Maui for the families we. serve there. And speaking of Maui, a. quick shout-out to our program and. disaster relief teams, something that. made us so proud during that horrific. period was that because of the. year-round work we do, getting to know. these partners, listening to them, our.

team had. 2 days before the fires broke out had. made a delivery on Hawaii. So, that when. it was impossible to get anything in. from the mainland United States, our. stuff had just landed because we were. helping families who were living in. poverty. beyond the fires. And so, immediately we. were able to start distributing. And. talking about, you know, listening to. the community and listening and asking. questions and seeing what's needed, we. have these partners that are in Maui and.

we were able to say to them, "Do you. need help? Do you You know, what do you. need?" And the water was contaminated. and babies There was no baby food. There. was no formula. So, we immediately were. able to send on that very first cargo. plane water, formula, and baby food. And. then our team later, 2 weeks later, because we didn't want to inundate the. island with, you know, at the time, I. think there was such an outpouring, but. to listen and wait and talk to our. partners and they asked us to come 2.

weeks later and then we were able to do. distributions on the ground to families. ourselves and really see the need and. meet with families, but we were. alongside a woman who had lost her home, who worked for the diaper bank that it. was our partner. She lost her home. Her, you know, her baby was off in the, you. know, office of the nonprofit that we. were serving. She was there alongside us. doing distributions. So, you really have. to listen to the community that you're. serving and that was something we. definitely learn with everything we do,

but that was definitely a learning. moment for us. This is It's such. incredible work and it's so inspiring. like even hearing these stories of all. these different spaces and the nuances. and the differences and the incredible. ambassadors that came on board. I know. that a lot of my community here today. who's listening and watching will be. thinking, "How do I help? How do I get. involved?" And I think as that culture. that I think you both have lived in your. own life and wanted to create and. something that I feel is amazing is if. we can start helping from where we are,

no matter where we are and whoever we. are and every, like you said, everything. does matter and it does make an impact. And I've seen that through fundraisers. we've done for charities I've worked. with. What can this community and. audience do if they want to support Baby. to Baby today? Where should they go? What can they do? How can they learn. more? I think we say every little bit. helps. And when we say we've distributed. 200 million diapers, that's a big. number. But one pack of diapers goes to. a family who's struggling to afford.

diapers or food, who's choosing between. diapers or food. So, if you can give one. pack of diapers, five packs of diapers, whether that's $10 or $25, those things. really make a difference. And we we. always say no donation is too small. Those things really matter to us. And. that's one family who has formula for. their baby, who has diapers for their. baby that week. So, we're not. shying away from any small donations at. all. And a lot of what we do is on our.

Instagram, Baby to Baby, and or our. website, babytobaby.org. But one of the. things that we talk about as well is. that, you know, follow us and see what. we're doing. We are posting all day, you. know, what we're doing right now, sending. supplies. We just sent 300,000 supplies. to Oklahoma and Texas, to the disasters. that are going on there. So, it's. always, you know, something's happening. in the world. Climate change is really. making these disasters worse and worse.

every day. And supporting our work. helping families in need in those. moments is really important to us. I hope. you've learned getting to know us. We're. very direct. And so, we'll be direct. with our followers. And I think we tell. our ambassadors and any donor or fan of. Baby to Baby, we will tell you what we. need. And so, we'll say we right now. need toothbrushes and toothpaste because. there is. a reason that there is a shortage of. those. Or we will tell you in the.

formula crisis what we need exactly. And. even though I did say that we don't. take, you know, we're are looking for. big donations of gently used. There are some exceptions to that and. that's basically diapers and formula and. some of these top things. So, it might. be your own diaper packs and formula. cans that you haven't opened. It might. be going on Amazon or another platform. and sending us. actual items. It might be making a. smaller large donation. It might be an. introduction to a company that can make.

a very large donation. Um but it might. be that you have a small clothing brand. and you have you made some pajamas and. they came out in a slightly different. color than you intended and we would. love to take those. And it might be that. your toothpaste came out a different um. flavor and as long as it's good and. healthy, we want those calls. Would you. like our, you know, these pallets of. toothpaste that we haven't given out? Um. so, we we again, following us means. trying to listen to what the disaster.

is, what the everyday poverty is. If. there's a specific city or town or um. that you're in, we're happy to respond. to those questions. Our team is uh but. we want people to help in those um and. and if someone wants to. donate millions of dollars so we can. reach our goal of giving out, you know, we can get to all billion diapers, you. know, if someone has a foundation who. will do that, we're ready for that phone. call as well. But we're.

say that. We've built the infrastructure. and we know how to get these items out. to the community and to the country and. we're just looking for the funding to go. even further. So, the 1 million children. we're serving, there are 10 million that. we're not yet reaching and we are ready. to reach them. It's just really funding. that comes down to it. We also have programs where people can. get involved at different ages. So, if. you live in an area that's you know, if. you live in Los Angeles or New York or. somewhere where we have volunteer. sessions, obviously you can come in and. volunteer. But we also have programs.

that the whole country can participate. in where during the holidays you can. shop for a child, but not just during. the holidays cuz a big lesson of Baby to. Baby is you children do not just need. help during the holidays. So, we have. programs that are about to start this. summer because there is a summer slide. and children aren't in school. And so, not only are they not getting the meal. the schooling during the summer, they're. not getting the meals that they depend. on for school. So, uh so, they're. they're lacking in basic essentials even. more. And so, we have programs we have.

back-to-school programs where you can. take your child out shopping or go. yourself and you can shop and we'll give. you a list of what a child needs. And. maybe they want a blue Hello Kitty. backpack and Cheez-Its and a new pencil. case with um. pink hearts. And you can really. I I a lot of people like that again that. specificity and that customization. We. will let you you can reach a child on a. very individualized basis or you can.

help us with a donation of 600,000 pairs. of pajamas. That's beautiful. I love it. I want to. go back to where we started uh which was. with your personal journeys of service. and giving back. And Nora, you brought. this up earlier this idea of. parents wanting their children to have a. culture of giving back. What have you found works? Because I. find like when you're young giving back. is not cool, it's not the thing to do, it's it it isn't part of our culture. ordinarily at least that you don't see. that very commonly.

How How do we do that? How do we create. a culture in our families. to begin with? A culture of giving, a. culture of service in young people. Like, what does that take? What have you. seen works? What doesn't work? And what. has been effective? We wrote a book about it actually. Um. we wrote a book with Jessica Alba and it. is about a little girl who has a teddy. bear and it is a gently used teddy bear. and then she receives the same one, but. a brand new one, and she has to decide.

what she's going to do with the second. one. Will she keep it? Will she give it. to a friend? Are you going to tell them? Are you going to spoil it? Yes. And then. when she decides to give it to a friend, the you know, she goes through the. process of which one should I give to. him? Should he have the one with no eye. and missing an arm, or should she should. he have the new one? And he she talks. about it with her mom, and they figure. out that of course someone who's in need. would want a new bear just like one day.

you had one. So, that was something that. we did because it's so important to us. to teach children how to give back, but. to give back with dignity because all of. the children that we're serving, we want. to make sure that we're giving with. dignity and pride so that they're. receiving things that are new and just. like our kids would want. So, that was. something that was really important to. us. I think you can teach your kids at. the earliest of ages to give back. And. you know, maybe they'll understand 5% of.

it and then 20% of it. We have stories. of taking your kids to go shopping for. another child. And when when you when. they're. four, maybe they stop in the store and. have a and cry and say, "I want that. toy. I don't want to give that Barbie to. someone else." But you. hold your ground. You don't give them. the Barbie. You explain the Barbie is. for someone else. And when they're six, it starts being. easier. And maybe. when they're seven or eight, they're. asking you to go shopping for a Barbie.

to give to someone at Christmas that. doesn't have it cuz now they understand. Or they're an adult and they look back. and understand why they were doing that. and they start doing it as an adult. But. I think people are afraid to explain. poverty to their children in particular. at too young of an age. And we've just. been amazed by the children that come. into Baby to Baby, the children that. come to volunteer. They have such amazing questions and. they understand and they point out. things that we wouldn't have even. thought of. You know, you'll say to.

them, "What do you think a child might. need if if you didn't have a home? What. might you need?" And you think they're. going to say, um. you know, food or and they'll say like, "I think they would need a nightlight.". Or I think you know, they just say. things that surprise you and they are. paying attention and I do think they. understand and I think you have to drive. on the street and not ignore people. experiencing homelessness. I think you. have to point it out to your children. and talk about what you should do and. talk about how they can help and.

let them think about do we want to. can we help with money? Can we can we. give them food? Can we talk about why. and how they're suffering and why they. don't have a job? And I think you have. to bring your children to. any opportunity you have to participate. in community service. I think it just. changes people's perspective entirely to. practice to to read about it, yes. To. hear about it from your parents, yes. To. hand someone who doesn't have food.

a. a bag full of food, I really think. changes your life and changes your. perspective and I think. children I think children are it's a. great place to start. I love that about. Baby to Baby that there's a lot of. problems in the world. I think people. everyone can relate whether you have. kids, you don't have kids, you are a. kid, you are. elderly, people understand and resonate. with the idea of children not having. basic essentials and. clean diapers and they empathize with.

children. People love babies and so I. think it's a great place to start is. that a baby needs this and you should. talk early and talk often and show them. and teach them and bring them and. do everything you can to instill it at a. young age and I we've seen it working. Mhm. Yeah, my daughter I remember when I. took her for the Christmas shopping, we. call it family-to-family cuz it's one. family giving to another family, like. baby-to-baby. Um, and it was the moment where, you.

know, yes, I want the Barbie, yes, I. want the pink Elsa nighty, too. But then. when we got down the list and I was. like, "Okay, well, we need underwear. Should we get Elsa underwear or should. we get Sleeping Beauty underwear?" And. she looked at me and she was like, "She. doesn't have underwear?". And you want to protect your child maybe. in that moment and I was like, "No, she. doesn't have underwear. She doesn't have. any of these things." And having like. the light bulb for her and her. understand like we weren't just buying. her a Barbie. Like she didn't have.

underwear. She didn't have a blanket. She didn't have a warm coat. And really. like I think instilling that into your. kids or kids around you is just so. important. It's something that, you. know, both of us want to make sure that. baby-to-baby is teaching children about. giving back. Mhm. What do you think. parents are scared of in in doing that? Like you said like facing the. homelessness, having that moment in. saying, "No, she doesn't have. underwear." Like what is the fear? that they're too young to understand or. it's too like scary. The reality is too.

scary, but I think being able to tell. them from a young age, and obviously in. a age-appropriate way, but that's what. we try and do. We try and keep, you. know, kids come in from seven and up and. they're volunteering and they they. understand. There's a baby who doesn't. have a blanket, who doesn't have a. onesie, who doesn't have a pacifier, and. I'm going to make this for them and I'm. going to put this together for them. And. then when I leave here, it's going to. get delivered to them. And I made it and. that pride that kids feel in that is. really important and I think really.

instills that giving back. And then. maybe you can consider for your birthday. party. either. having people give presents for kids who. need presents more than you do or if. that's difficult, which it is, and I'm. not saying mine were so excited about. it. I think sometimes our kids were. like, "Wait, does this mean I never get a. Barbie?" I just want to be clear, cuz we. are just constantly telling them over. and over. We have a joke where where we. would put their baby blanket in the car, and they'd be like, "Is that going to.

Baby to Baby?" And we'd be like, "No, no, you got to keep that." Right. Um, but but the part but it could be. maybe you choose one toy that you got. out of the 12 kids that came to your. party, and you pick one toy, and you. give that away. Or you, you know, just. little little ways to start. incorporating it early. And as far as. what people are scared of, I think I. think adults are scared of people. experiencing homelessness. That's why I. think they're scared to tell their kids, cuz they're uncomfortable. But I. actually think kids are much more. comfortable. And so, if we can raise.

this generation to not be afraid, and to. think of ways to help, I think that's. our that's our obligation. I know that I. said this, but I think this concept that. I learned as a little girl of tikkun. olam and tzedakah and repairing the. world, I think it it sticks with you, and you you have to trust that these. kids are going to be a generation that. are going to think, you know, you said. before, maybe people don't think it's. trendy or cool. I I think I think most people with.

companies would say that their customers. feel otherwise, and they only want to. buy from companies who have a give back. component. And it's not just TOMS. anymore, and that we have companies. calling us all day saying, "We have to. find it. We are giving back." And again, yes, because they're have a. wonderful leadership teams, but their. customers demand it. And so, if this. generation of children can grow up. saying, "We we are going to be a part of. this change," then I think um, and. that's just been kind of a bonus of Baby.

to Baby, cuz. we didn't start it to teach kids to give. back. We We it to. first and foremost, we want kids who. don't have what they need to have what. they need. And we want children in. poverty to have basic essentials. But. there is this bonus is that in the. process, if it can teach people. who do have what they need. to be a part of the solution, I think that's where the special stuff. comes in. Kelly and Nora, you're you're both. phenomenal leaders, truly inspiring. I'm.

very touched by both your stories and. even the space we just got to now of. hearing this deep, personal, much more. individual, intimate version of what it. looks like in your family is with your. own children, with with people around. you. I mean, it's it's really truly. moving. And before we end the show, we. always do a final five, which is a fast. five segment where you have to answer. every word in Sorry, you have to answer. every question in one word or one. sentence maximum. But before we do that,

I want to ask you, is there anything. that I haven't asked you that you really. feel compelled to share or something. that's on your heart that you feel you. want to share with my community or. audience that maybe we didn't touch on. Just that um. you know, growing every day. 13 years. later, we are serving a million. children, and we've distributed 450. million items. And that from afar, that. it may seem like a success, but because. there are still 10 million children that. we're not reaching,

we have a lot further to go and a lot. more work to do. So, looking from afar. or looking on Instagram may it may seem. like we're done or everything's great, but no, there's a lot of work to be. done, and we need to raise a lot more. money and to reach a lot more kids. So, it's we're not finished, and we. definitely need help. Yeah, brilliant. Well said. Yeah. Nora, anything you want I concur. We. talk about that. We know that we get, you know, we're lucky to get that our.

ambassadors get attention. We are so. lucky to be on Jay Shetty. We have all. of this. these. great platforms, but the only negative. of it is that it does lead people to. think that we don't need help or that. their help isn't enough because they see. if Kim Kardashian is helping. what how could I really be of help? And. if they're on, you know, when we're talking about $12 million, well, I don't have $12 million to give.

And so I concur, it's the same lesson of. please know that no donation is too. small. Celebrities are wonderful. They. are not fully funding our program. We. and we need we do need so much and it it. really is the entire community coming. together that is going to allow us to. keep doing more and more work. I think. what's really beautiful also is that I'm. sure some of our listeners are inside. organizations that could be giving more. and part of communities that could give.

more and maybe want their school to come. and volunteer. Like, you know, I think. there's so many beautiful ways to give. back, which is how I got involved with. all of you, which was. my team and I picked you to come and. volunteer at for a service day and it's. led to a more longer-term relationship. and I think that. I think you have so many access points. and I also want to encourage everyone to. to hear that message, too, that. I think what we can trust is that you're. listening, you're learning, you're. adapting, you're figuring out what the. gap is and that's why we can all help.

and support in that we can trust that. constantly trying to figure out what. really serves the need, what really. closes the gap, what really is going to. have an impact. Well, thank you. And, you know, 13 years in, we view ourselves. as a startup still and we really have. the startup mentality where we are. looking for the phone to ring and we are. looking for other people to bring our. team innovative ideas and. we want that help. We want someone to. say, "I have shoes, but I have an idea.".

Um and so Yeah, Nike, if you're. listening, we're desperately in need of. sneakers. All right. I'll We'll we'll have to. We'll have to go We're We're ready for. the game. No, I love it. Yes. Uh thank you so much. All right. Here's. your fast five final five. Same. questions to both of you. I'll just say. the question and then we can go for it. Uh so the first question is what is the. best advice you've ever heard or. received? I would say, we talked about it the. yesterday. I think saying yes to. opportunities, especially in the. beginning. We've had to reel that in a.

little 13 years later, but saying yes to. opportunities was a big part of how we. grew Baby to Baby from day one. First day at my law firm, Skadden, Arps. in New York, 136 associates, managing. partner came out and said, "I want you. to assume that every single email you. write will appear on the New York Times. tomorrow morning. Be careful." And I. That's good advice. Great Both great answers. Uh question. number two, what is the worst advice. you've ever heard or received? That 8.

hours sleep isn't necessary. Isn't. necessary? I agree with you. It is for me, too. I. agree with you. Um to that you have to go out of your. lane. I know lots of business leaders. think you have to keep. going outside of your lane. I think in. our case, we have a very specific. mission. We are nowhere. near done with what we're doing. We I want our lane to be as narrow as. possible, and then we want to crush our. lane. Mm. Nice. Uh third question, what.

is your proudest achievement personally? I guess Baby to Baby. It can totally be Baby. Yeah. Yeah, I think Baby to Baby. I mean, I. think. Something specific at Baby to Baby, maybe? I think when we started, we were serving. 500 children, and it was the two of us. and one intern. And looking 13 years. later that we're serving a million. children across the country, and we have. warehouses across the country, 52. employees here in LA. Just the growth of. definitely a proud achievement for me.

Beautiful. We were just honored to be. named to Time's. most influential 100 people in the world. list. We absolutely take that on behalf. of our incredible team of people. It is. certainly not just the two of us. Um I read Time magazine with my dad. growing up and would look at the covers. every week and read it and. um that honor for Baby2Baby was a big. one. Yeah, I love that, too. I love that. they honored a service-based.

organization rather than just a. uh for-profit organization as well. So, that's beautiful. Uh question number. four. Why is it important to serve and give. back? I think the world needs it, especially. right now, and I think that if you think. about, you know, elections and outcomes. of elections, that. organizations like Baby2Baby are so. important because it's not based on the. outcome of that. It's based on helping.

families in need and meeting them where. they are and making sure they have what. is necessary and basic essentials, no. matter what's going on in the. environment and in the world. I think giving back is everything. I. think it it's because it's not about. you. So, I think it is the number one. way to learn empathy and about other. people and to rem- remind yourself that. everyone. is going through something. Everyone. needs help, and giving back is.

about others. Mm. Well said. And fifth. and final question, which we ask to. every guest who's ever been on the show, if you could create one law that. everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be? Mine would be that people and leaders. li- led with empathy. Mm. I would say that service is mandatory. and not just for high school students or. interns, that it's mandatory for people. of. all ages from every background.

And I think people. if they're not allergic, should have. dogs. I love that. Nora and Kelly, thank you. so much for being such phenomenal guests. on on purpose. Everyone who's been. listening or watching, I hope you go and. follow Baby to Baby right now. I want. you to look at how you can find a way. that you can help, your communities can. help, your company can help, the schools. around you that can help. How can you. get involved in being a part of this. mission? I think when we feel like we're. a part of the solution, the problem. feels a little smaller every single day.

And so, I encourage you all to become. empowered to take on this opportunity to. join Nora and Kelly on this mission. And. again, Nora and Kelly, thank you so. much. I'm so grateful to have spent this. time with you. Thank you for being here. with my community and congratulations on. all the work you've done and I'm rooting. for you and forever in your corner to. see you succeed. So, Thank you so much. for having us, Jay. Thank you. If you enjoyed this podcast, you're going to love my conversation. with Michelle Obama, where she opens up.

on how to stay with your partner when. they're changing and the four check-ins. you should be doing in your. relationship. We also talk about how to. deal with relationships when they're. under stress. If you're going through. something right now with your partner or. someone you're seeing, this is the. episode for you. No wonder our kids are. struggling. We have a new technology and. we've just taken it in hook, line, and. sinker. And we have to be mindful for. our kids. They'll just be thumbing.

through this stuff, you know, their. their minds never sleeping.