It’s that time of year again — the giving time! Mt. Playmore is lending support to Amplify Austin Day — our city’s annual community-wide day of online giving — with Amplify Kids Fest, a fun (and affordable!) celebration of Austin Diaper Bank. It all happens from 3–6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 9, 2016, at Mt. Playmore.
Mt. Playmore, a super-cool indoor play place in North Austin, features a 3,000-sq.-ft. indoor play area, along with a large baby/toddler play area, an arcade and lots of fun ride-on toys. Don’t forget that Kids Eat FREE with the purchase of an adult meal on Wednesdays! (One kids meal per adult entree; one offer per adult. Includes any size pizza; excludes appetizers and side salads.)
Little Mermaid will be in attendance at Amplify Kids Fest, along with…
- Snaplogy Austin
- Manicures by Passion Flower (3–4:30 p.m.)
- Activities from Tinkergarten
- Austin Reptile Show (3–4 p.m.)
- Bubbles and story time for little ones
Babies 12 months and younger get into the party FREE! The first 50 attendees will receive awesome goody bags, and there will be plenty of other prizes for the kiddos. Mt. Playmore is generously donating 35% of their sales to Austin Diaper Bank.
Amplify Kids Fest:
March 9, 3–6 p.m.
Mt. Playmore
13609 North IH35
Austin, TX 78753
Admission prices:
Kids ages 0–1 year: FREE
Kids ages 2–3 years: $4.95
Kids ages 4 and up: $10.95
Adults ages 19 and up: $1.50
If you’d like to get in on the Amplify Austin online giving, you can schedule your gift now to support Austin Diaper Bank. And don’t forget to bring diapers to Mt. Playmore to donate as well!
More about Austin Diaper Bank, and why you should donate:
Diaper need is real. Diapers are expensive, and federal assistance programs, such as SNAP (formerly called food stamps) and WIC, do not cover diapers. Disposable diapers are typically a requirement of most childcare centers, making them a necessity for working parents. Parents are forced to make hard decisions with limited resources.
This CNN article, Cost of diapers a big problem for poor moms, inspired local mother Dr. Beverly Hamilton to found Austin Diaper Bank, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing diapers to Austin families in need to strengthen the community as a whole. Dr. Hamilton shares some numbers with us:
- In Travis County, 26% of all children under 18 live in poverty (household income of below $24,000 a year).
- Based on 2012 US Census Bureau data, Austin Diaper Bank estimates that nearly 12,000 babies and toddlers are in a diaper need situation.
- 50% of all single-mother households live below the poverty line.
- Austin has the second highest rate of suburban poverty growth of US cities.
More about Amplify Austin and what it’s done for Austin Diaper Bank:
Other than the holiday season, the only time when Austin Diaper Bank makes a push for fundraising is during Amplify Austin, a 24-hour period of giving to local non-profits meeting critical needs in the Austin area. Last year, Amplify Austin raised well over $7 million for Austin nonprofits! This year, Amplify Austin is happening from 6 PM on Tuesday, March 8, to 6 PM on Wednesday, March 9. This year’s goal: $9 million!
Austin Diaper Bank’s goal in 2014 was to get its own space — and they were able to make that happen, due to the great response from the community. They raised $4,000 and signed a lease on a small but very important office of 400 sq. ft. The following year, their goal was to raise enough money ($9,000) to double their operating space. Together with the Austin community, they reached that goal as well!
This year, they’re going even bigger: Austin Diaper Bank’s goal for 2016 is to move into a warehouse space! 700 square feet is just not enough for this growing organization, as it only holds a weekly supply of diapers for about 1,250 children. There are an estimated 12,000 children in Travis Country alone living in diaper need, not to mention the senior citizens who need assistance, or people living in all the surrounding counties. A metro area of Austin’s size needs a warehouse-sized diaper bank facility. You can help Austin Diaper Bank meet that need!
- Donating money is easy — just click here. You can schedule your gift now (set it and forget it!) or give a gift during the live event on March 8–9.
- Helping Austin Diaper Bank fundraise would be much appreciated — click here to find out how. Austin Diaper Bank will even craft messages for you, so you can just cut and paste.
- Sharing through social media is so important — it spreads the word throughout our community. Here’s the Austin Diaper Bank Facebook page.
Consider taking your giving to the next level by having your business give, provide matching funds or sponsor an Austin Diaper Bank event!
Dr. Hamilton says, “Thank you, Austin, for all your support and kindness. The relief and joy in the eyes of the mothers we help is worth every minute we spend on this cause.”
