Beyond the doors of the Jewel Newman Community Center lies a closet with walls lined with shelves of baby formula, Band-Aids, thermometers, pampers, apple chicken baby food, first aid kits, children’s Tylenol and more – all waiting to be packaged and distributed to families within the North Baton Rouge Community.
It’s called the Baby Closet, an initiative of the Jewel Newman Community Center. Distributions are held every first and third Friday of the month from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To get services, community members must go to the center at 2013 Central Road and fill out an application. The community center then provides products depending on the needs of each person.
“The community center is for us, the community,” said Dina Johnson, the center’s executive director. “It’s a resource for anybody, for the food bank and baby closet.”
Johnson said distributions from the Baby Closet are not based on income..
“It’s based on if you have a child, let us help you give you a break financially,” she said.
The closet and distributions are managed by Johnson and her team. They constantly reorganize and move products around to make room for more products, according to Johnson.
The Baby Closet currently supports more than 100 families, Johnson said, but the center is hoping to grow that number with the help of donations. The center recently expanded the closet’s hours from half to full days to make it more accessible to working parents.
“We are always open to any other donors that would love to collaborate with us or sponsors or anything of that nature that would also like to join in with us to help make it more bountiful and visible,” Johnson said.
The closet is overflowing with several types of formulas, including Enfamil Enfacare, Nutricial Neocate, By Heart whole nutrition formula, goat milk formula, plant-based formula and more. It has more than 50 cans of Similac Sensitive and more than 60 of Similac Advance.
Johnson said, however, that the Baby Closet accepts far more than formula and disposable diapers. Almost anything that has to do with babies will be accepted, she said.
“We take thermometers, hygiene for babies including nail clippers,” she noted. “We just got some air freshener that we passed out, and we got some lotions for the babies in the last delivery from the foodbank.”
Also needed: baby clothes up to toddler size.
Johnson emphasized the impact the closet can have on families financially. One can of formula can cost up to $60 and families can receive up to a month’s supply. This has the potential to save families up to $300 a month.
“What we want to do is ease that financial strain because other things stem from relationships under financial strain. If we can keep them stabilized and get everybody in a comfortable place by helping them, the community will stabilize,” Johnson said.
This story was reported and written by a student with the support of the non-profit Louisiana Collegiate News Collaborative, an LSU-led coalition of eight universities funded by the Henry Luce and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundations.
