IRS Paperwork submitted

Well, we have submitted our paperwork to the IRS for 501(3)(c) non-profit status. I have no idea how long it will take to get a determination, but you can all rest easy knowing we have officially been an Oregon Charitable Organization since June of 2009.

I am also really excited to confirm that we have taken over the Baby Love Blanket Drive this year and we have already been notified that the first batch is ready to be picked up from the Knitting Bee!

Thanks Nurture!

Thank you to Mychelle Mortiz and  Nurture, who have pledged to make blankets for the drive this year. 

"Nurture is... A space for your family to tend to your hearts, minds, and bodies. A place to create, learn, nourish, and grow." 

To find out more about Nurture, click on the link above or under "participants"

Thanks!

Special Thanks to Hillsview Community Church!

Today we received some happy news! The Women’s Ministry at the Hillsview Community Church in Damascus, Oregon have opened their hearts and hands by pledging to create blankets for our kids through the blanket drive. They are also setting up donation bins in their lobby for clothing items. If you live in Damascus, feel free to drop by their church and say hi or give them a call at (503) 912-0116!

No October Meeting & an Update

There will be no October Meeting for Ayla Birth, but I will go ahead and update everyone here.

1. Ayla Birth is still on track with our 10/31 501(3)(c) submission and I'm hopeful it will be accepted by the IRS on the first try.

2. We got our baby/mom pictures and they look awesome!

3. There is a potential for one of our doulas, Jane, to meet with Health Connections in Chicago over the Thanksgiving holiday.

4. The website is a little bit behind, but since Mr. Evans is doing it for free, I'm rather hard pressed to complain about it .

5. I have met with Madia from Right After Delivery Doula Service is working on our postpartum side and I'm very excited to have her expertise on board.

Thanks everyone!

-Anne

Drop sites confirmed for 2009!

The three wonderful yarn stores which served as our drop sites for 2008 have confirmed for 2009!

Portland

The Knitting Bee (off Hwy 26 @ 185th)
18305 NW West Union Rd.
Portland, OR 97229
(503) 439.3316

Twisted
2310 NE Broadway
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 922-1150

Sandy

Designer Yarn
38871 Proctor Blvd.
Sandy, Oregon 97055
(503) 826-0123

By Mail:
Baby Love Blanket Drive
4408 SE 67th Avenue
Portland, OR 97206

Meeting Agenda 8/19/09

1. Introductions

2. Business Plan

3. What is a Community Birth Doula?

4. Feedback

Reminder: Meeting tonight!

Tonight @ 6pm at Old Wives Tale 1300 E Burnside, Portland, OR.

I have the meeting booked until 8, but hopefully it won't take that long for me to drone on about business plans!

September already?

Well, I can't believe we are coming up on September already! Stay tuned for this year's charities, drop sites and participants!

Happy fiberwork everyone!

Announcing: Photographer in Residence

Ayla Birth is pleased to announced our “photographer in residence,” Hedy Bartleson! Hedy has worked with photographic media for eight years and is the owner of She Shot Me! photography. Hedy is also the mother of two wonderful children and the moderator for the Portland, Oregon chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN). Hedy can be reached at: hedrowilson@gmail.com

August Meeting

The Next Meeting for Doulas and others interested in joining Ayla Birth will be:

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 6pm-8pm at Old Wives Tale 1300 E Burnside, Portland, OR. I have reserved our spot, but please be aware that there is a mandatory 20% gratuity on each person's tab, as is standard for large groups.

This restaurant can accommodate, vegetarian, vegan and gluten free diets and children are welcome.

To RSVP please contact aylabirth@gmail.com

A sampling of blankets

This is just a small sampling of what we received. This blanket drive rocked!

Time...how it flies

Well, per usual...the holiday rush and the blanket delivery took all the energy out of us and no one has had any time to post.

Let me say that the drive was amazing, we had 3x the blankets we had last year as well as that HUGE lot of beanie babies.

This year we had more yarn shops from all over the Portland Metro area and it showed!

We were able to help women and children the YWCA Yolanda House, Outside/In, Oregon Special Olympics, and Washington County DHS - Foster Care and everyone who donated made a huge difference.

Thank you to The Knitting Bee, Little Cottage Preschool, Twisted PDX, Designer Yarn and especially those who donated their time and talents to craft the beautiful blankets and clothes.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

-Willow Birth

The blankets are in!

Wow! Did we get a huge amount of blankets this year!!!

We received 12 from the Knitting Bee (well, 11 plus my own) which went to the Washington County Foster Care program

We received...a whole lot (I haven't managed to count them yet) from Twisted in all shapes and sizes that will go to Yolanda House plus some baby hats and booties.

We received a huge amount of fleece blankets from Designer Yarn and a Girl Scout Troop in Estacada which will go both Yolanda House and OutSide In.

I am sad to say that I did not take a picture of all the lovely blankets from the Knitting Bee but only got a quick shot of the box before DHS picked them up...we also gave them a box of Beanie Babies