San Diego –
The Culture Committee at Defense Logistics Agency Aviation-San Diego collaborated with a local non-profit organization and held a clothing drive in May.
The committee's charter teamed with Gently Hugged, a local organization who provides new and gently used baby clothing/items from the ages of newborn to 1-year-olds throughout San Diego County as a means of giving back to those communities where we work and live. Nurses in the county teamed with social service agencies to identify the families in need. This teaming event developed comradery and built positive relationships between DLA Aviation-San Diego’s employees and the local community.
The response from employees was huge and over 200 articles of clothing and toys were collected. This provided many families in need with the basics to clothe and care for their babies. Donations bins were set up in several buildings throughout the command for employees to donate.
The clothes donated were in preemie to 12-month sizes, along with blankets and accessories (including hats, socks, bibs). The items were sorted and were placed in boxes labeled for a baby "boy" or "girl".
Multilingual educational materials related to sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, and information on other prevention issues were also included with each package.
The boxes were distributed by nurses and social workers to low income, military, immigrant, and foster families in need within underserved areas.