There’s a brand new milk depot in town . . .
If you’ve been checking the ‘gram then chances are you already know this but last Wednesday (December 7) marked the official opening of our brand new milk depot in Norwood, Massachusetts.
What’s a milk depot you ask . . .
A community milk depot, like our latest in partnership with Reliable Maternity, is a drop-off site where pre-screened moms can bring their milk which, in time, will be delivered to us. It’s here, at Milky Headquarters, that we pasteurize, test, and dispense this liquid love to the premature and medically fragile babies who need it most.
It sounds simple enough and yet we couldn’t do the work we do (or at least not half as successfully) without our incredible partners. For us, milk depots are an essential way to not only spread the word about breastmilk donation and its importance but make it easier for moms (A.K.A. the busiest people in the world!) to actually donate because, let’s face it, some days just making it out of bed is a feat.
Breastmilk saves lives . . .
And we don’t say that lightly! For medically fragile and preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) donor milk is rapidly becoming the standard supplement to mothers’ milk. As you can imagine, this has led to greater (and greater!) demand for safe, pasteurized breastmilk from nonprofit milk banks like ours – which is why we’re so incredibly thankful for our milk depots.
“We are grateful and delighted to be partnering with the team at Reliable Maternity. They recognize the critical need to promote breastmilk donation so that there is ample supply for the tiny babies who rely on us for a healthy start in life,” ~ Deborah C. Youngblood, Executive Director, Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast
Not all heroes wear capes . . .
In fact, here at the milk bank, ours wear nursing bras!
You see, we couldn’t do the work we do without partners like Reliable Maternity and we certainly couldn’t do it without the incredible women who so selflessly give the gift of their milk, time and energy to help babies in need. Women like Rachel Leist who not only braved the rain to attend last week’s grand opening but arrived clutching one tiny hand (hey Jackson – he’s the cutie with the lollipop by the way!) and a cooler full of liquid love. Now, if that’s not a reason to raise a glass and down some cake, we don’t know what is . . .
Interested in becoming a milk donor? We can help with that!
