That Old Baby Carrier Would Make an Excellent Gift for a Refugee Family
(Photo Via Facebook/CarrytheFuture)
Anyone who has ever carried a squirming infant or toddler across even a short distance, like a parking lot, probably has a healthy appreciation for baby carriers. That’s why Carry The Future is such a great idea. The relatively young charity was founded recently to give new and gently used baby carriers to Syrian refugees, who otherwise might be walking long distances just carrying their children in their arms.
Millions of people have been displaced by the conflict in Syria, and a lot of those people are small children. More than 9,000 refugees reportedly arrive on the shores of Greece every day, and at least 30 percent of those people are small children. Escaping Syria does not end in Greece, either. Many of those families will be carrying their babies and small children for hundreds of miles across Europe. When one visualizes having to carry a baby for a distance like that, a baby carrier starts to seem less like a luxury and more like an absolute essential.
Carry the Future is collecting donations of new and gently used baby carriers to be given to refugees from Syria. According to their Facebook page, they are looking for soft, structured carriers. That’s basically any baby carrier with clasps, like a Baby Bjorn, Kolcraft, MobyGo, Mei Tei, Tulla, or ErgoBaby carrier. A lot of us have those sorts of things just sitting around once our babies outgrow them, and this is a very good place to send them. Carry the Future can’t accept wraps or slings because of logistical problems with getting people fitted into the carriers in a very short moment with no common language, but if you have a carrier with clasps that’s easy to put on, someone out there would really love to have it.
According to Today, Carry the Future was founded by a California mother named Cristal Logothetis, who saw refugees carrying babies and toddlers and realized that there was a significant need for baby carriers.
The gift of a baby carrier can save a person’s back and arms, and make it easier for an infant or small child to sleep comfortably during a journey, but it does even more than that: It sends a clear message that someone out there has seen your struggle and cares about what happens to you. Many donors reportedly pin notes of support or encouragement inside the carriers for the families to find later. Small items that can fit in the carrier’s pocket can also be sent, though Carry the Future has specified that it is not accepting toys, clothes, or other donations besides the carriers and what can fit in the carriers’ pockets at the moment.
According to the Carry the Future Facebook page, donations of carriers–and carriers only, please–can be sent to:
C/O CarryTheFuture
121 W. Lexington Drive
Suite L 106D
Glendale CA 91203
