This year, Francesa Grossberg (V) decided to volunteer at Nido de Esperanza in order to acquire more donations for the organization through a drive at Fieldston. The non-profit organization is located in New York, whose mission according to Nido de Esperanza is to “break the cycle of poverty by changing the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.” One may wonder: why are babies the focus? The development of a baby’s brain is critical as the abandonment of a child will lead to a lifelong intellectual underdevelopment and toxic stress. The neglect of a baby will perpetuate an ongoing cycle of poverty. Nido de Esperanza centers their work around six objectives. Nutrition, education and literacy, material goods and finances, child safety and health, community support and a mothers well-being. The non-profit organization also emphasizes their work around the importance of language and books.
In October of 2021, Grossberg researched that the non-profit organization was most in need of baby food and diapers, especially sizes four, five and six. She felt extremely passionate about the active work that Nido de Esperanza was participating in, and went to the community service office to propose a drive in school. She received a lot of support from the students and faculty. Grossberg said, “They help a lot of families whose parents are immigrants, so their mission is very interesting. They also help aid community health and make sure that families have the right resources to raise children.” Grossberg lives in Washington Heights where the non-profit organization is based, so she wanted to help her community at home as well. Currently, she volunteers for one hour every Friday. She has managed to donate around 350 diapers, 60 packages of baby food and over 300 ounces of baby formula. The best part for Grossberg about volunteering at Nido de Esperanza is seeing the support from the faculty and her classmates, and she hopes that her efforts of giving back to the community are continuously brought to the school environment.
For more information on Nido de Esperanza, visit their website here: https://nidodeesperanzanyc.org/
