Jessica Seinfeld - Baby Buggy

Baby Buggy

Baby Buggy was founded in May 2001 by Jessica Seinfeld after the birth of her first child. According to Jessica, “shortly after the birth of my daughter, Sascha, having slowly accumulated closets full of used – but very usable – baby clothing and equipment she no longer needed, I had a moral dilemma; as the daughter of a social worker, throwing out perfectly good baby gear was unthinkable; and yet there was no easy way to get it to a family who could use it. Thus, Baby Buggy was born.” With a motto of “Love Recycled,” Baby Buggy's goal is to help families in need access the essentials to ensure their safety and well-being. By providing concrete resources to their families through a network of social service professionals, Baby Buggy helps to alleviate the stress of living in poverty, and help prevent crisis. In total, Baby Buggy has donated over 4.4 million items to hundreds of thousands of families in need in the past nine years.

Baby Buggy works with a network of over 50 Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and City agencies to distribute its goods including: organizations working with victims of domestic violence like Safe Horizon and New York Asian Women’s Center; multi-service sites like Single Stop East Harlem and Lenox Hill Neighborhood House; prenatal and NICU units at hospitals like Woodhull and NY Presbyterian; immigrant and refugee-serving organizations like the International Rescue Committee; and parenting programs such as the nationally-recognized Nurse-Family Partnership program and Harlem Children’s Zone’s Baby College.

About $2 Million of Baby Buggy’s budget is made up of in-kind product donations from individuals and corporations. Financial support for the organization comes through its Board of Directors, the Friends of Baby Buggy group, other private individuals, corporations and foundations. As of 2008, 88 cents of every dollar received by Baby Buggy went straight to programs. In 2009, Baby Buggy received its third Four Star rating from Charity Navigator. The charity is also an Accredited Charity of the Better Business Bureau.

In July 2010, Baby Buggy launched a layette collection with Target Corporation, with 10% of sales going to help families in need. The layette line was designed by illustrator and children’s book author Maira Kalman.