Baby2Baby Gala Raises 12 Million Dollars To Tackle Poverty

Imagine having no diapers for your baby and using newspapers instead. Or picture running out of formula for your hungry, crying newborn and giving your child Gatorade, so they don’t starve to death. While these scenarios are heartbreaking, this is the reality for nearly half of American families according to The NBDN Diaper Check 2023.

On Saturday night, more than 800 guests including Hollywood stars and executives, business leaders, and philanthropists packed the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles and raised more than $12 million to support Baby2Baby. The national nonprofit, run by Co-CEOs Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein, provides basic necessities to children experiencing poverty. “This event is so much more than just a party. It single handedly raises millions of dollars to make Baby2Baby’s vital work possible. This one night is where Baby2Baby raises 60 percent of their operating budget,” Olivia Wilde shared on stage alongside Kim Kardashian and Zoe Saldaña.

The Giving Tree Award

During the fundraising, Kardashian, who received Baby2Baby’s Giving Tree Award last year, donated $500,000 along with Emma and Jens Grede from SKIMS.

This year, the nonprofit honored Oscar-nominated actress, Emmy-winning director, producer, and humanitarian Salma Hayek Pinault. “We already knew Salma was a force, but are blown away by her genuine passion for giving back. She cares so deeply about helping children in need which is our entire mission at Baby2Baby. From her commitment to increasing resources and opportunities for women and girls to her support of children impacted by natural disasters, Salma emulates exactly what this award means to Baby2Baby,” Weinstein said.

During Hayek Pinault’s acceptance speech, she stressed the importance of dignity. “Diapers are dignity, make no mistake,” she said. “Everything you donate and everything that Baby2Baby brings – there is an intention, not just money. It is love. It is compassion. It is caring. We are interconnected – baby to baby.”

Other Hollywood stars who presented included Jennifer Garner, Julie Bowen, Zooey Deschanel, and Channing Tatum. Snoop Dogg performed live and D-Nice ran the after party. Guests mingled as they tried featured dishes from Los Angeles’ top chefs and restaurants, which was curated and led by Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of Jon & Vinny’s, Son of a Gun, Cookbook Market and Carmelized Productions. Participating restaurants included Funke, KazuNori by Sushi
SUSHI
Nozawa, and Craig’s Vegan Ice Cream. Foodies who stopped by Broad Street Oyster Co. x goop Kitchen’s spot were served by Christopher Tompkins and Gwyneth Paltrow. The event was presented by Paul Mitchell and included additional sponsors, City National Bank, and Volvo Car USA.

Powered By Women

When Sawyer Patricof and Weinstein addressed the attendees, they shared how they have developed an innovative model and unique approach to help alleviate the burden felt by families experiencing poverty from a variety of angles, including manufacturing, advocacy, influencer marketing, and more, always finding ways to evolve their approach to meet the needs of the families they serve.

They say much of Baby2Baby’s success can be attributed to the combined effort of an ever-evolving network of an all-female board of directors and angel ambassadors including Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling, Kim Kardashian, Olivia Wilde, Vanessa Bryant, Jessica Alba, Zoe Saldaña, Kristen Bell, Ali Wong, Blake Lively, Ayesha Curry, Kate Hudson and more. “Our incredible supporters advocate for Baby2Baby every day of the year and leverage their unparalleled platforms to raise millions of dollars for Baby2Baby and the children we serve.”

Alleviating A Massive Need

Baby2Baby has distributed 375 million critical items over the past 12 years. “We are supporting children in all 50 states and received requests for 1.3 billion diapers this year alone,” Weinstein said. The organization has given out 170 million diapers and launched their own diaper manufacturing system to make them at 80% less of the cost.

The Co-CEOs also discussed Baby2Baby’s collaboration with the White House, which is addressing the alarming maternal mortality crisis in the country. Sawyer Patricof and Weinstein further emphasized Baby2Baby’s recent crucial efforts around the globe. This includes providing aid to children in the Middle East, dispatching more than half a million emergency supplies to children affected by the Maui wildfires, providing formula and clothing to support families who lost their homes in the aftermath of tornadoes in Mississippi, delivering more than 350,000 emergency supplies to Florida following the devastation caused by Hurricane Idalia, and more. “We know and deeply understand the fear of donors that their money or donations will not reach the intended recipients. But ours did and do,” Weinstein said. “We step back and listen and assess. We wait for requests to come in from trusted partners on the ground–from the smallest grassroots organizations to the largest government agencies like FEMA or the Red Cross. Then, we provide families with their most urgent needs–in the shortest possible time,” Sawyer Patricof added.