It Takes a Village, it really does.

Normally I wouldn't post a charity or anything of that sort, but today is "Giving Tuesday" and "It Takes a Village" is doing a fund drive. I'll give you the link here, and explain why below the link. The short version is, It Takes a Village is the reason we have managed as well as we have through the challenges of the first year of our son's life. Without them we would have been moving out of our house, or at least giving up temporarily on homesteading.

You can find their Giving Tuesday page Here: https://givingtuesday.razoo.com/story/It-Takes-A-Village-Dba-The-Hilltown-Village

There are a lot of ways that the Hilltown It Takes a Village (ITAV) has helped us. First and foremost, Jeanne. Jeanne is a friend of ours from the Hilltown Seed Saving Network, but HITAV connected us with her as a volunteer. Every week since the Critter was born, she has come by the house, brought a hot meal for The Lady of the House, and an extra freezer meal for her, helped clean the house, and watched the kid for a few minutes. It's staggering what an hour a week can do for sanity, and being able to keep up with life. Especially with a very active small person, as the Critter has been.

Second they maintain the "Village Closet" Thanks to this resource we were able to use cloth diapers,
and have not just barely enough, but plenty of clothes as the Critter has grown. From there we've also had available to us cribs, high chairs, and many other things. Without that we'd be struggling to keep the Critter in diapers, and wouldn't have consistently well fitting clothes for him. We just don't have the money to keep up without the simple help of that availability.

The third is a sense of community around us, and providing a vast selection of information about resources around us. That ranges from event listings, to people knowledgeable about services, and people we can contact and ask for support when we need it. We've had people call and check up on us and just make sure we're ok. That kind of consistent and caring contact has helped us stay calm when we feel overwhelmed, and we have many times.

The last reason I would really encourage people to donate to this community group that provides such amazing services is directly related to our philosophy. This is a group that fits so strongly with our ethics of reuse, and community that this is the exact kind of organization that should exist and be supported. This is a group that relies on community to build a greater community. It has done just that. Right now we aren't in a position to donate money to them, only used items that the Critter has outgrown, and spreading their message. Right now, if people can give to them right now it is being matched which makes any monetary gift you send them doubly effective.

So, please, if you can spare a few dollars donate to It Takes a Village. They have been so much to us that it will be an organization we will give what ever we can to for years.