Getting the word out...

I recently started a Facebook page to continue to get the word out about milk donation. I'm hoping to build a community via social networking. I'm not trying to set up milk sharing, as there are several organizations for that. I want to get the word out, inform, and educate.

I recently made a post on a mom networking site that asked for peoples thoughts and opinions on milk donation and the answers were varied and very enlightening. Over several blog posts, I hope to address several of the responses I received to my inquiry.

There is still a lot of work to do to get the word out. For now, check out my Facebook page here.

A matter of perspective

Not too long ago, my oldest brother and his family were over for dinner. It's no secret to most people that are close to me that I'm a milk donor and the topic came up. As we discussed it, my brother asked how much I had donated, jokingly asking if I had been able to collect a couple gallons. I let him know it was more than that and the last count to date from the milk bank was about 3800 ounces. "What's that?" He asks as he pulls out his phone with it's handy calculator. "Divide by 128," I tell him (this is the number of ounces in a gallon). As he calculates it up and sees the result, he practically chokes on his food and sheepishly puts his phone away with an approving nod. "How much is it?" his wife inquires. "About 30 gallons," he responds. Now, this sounds like a lot, and it is. Imagine thirty gallons of milk. This is not hard to do since many of us have milk in our homes and even if we don't, often we can recognize how much a gallon is. 30 of those is a lot. It is something I am proud of. When I consider this journey, I look at what I have been able to collect, and it's a good amount (and growing). I certainly do acknowledge that this is a significant amount, and not everyone will be able to contribute this. Although, from what I've been told by the milk bank, some donors have even contributed far more! Though tempting to make a competition out of this, I really can't. All I can do is keep doing what I'm doing. The final number doesn't really matter. What matters is that I'm giving. And here's some more perspective to consider. In a previous post, I described how in one week, the milk bank was short 3000 ounces. That's not the total amount requested in a week, that's just what they couldn't provide. I don't know how much they actually did provide or the total amount requested. What I do know is that the amount they were short was almost the entire amount that I had donated over 8.5 mo. Yes, my 30 gallons, used in a week's time, and then some. 8.5 mo of "work" gone, just like that. So, while it seems like a lot, it really is just a blip compared to the demand. Assuming that most donors don't offer up 30 gallons over their time donating, it makes it especially important that more donors come forth. A minimum donation for my milk bank is 100 ounces. 30 moms making this minimum donation will equal that 3000 that the milk bank was short for that week. The higher likelihood is that donor moms are able to donate more, like between 150 and 200 ounces and that means that 20 moms can fill that demand or that those same 30 could offer up 4500-6000 ounces. See how big of a difference that is? Every little bit helps.