March Magic Membership Drive 2016 - and the new Pay It Forward Program
Once again, it’s time for Babywearing International of the Bay Area’s March Magic Membership Drive! Yes, we’re asking you for money. This is a little long and there aren’t lots of pictures, but we hope it’s not as annoying as the pledge drives they have on KQED! There is a quiz at the end...but it’s worth it because there are prizes!
Besides the prizes (and more on that below), why should you hand over your hard-earned money for membership in BWI of the Bay Area?
Memberships Make Magic
When you support BWI-BA by making a donation of just $30 for annual membership dues, you get the benefit of free borrowing from our learning library – and most of the money we collect in membership dues is spent on buying library carriers. Most members join because they want to try out a carrier before buying their own, without the hassle and expense of trial-and-error buying and trading online. And while we do allow non-members to check out carriers for a small fee and with a deposit each time, keep this in mind: Not only do different carriers work best for different people, but also different carriers work best at different developmental stages for baby (and you know how fast they go through those!), so a membership is a great way to freely try out new things not just right now, but also in three or six or nine months when your baby is outgrowing the carrier that’s perfect now!
Plus? We have a long and growing list of businesses where you can get a discount just by showing your BWI-BA membership card. A lot of them sell baby carriers. Some of them are private babywearing consultants, or provide other personal services that can be quite expensive. If you’re about to spend several hundred dollars on products and services that benefit your new baby, your membership discounts could save you more than your $30 dues!
But what if you are struggling financially and can’t afford to buy a suitable baby carrier – discounts or no discounts? By paying just $30 for a membership and coming to a meeting once a month, you can have a quality baby carrier to use every single day for an entire year, and never buy your own at all! So membership, with the benefit of free borrowing from our library, is a marvelous deal. For only $30 per year you can use a good quality, good looking carrier that’s just right for you, your baby, and your life at every stage, without spending time or money on shopping or shipping. (If $30 is more than you can spend, don’t get discouraged, and keep reading. We have a new program you’ll be interested in, and you can still enter the March Magic Membership Prize Drawing!)
Now, maybe you’re thinking you don’t need the library and won’t use the member discounts. Maybe you have an enviable carrier stash already. Maybe your last baby is starting kindergarten soon and you’re selling off your stash rather than adding to it. Maybe you really enjoy the buy/sell/trade boards! And that’s awesome. But you should be a member too – and if you can, you should make an additional donation for a gift or pay-it-forward membership. Why? Because a membership is an investment, not in cash, but in magic! When a frustrated, confused, or just plain worn-out caregiver settles his or her baby into a comfortable hands-free carry, for the first time, it’s an absolutely magical moment. Every Volunteer Babywearing Educator has seen the look on the face of a new babywearer who is experiencing that magical moment, and we never get tired of it. Seeing that moment is so rewarding when you have helped to make it happen. And you don’t have to be a VBE in order to help it happen. Making those magical moments for as many people as possible does take money.
Our VBEs and many other dedicated members give our time and the benefit of our experience for free, but from buying carriers to printing brochures, BWI-BA uses materials that cost money, and more money allows us to reach more people, and do more magic. Become a member, and help make magic happen. And if you don’t need the membership benefits yourself, or if you can afford more than just one membership, make a gift to a friend (we’ll even send you a lovely printable gift certificate) or make a donation to our new pay-it-forward program.
The Pay-It-Forward Membership Program
Ever heard of a “suspended coffee” or a “pinned pizza slice”? Ever paid the bridge toll or fast food drive-through bill for the person behind you, or paid off a stranger’s Christmastime layaway account at Kmart? BWI-BA’s new Pay-It-Forward Program works in a similar way. We’re asking those who can, to make a donation earmarked to fund membership for the next Bay Area babywearer (or would-be babywearer) who could really use the library borrowing benefits but cannot afford the $30 dues.
During the month of March we’ll be setting up the administrative systems to make the program work, and we’ll accept your donations for the purpose starting now – and at any time in the future! If you donate $30 or more by the end of this month, you’ll get extra chances to win a prize in our March Magic Membership Drive prize drawing! All you have to do in order to donate a Pay It Forward Membership is to make a note on your PayPal payment, or tell us in person or by email that you want your cash, check, or credit card payment to be a Pay It Forward donation. You can use the "Donate" button on the Support Us page, or log into your own PayPal account and send $30 (or any amount) to bayareababywearers@yahoo.com, or make a donation by cash, check, or credit card at any meeting.
Beginning in April we’ll use the pay-it-forward funds to grant memberships, on a “first come, first served” basis as funding allows, to low-income Bay Area babywearers who complete a simple application and attend a meeting to start their membership. If you receive WIC or MediCal benefits, you are eligible to receive a pay-it-forward membership. If you don’t have WIC or MediCal, you may still qualify; we will ask you to tell us a little more about your situation and how you will benefit from access to BWI-BA membership. More details about the application process will of course be available next month, and changes may be made in the future depending on the balance of donations and applications we receive. But no matter what, we promise that applying will not be complicated and your privacy will be protected.
We hope that this new Pay-It-Forward Program will help Bay Area babywearers in need get the most out of our meetings and our library, and that it will inspire our financially fortunate members and fans to give us more membership money for making more magic!
Prizes!
BWI-BA’s leadership has always been grateful and proud to have members who are kind, generous, and welcoming to babywearers from every walk of life. You all seriously do make magic, all the time, already. And as a thank-you, whether you’re giving money or supporting us in other ways, we’re awarding prizes!
We have some amazing prizes to give away this year, thanks to generous donors BabyloniaUSA, Smitten, Lullaby Links, Abrazame: Hold Me With Love and others listed on the contest page. Think how magical it will feel if you’re the winner of a brand new BB Tai, Smitten woven wrap, Waldorf-inspired Peppa Doll or fabulous doll carrier!
You can enter to win one of these fabulous items by answering a simple quiz about different ways to support BWI-BA’s efforts to make magical moments for more Bay Area babywearers. You’ll have additional chances to win if you’re a member, and even more additional chances to win if you join, renew, gift, or sponsor a Pay-It-Forward membership during the month of March.
So, go here to sign up and send money. And go here to enter the prize contest
Of course, you can also join and donate at any meeting. And just as an extra bonus, if you make a membership dues donation (for yourself, as a gift or Pay It Forward) in person at any meeting during March 2016, we’ll give you a discount coupon for Happy Baby snack food – while supplies last.
Carry on!
