Little Essentials

In June 2010, our founder, Sandie Trombert, saw a post on her neighborhood parenting listserv in Brooklyn that changed her life - and the lives of thousands of New York children living in poverty.

A volunteer at a city agency posted to the listserv that there was a pregnant mother living in a homeless shelter who was desperate for baby clothes.

Directly alongside her plea were posts from parents looking to give away surplus clothing, strollers, carseats and other items that their families no longer needed.

The contrast was striking.

Sandie immediately contacted the parents with items to give away. She drove around her neighborhood to collect the donations, then delivered them to the agency - all with her six-month-old baby in tow.

In the coming months, she became more involved in making connections between parents donating items and the agencies who help low-income families acquire much-needed essentials. In May of 2011 Little Essentials was born.

In the years since then, the organization has grown from something Sandie ran out of her living room to an established entity that, together with our partners and with the support of our sponsors, has served over 34,000 children living in poverty.