After organizing three Baby and Kid Stuff swaps, it became apparent that many wonderful pieces of clothing were being passed up because they were not seasonally appropriate. It makes sense to donate seasonally appropriate items to partner organizations. However, passing on items they can not place immediately causes problems for these organizations. Meanwhile, this decreases the item's chance of being reused before ending up in a landfill. Wishing there was a way to keep these valuable resources within the community was one big spark in creating Materials for Families.

Material for Families works to keep things out of landfills by collecting gently used kids' clothing, supplies, and toys and then redistributing them to new families. We do this by helping organize community Baby and Kid Stuff Swaps. After the swap, surplus materials are donated to partner organizations that can use the donations immediately. We store seasonally inappropriate clothing, like swimsuits in the winter, for future swaps to give them a second chance at being reused by the community. We are working to make the world more green by connecting communities with their resources and influencing their views on used materials.

Materials for Families, Inc. is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington Heights, New York.