I recently had the chance to do something I absolutely love and that is volunteering. In another life back before I become a mommy to two, I was the leader of a community service group. Now I just volunteer where I can and donate when I can’t. One of the places that hits home for me is the Lovelady Center in Birmingham, AL. My mother used to teach down there. She would teach the women computer skills so that they can better themselves to get better jobs. Also, one of my sisters is a resident of Lovelady and I truly believe they have helped her stay clean. Because of Nuby’s awesome Nuby in the Community program, I was able to go down and spend a couple hours at the Lovelady Center as well as give out Nuby products to the children in the KidsZone. So I gave out the Nuby Snack Keepers and I brought a box of Cheerios to bring them a special healthy snack to put in them.
The Lovelady Center is located in Birmingham, AL and is more than just a shelter for women. The Lovelady Center (TLC) is a 6 to 12 month program to help rebuild lives. They offer housing and shelter to more than 450 women and children daily including meals. They also have in-house psychologists, state certified child care at the KidsZone, and post-secondary education course. They give these women the chance they need to make a better life for themselves and their children. They even offer transportation to where they may need to go including Celebrate Recovery which is a great program offered at many churches. 
This is the first time I have worked with young children. I have raised money for mission trips, I have sold pizza for scholarship money for college students, I have even held ‘jail’ for kisses to buy books for underprivelged youth but until last Tuesday, I had never actually volunteered with children. It was an experience. They were so thoughful. One child even broke my heart. He was in the 3 year old group and when I handed him his Nuby cup with cheerios, he stayed right with me and said, “My brother” several times. I asked the ladies working in that room and they said he had a twin brother who was sleeping. So I gave him one for his brother and even when he had finished his snack, he did not even try to eat the Cheerios in his brothers.
All the kids loved their Snack Keepers! Some of the younger kids were trying to ‘drink’ theirs, it was adorable. I think the workers there could have kissed me though because this was the first snack time with no mess! The children in the KidsZone were amazingly behaved but all kids make messes and they tried to shake the Cheerios out but the Nuby Snack Keepers are made to resist that.
I was sad to leave the kids after my volunteer hours were over. I plan on going again and seeing how they are doing soon. They were so sweet and I thought all the ladies who worked there were awesome and patient! You can check out the rest of my photos on my Google + album.
Thank you so much Nuby for setting up such a great volunteer event for me!
You can check out more about the Lovelady Center at their website or you can like them on Facebook.
I participated in this event as part of the Nuby Mommy Blogger program. I did not receive any compensation to write this post.
