LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Welcoming a baby to the family is a life-altering experience. Between the diapers, the wipes, the clothes, the crib, and the car seat, it doesn't come cheap.
Inside a Spring Valley business park, the mission statement for the nonprofit Baby's Bounty is literally written on the wall: a good start for every baby.
A wall full of baby photos is a reminder of just whom the charity has helped for the last 17 years: babies! About 30,000 Nevada families use Baby's Bounty's diaper banks each year.
"We rely on about 150 volunteers who come and help us run these diaper banks, and it's critical to our programming," explains Baby's Bounty CEO Kelly Maxwell.
One of those volunteers is Maxine Rodriguez, a recent nursing school graduate who has volunteered for the last two years.
"Not only does Maxine show up to all of our diaper banks, but she also shows up with that bubbly personality, with that great attitude, with that eagerness to help and to support her community," Maxwell added.
As the nonprofit has grown, the nature of the volunteering has also changed.
"It's been amazing to see how the workflow has evolved since volunteering here two years ago," Rodriguez told Channel 13. "They have a system of going down the line, calling out the numbers, and it's really a team effort."
The Baby's Bounty warehouse has boxes of diapers stacked to the ceiling, and more baby wipes than you can imagine. The nonprofit also distributes about 1,200 Baby Bundles to expecting families each year.
"Our Baby Bundle provides about $500 worth of supplies to families living in poverty," Maxwell said. "It's a brand new crib, a brand new car seat, 25 items of clothing, bibs, rattles, baby books, and a safe sleep kit. It's everything you would imagine receiving at a baby shower, but our clients living in this kind of poverty don't have family or friends that can throw them baby showers like this."
As a volunteer, Maxine Rodriguez has even pointed fellow nursing students who were going to have babies to the Diapers for Diplomas program.
"In my [nursing] cohort personally, there's like 60 of us, and three women got pregnant during the program. I told them, Baby's Bounty does this thing with diapers and diplomas, it's an amazing program that they have, and they've each reached out and checked out the program," Rodriguez said.
For her work on behalf of babies and young families in Nevada, Findlay Automotive Group's Jeff Giles recognizes Maxine Rodriguez as this month's Vegas Stronger Champion.
"We've heard a lot about you and what you've been doing here with Baby's Bounty. And we love Baby's Bounty, we've been aware of them for a long time, and supported them in the past. And we understand that you've just graduated recently with a nursing degree, so call it a graduation present. We are highlighting you as our Vegas Stronger Champion, and we wanted to give you a small token of our appreciation for what you've done and what you continue to do," Giles told Rodriguez while surprising her with a check for $599.
