Vitamin Bridge, a Coppell-based nonprofit organization, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. One of the many reasons to celebrate this milestone is the fact that as of this year, the group plans to donate 100,000 bottles of his prenatal vitamins.
“That’s 100,000 mothers, at least [that many] Or maybe we’ll have more babies because we know we’re having some twins,” says Martha Day, co-founder of Vitamin Bridge.
Martha co-founded The Vitamin Bridge with her husband Tom Day in May 2019 to fill a gap she noticed while volunteering at Prestonwood Pregnancy Center in Richardson.
Inspiration
While volunteering at the center, Martha heard nurses repeatedly telling mothers-to-be that they needed to buy prenatal vitamins and start taking them as soon as possible. .
“They are [the moms] They came because they didn’t have insurance, they didn’t have a doctor, they couldn’t afford it,” Martha said. “It seemed to me like a huge opportunity was being missed.”
Martha said she was inspired to work on the bridge because she vividly remembers her mother, whom she met at the center while working at a commissary.
“She worked in the commissary, and as she explained, most of her meals were leftovers from the commissary at the end of the day, mostly hot dogs,” Martha said. “She’s six weeks pregnant and she’s eating mostly hot dogs. She can’t stand the thought of her leaving without her prenatal vitamin bottle in hand. It was.”
detail
The couple started the organization in their Coppell home, and the vitamins were stored in the utility room. In 2020, the nonprofit moved into the ReMax building on Denton Tap Road after receiving a donation of 6,000 bottles of prenatal vitamins from CVS.
Through a variety of means, including in-kind and monetary donations, the organization has expanded its reach to 140 first-touch community providers, organizations serving under-resourced women in early pregnancy .
participate
A pin-encrusted map of Texas and Georgia hangs in the nonprofit’s office. The pin shows the first touch providers to whom Vitamin Bridge has donated prenatal vitamins. Martha said there are other organizations that donate prenatal vitamins, but those efforts are primarily international. Vitamin Bridge focuses only on domestic needs.
Vitamin Bridge relies on donations and volunteers. Martha says a $5 donation will provide 100 days’ worth of prenatal vitamins to a pregnant woman. Volunteers are needed to stock the vitamins and deliver them to First Touch providers in the community.
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Throughout this process, Martha has been thinking, “If it’s true for one person, it’s true for another.” With that in mind, she continues:
“If you’re struggling to put food on the table or gas in the tank to get to a doctor’s appointment, your prenatal vitamins will probably stay on the shelf,” she says. “This shows that she cares about herself and her baby, and we want to invest in them. It means a lot.”
