Twenty Breastfeeding-Related Ideas for International Volunteer Day

In conjunction with International Volunteer Day December 5, 2008, I challenge all Breastfeeding 1-2-3 readers and their breastfeeding advocate friends to choose a volunteer activity to support breastfeeding. Start thinking what you would like to do between now and December 5 to celebrate International Volunteer Day. I’ll remind you again over the coming months, and check in on December 5 to see how you decided to volunteer to support breastfeeding! I have come up with 20 ideas to get you started. Leave a comment with more ideas, or share a link to your own post on International Volunteer Day and the Breastfeeding 1-2-3 Challenge!

20 Ways to Volunteer to Promote Breastfeeding

1. Join your state or regional breastfeeding coalition or task force.

2. Investigate whether you qualify to donate breast milk through one of the non-profit milk banks.

3. If you are qualified to do so, offer to speak about breastfeeding at a birth or parenting class or even the local high school.

4. Donate your pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and parenting books (see Five Ways to Pass on Your Breastfeeding Books). Take up a collection from your friends!

5. Create breastfeeding related crafts to sell, such as t-shirts, cloth nursing pads, slings, nursing covers, bumper stickers, or buttons, and donate the profits to your favorite breastfeeding-related charity.

6. Talk to an expecting mother about your breastfeeding experience.

7. Post in support of other breastfeeding mothers on breastfeeding forums and bulletin boards.

8. Distribute International Breastfeeding Symbol stickers for display in local stores and restaurants.

9. Write an article for your local newspaper on a breastfeeding support group or recent World Breastfeeding Week event.

10. Create a breastfeeding awareness video to enter into next year’s World Breastfeeding Week video contest (assuming there is one) or upload a video to YouTube.

La Leche League Related Ideas

11. Investigate becoming a La Leche League Leader.

12. Take on a non-leader job in your local La Leche League group. Mothers are needed for all different sizes and sorts of jobs such as greeter, snack coordinator, librarian, new mother packet distributor, and treasurer.

13. Submit your breastfeeding story to NEW BEGINNINGS magazine.

14. Start planning for next year’s World Breastfeeding Week.

15. Write a thank you note to one or more of the companies or organizations that sponsored World Breastfeeding Week Celebration prizes in 2008 and encourage them to donate again next year.

16. Coordinate a holiday-related fundraiser (think holiday party with cookie exchange and silent auctions). Hold it on the actual Friday night December the 5th, or any other time!

17. Plan a theme basket and sell drawing tickets at the next local LLL conference. Popular basket themes include a gift card tree (with cards donated by local merchants and/or mothers), pregnancy and birth, day at the beach, and chocolate.

18. Work with your local La Leche League leader to distribute LLL brochures, meeting notices, and business cards to area obstetricians, midwives, pediatricians, and libraries.

19. Design and maintain a website with your local LLL group’s meeting times and locations, contact names/phone numbers/emails, events, and fundraising opportunities. If your group already has a website, see if the group needs someone to maintain and update it on a regular basis.

And last but not least:

20. Spread the word about this challenge to your friends, LLL leaders, and blog readers! Feel free to grab the Breastfeeding 1-2-3 Challenge image shown above for display on your blog with a link back to this post! (Email me if you need help).

Any more ideas? Decided what you’re going to do? Leave a comment with your idea, volunteer commitment, or link!