When we designed this campaign, we knew it was going to be a significant undertaking; we also knew we had to set our sights high to ensure we would be able to make it through this pandemic. For Birth Roots, 2020 was positioned as our year to thrive. In early March of 2020, we had just finished restructuring our board of directors by adding several committees to best utilize our governing bodies’ leadership and talents. We had started to shift our focus toward searching for our first-ever Executive Director to centralize our internal leadership and allow Leah and Emily (our founders) to focus on developing new programming with the aim of broadening our community reach. We were poised to SOAR. 

Suddenly, alongside all of you, our world shuddered. We closed our physical doors and cancelled in-person fundraisers to keep our community safe. We immediately pivoted to putting all of our offerings online, we learned to ZOOM, we invigorated our outdoor classroom and nature-based offerings, and did not miss a beat because we knew the connection and voice offered through Birth Roots was more vital than it had ever been. 

The momentum of this campaign is a direct reflection of the impact Birth Roots and community supported parenting has had on the lives of families throughout our region. Since November, we have heard from Birth Roots alumni, as well as the parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents who have personally witnessed the power of community supported parenting in the experiences of the new parents in their lives. The earliest weeks and months of new parenthood can feel like a free fall when so many of the needs of new parents are not prioritized or even recognized by our current systems. Birth Roots' classes and events are carefully crafted to compensate for these gaps in structural support.  

We hoped that early 2021 would bring with it ample COVID-19 vaccines and a clear picture for life that would resemble normalcy. Like all of you, we now understand that the pandemic continues to have devastating impacts on our towns, cities, state, and the nation as a whole, and no “clear” end is in sight. We don’t know when we will be able to open our doors again, or invite you and your children to share our space in one of our signature community events. 

For this reason we have decided to keep this campaign open until March 31, 2021 as we originally planned, even as we get closer to reaching our goal. We have a huge amount of respect and gratitude for this community, and we know many of you have contributed to this effort while you and your families experience financial impacts from the pandemic. To each and every donor we are, and continue to be, immensely grateful. As promised when we launched this effort, each dollar we raise will be used to support Birth Roots operations as we offer Zoom classes, design virtual and socially-distanced events, and develop programming like 100 Days of Winter to help parents manage this increasingly difficult time - and continue to plan for the future. 

Birth Roots is a nonprofit organization on a lifetime mission to move cultural norms -- from where we stand now where we fail to recognize the weight of the work of parenting toward a culture of community supported parenting. We are making progress on all of our work because of people like YOU.

We are here for you, we will continue to be here for you, and we are invigorated by the opportunity we have to meet you all in this moment. 

With love and gratitude, 

Leah, Emily, Birth Roots Staff and Board of Directors

Campaign Donation Bonus:

• We have partnered with Jade Integrated Health who will provide a FREE private in-depth (typically 30 minutes) Physical Therapy Prenatal or Postpartum consultations to anyone who donates $50 or more to our Resilient Roots Campaign - call Jade with the code in your receipt to schedule with one of their providers!

We know our community is full of young families and we do not ask for your help lightly. We are working to engage more corporate and institutional donors, and secure funding from a wide variety of sources. However, today we must rely on our individual relationships to help us make-up our funding gap. Each dollar we raise will be used to sustain our general operations and fortify our footing as we march forward. We will consistently provide updates to our donors about the progress of our Resilient Roots Campaign as we navigate through this difficult time. 

We are grateful to our lead contributors and partners in this campaign, including Tom's of Maine, Jade Integrated Health, and Dirigo Pediatric Dentistry who recognize our work as a key community service that deserves (and requires) investment from community leaders. Thank you for being part of the change we need to see for parents and young families in our community.