North Baton Rouge ‘My Baby’s Closet’ set to help parents in need with new baby items

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Inside the Jewel J. Newman Community Center, a new resource center called, ‘My Baby’s Closet’, is set to make a difference in the community. 

Baby essentials such as baby clothing, diapers, formula and wipes make up the closet. 

Parents in north Baton Rouge can now benefit from the area, which is not only essential for those in financial need, but also those with not enough time, says Chana Banks, District 2 Councilwoman. 

“So, in this area, a lot of the persons that come here, they are already under-insured or have no insurance. And oftentimes when we have working parents, many of them are single, they are not able to get around where they were to go to the store to get baby items,” Banks said. “We’re trying to make this a one stop all for those families.” 

Robert Sensley, program coordinator with Black Dads for Life, said the resource center might be in its early stages, but it’s set to make a difference, especially to parents who he says need help. 

Growing up, Sensley saw his single mother needing help, now he hopes parents in need use this to their advantage. 

“My Baby’s Closet is a resource for the community where we work together to have services available for the community, such as diapers, wipes, things that, you know, any family would need for a small child,” Sensley said. 

Now with the first location open, he hopes other community centers, councilmembers, and churches collaborate to open more My Baby Closet locations. 

“Our goal is to have this closet, this resource available to all the community centers throughout the city, also to all the churches, the Black churches in the city as well,” Sensley said. “I think that this is something that can grow. I think it’s something that can be duplicated. And we’re just looking to just respond to the need here in Baton Rouge and on and grow from there.”

According to Sensley, the closet is a community collaboration and asks for help when it comes to donations. Items donated must be new and can be as small as wipes to big items, such as strollers and car seats. 

“This is a community-based drive,” Sensley said. “Big ticket items that may be expensive for some families may not be so expensive for you. If you can pass it along to another family, that makes a whole deal of a difference for those parents.”

For more information on My Baby’s Closet, call 1-888-816-1032, the closet is located at 2013 Central Road in Baton Rouge.