Helping Mamas provides essential baby items and period products to women and children in need throughout the state of Georgia and in Knoxville, TN. The nonprofit was started in 2014 by Jamie Lackey, a social worker who saw moms use plastic grocery store bags as diapers and knew something needed to be done.
Helping Mamas has experienced exponential growth over the past eight years, particularly during the pandemic. The organization now serves nearly 60,000 children a year and distributes 2 million essential items through 150 partnerships with social services agencies.
Last year, Pegi Amend, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) retiree, joined Helping Mamas as an Encore Fellow, a seasoned professional who takes on a significant, paid assignment at a nonprofit for 6-12 months. When her fellowship ended, Amend accepted a full-time position as Helping Mamas’s director of finance and operations.