Baby Basics’ 6th annual Walking Challenge to be held in Naples

NAPLES, Fla.- Registration is open for Baby Basics’ 6th annual Walking Challenge that will be hosted on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at the North Collier Regional Park. Those interested in participating or sponsoring the event are encouraged to register in advance by visiting babybasicscollier.org.

Baby Basics’ Walking Challenge is open to all ages and includes a 1.5 to 6-mile walk in park to increase public awareness about Baby Basics, a volunteer organization that provides free diapers and kindness to over 345 babies from low-income, working families in Collier County and Bonita Springs.

Last year, more than 200 people attended the Challenge, which raised over $20,000 for Baby Basics.

“The Walking Challenge is our major fundraising event of the year,” said Jean Ann Lynch, the group’s founder and board president. “The entry fees and sponsorships are important to our ability to continue helping these children and their families. We are striving to meet our goal of raising enough money to purchase 1,000 cases of diapers, which would cost $30,000.”

The entry fee for Baby Basics’ Walking Challenge is $25 for one walker and a child and $10 for additional children. On-site registration for the Walking Challenge begins at 8:30 a.m. and the Challenge begins at 9:30 a.m. Brunch will be served following the Challenge and will be provided by Wynn’s Catering.

Baby Basics of Collier County was founded in 2004 and has impacted over 1,600 families in Collier County and Bonita Springs since it began. Families interested in the program are referred from local social service agencies and are screened for qualification. To participate in the program, families must meet certain criteria – which include at least one working parent or guardian, demonstrated financial need, and the family may not be receiving federal or state cash assistance. Those families who meet the criteria come to the closest distribution site to pick up a free supply of diapers. Volunteers greet the families, help them select the proper size, and provide information about the next distribution and other opportunities for supportive services. Baby Basics is a volunteer organization and all donations and sponsorship funds are used to purchase diapers.

For more information about Baby Basics, please visit www.BabyBasicsCollier.org or contact Jean Ann Lynch, Baby Basics founder and board president, at 239-352-4310 or via email at BabyBasicsNDC@hotmail.com.