Los Angeles, CA “ The wife of an active duty United States Marine, Kimberly Felshaw, established
Operation Showers of Appreciation in 2006 after members of a local church invited her to attend a shower where she was gifted all the items necessary to care for their first baby. A few weeks after the shower, her daughter Allysa was born. She arrived six weeks early, was diagnosed with a terminal disease called
Trisomy 13 and only lived for three short weeks. The support Kimberly received from her local church, both before the birth and after the loss of Allysa, inspired her to start Operation Showers of Appreciation. To date, OSOA has helped hundreds of U.S. military families who either would not have had a shower because they are located so far from friends and family or who are unable to afford many essential parenting items. During the month of February,
www.babymel.com will donate 10% of sales from seven popular designs to OSOA, so they can continue to provide assistance to military personnel and their families with these showers.
Each year, Operation Showers of Appreciation hosts over a dozen showers and gifts from 5 to 50 moms-to-be at each event. OSOA relies heavily on their extensive network of volunteers, who plan and implement each shower and help solicit in-kind donations. œAside from donating diaper bags, we are so proud to be able to partner with Operation Showers Of Appreciation to help raise funds to help OSOA continue to provide baby essentials to military personnel and their families," said Suzi Bergman, co-founder of
Babymel . The brand will donate proceeds from the sale of the following parent bags, as well as two of the new backpacks for kids on
www.babymel.com: Satchel Cotton Candy, Satchel Red Stripe, Amanda Colour Burst Fuchsia, Camden Carryall Aubergine, Big Slouchy Pink, Explorer Backpack Queen of Hearts (new for kids), and Explorer Backpack Buzzy Bee (new for kids). "We are very excited to be working with Babymel again this year. Their support allows us to help more military families. Honoring our military spouses is a very important part of what OSOA does. Our corporate partners are our silent heroes and are often overlooked. With the support of companies like Babymel, we are able to express our gratitude and appreciation to military personnel and their families for the sacrifices they make while protecting our freedoms," said Kimberly, founder of OSOA.
About Operation Showers of Appreciation:
OSOA is a 501(c)3, non-profit tax-exempt organization, whose mission is to honor our military families in a unique way by showering them with gifts for their newborn babies, providing support during difficult times, and letting them know the many sacrifices of both the families and service members are appreciated. For more information, visit
www.osoamil.org .To make a donation for one or multiple showers, please contact Courtney Hilborn at donations@osoamil.org. For
About Babymel:
Babymel is a hip, modern line of bags for trend and cost-conscious parents. Known for their style and practicality, the Babymel collection includes a diverse assortment of shoulder bags, hobo styles and utilitarian messenger designs. Since their launch in 2009, several Babymel styles have won awards from reputable parenting organizations like iParenting and PTPA (Parent Test Parent Approved) for their functionality, durability and affordable price. All bags in the Babymel line retail from $82.00-$148.00. In the Spring of 2013, the brand introduced a collection of kids bags that retail for $42.00. Visit
www.babymel.com for more details.
