Milk available in Central FL - 540 ounces avail now + ongoing donations

Hi!
I run a nonprofit called Get PUMPed. Our mission is to provide breast milk to babies in Central Florida whose mothers cannot nurse due to extraordinary circumstances. We began in September 2009 when a friend of my family suddenly passed away, leaving behind her 6-week old breastfed little girl named Sara. We began collecting milk for her, and it blossomed into an amazing charity. We incorporated as a Florida nonprofit in December and applied for 501c3 status last month. We still collect milk for baby Sara (now 6 months old), and now are at the point of being able to serve additional families.

We operate in some ways like a milk bank. We screen all of our donors for HIV, Hepatitis, and Syphilis via labwork conducted in pregnancy, and all donors complete an extensive health questionnaire (adapted from Milkshare's sample). Just recently, we added the requirement of a health verification form from the mother's primary care physician and the baby's pediatrician. We differ from a milk bank in our process however, because most donors are not screened for HTLV (a very rare disease not typically screened for during pregnancy), and we do not test the milk. We also do not pasteurize the milk, as some recipients would rather retain all of the nutritional and immunological benefits, but we do provide home pasteurization instructions should you choose to take that step. Finally, milk banks charge between $3-$5 per ounce, and we do not charge anything. If you are financially able, we request a donation comparable to formula prices (roughly 20 cents per ounce) to offset our expenses, but it is not mandatory.

Currently, we have approximately 540 ounces of older milk (October 2008-December 2008) that has been kept in deep freeze that we are looking to donate right away. In addition, we are also seeking one or two additional families to serve on an ongoing basis. The application is on our website: https://www.getpumpedonline.org/Becoming_a_Recipient.html
Our Board of Directors will evaluate each application that comes in, and will make the final determination of who will be chosen to receive milk based on who best fits our mission. If chosen, we ask that you provide a digital picture of your child(ren) each month you receive milk and a written summary of their progress and development for our donor marketing efforts. We also ask that you sign a hold harmless agreement.

Please visit our website and send in an application if you think your situation meets our mission.

Thanks,
Mandy Pacheco
President and Founder, Get PUMPed!
"Providing Urgent Milk to Parents"
(407) 495-MILK
www.getpumpedonline.org
Facebook: Get PUMPed