Hello everyone! It has been a busy and very productive month. Working with the Bi-National Breastfeeding Coalition as their lead organizer of the BIG Latch On has been extremely rewarding for me. We have already had 2 subcommittee meetings that have been very productive. I am in the process of getting event sponsors for our event (gotta get some money) which has been quite difficult because we have yet to receive our non-profit status. Many local hospitals are requesting W-9 forms. We have a lawyer working with us to complete the application process, but he’s moving in a much slower pace than we would like. Hopefully we can get this completed within the next month. Here is something new that I did learn though, apparently an organization must first become 501(c)(4) non-profit status before it can become a 501(c)(3). The difference is that as a (4) your donations are NOT tax deductible. Apparently, you must show positive financial background before a (3) status is designated to your organization. This along with the fact that we dont event have a (4) designation is making getting area sponsors a challenge. We will see how things turn out. I’ve also been working on the development of a PSA announcement that hopefully will be picked up by many many area radio stations. I’ve also gotten an “ok” for the event to be advertised in city owned buildings. Woohoo!!

Hi everyone! For my practicum, I will be working with the Bi-National Breastfeeding Coalition in El Paso, Texas. The name “Bi-National” comes from the fact that I live in a border town with Mexico. This is a newly formed coalition (in January 2012) mainly composed of Lactation Consultants, Duolas, Public Health Workers, a couple of breastfeeding mothers, and a Dietitian (me). We have all been working really hard to get our non-profit status, and it seems like we should be getting it within the next two months. My work with the coalition will include helping them to promote and raise awareness for breastfeeding within the community. My main project will be to organize and lead an event called “The Big Latch On.” Perhaps some of you may have heard of it because it’s celebrated throughout the country and throughout the world, during World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7). The event is intented to raise awareness that breastfeeding in public is a perfectly normal part of parenting and to also increase women’s confidence to breastfeed in public, while at the same time, building community support for them. My involvement will require me to lead a subcommittee, establish relationships with local community leaders, among other things.