The Baby Bundles family came together Wednesday (September 30) to support the cause and reaffirm the meaning behind each bundle filled with newborn essentials and love. As keynote speaker Lisa Carter shared at our 15th annual Beans & Bundles, each bundle comes with a message: “It is a community saying in a hundred different ways, ‘We see you. We got you.’”
More than 400 friends and supporters gathered at Christ Episcopal Church for a celebration filled with tender moments:
– Executive Director Jane Freeman and Amy Fonville, who oversees volunteers and programs, shared stirring numbers. Baby Bundles is on track to distribute 5,000 bundles in 2026. More than 25,000 have been handed out since our founding in 2010. The goal for Beans & Bundles is to raise $285,000 to get the job done. Each bundle contains more than $400 worth of goodies, including hats, socks, onesies, blankets, books and bibs.
– Broadcasting live from the warehouse off Arrowood Road, Amy recognized the top volunteers among the 2,000 who help get the job done. Jeannie Sovine was our individual honoree. As Amy says, “Her heart is so big, her spirit is so great.” Volunteers from Elevation Church are our top group for 2026. This year they will pack 2,000 bundles. The volunteer awards are given in memory of Kathy Boone, a Baby Bundles friend and board member, and a woman of infectious energy, who passed away in 2018 at age 45.
– Cofounders Emily Harry, Heather Leavitt and Cat Long told the gathering that when they started Baby Bundles they could never have imagined the dramatic growth. Each bundle honors the sweet spirit of the children they lost –Low, Catherine, Joseph, Sarah and Mary.
Briyonna Huntley and Kimbly Mungin were a welcome part of our celebration. As community health workers with Novant Health (an event sponsor and program partner), they have the privilege of delivering bundles to new moms. The more bundles the better: In Mecklenburg County, 7,000 babies are born into financial hardship each year. Some moms dig through their bundle like a kid on Christmas morning. Others burst into tears. Then there was the new mom who took hers and asked, “Is this for me?”
The Baby Bundles answer, of course, is “Yes, it is.”
Please keep Baby Bundles in your heart all year long. Visitwww.babybundlesnc.org to learn about volunteer opportunities, upcoming events and how to support us financially and otherwise.
