Earlier this month, I was mindlessly watching people’s Instagram stories and something incredible caught my eye. WhatLolaLikes, aka Lola, a lifestyle blogger I follow, was hosting a baby clothing exchange for mamas-to-be. As I watched her stories, it was incredible to see the outpouring of support from her followers to participate in this exchange and how Lola took it upon herself to facilitate all of this amid everything going on in the world. It’s an incredibly kind thing to host for these new mamas-to-be and inspiring to see how many people wanted to help by donating their old baby clothes/items. Once I got done watching her stories that day, Lola helped match over 70 expecting mamas!

I was able to ask Lola some questions to see how she was doing and what inspired her to host this exchange.

Jasmine: What prompted you to host a baby clothes/items exchange for mamas to be?
Lola: My social media has always been a strong place I’ve been able to give back in many different ways. I told myself from the beginning that if I ever had more to give or a platform to make a difference, I would. What I loved about this particular exchange was how organic it all came about and was prompted by so many other followers wanting to get involved. It was truly amazing!

Jasmine: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned while hosting this mama’s clothing/item exchange?
Lola: I realized early on that one mama’s struggles shouldn’t be defined better or worse than the other. Everyone has hardships, everyone struggles, and so many women who are pregnant or new parents are going through the same thing right now. I felt if there were women like myself, willing to donate, then I wanted to make the extra effort and match every woman who reached out.

Jasmine: I saw you’ve matched over 30 mamas to be so far, congratulations! How has the response been from mamas to be and those wanting to donate?
Lola: At the end, it was about 70 women total who were matched in a day and a half. I decided to create a page named What Baby Likes on Facebook to allow families to continue to match and get baby clothes/essentials from all over the United States. As of right now, there are over 1,400 people in this group and growing every day. The best part about being able to match the women on Instagram, was witnessing the conversations. There was so much encouragement to each other, gratitude, and above all… women supporting women.

Jasmine: I know you’re doing all of this by yourself, what do you do when you get overwhelmed?
Lola: I am a pretty organized person by nature, so I was able to map out how I wanted to go about it… but I also planned to do 5-10 mamas at a time, so I wouldn’t lose track or mess anything up.

Jasmine: How are you staying positive during this time?
Lola: This time truly allows me to count my blessings, slow down a little, and feel so grateful for what I DO have, my family, and appreciate the little things that I may have taken for granted in the past.

Jasmine: Why is being kind important to you?
Lola: Raising two girls has motivated me to not only be kind… but to SHOW kindness. It’s easy to say how we want to be or how we want our children to be… but they learn best by witnessing/modeling the behavior.

Jasmine: How are you teaching your girls to be kind amid everything that is going on?
Lola: I think it is important no matter what time of year or pandemic we are in to teach kindness and gratitude. We often go through our toys and donate to kids in-need, so they are pretty used to it by now. Vivienne often will hand me a toy and say, “you can donate this.” It’s not really about a certain situation but how we wanted to teach them early on.

Jasmine: Any advice for aspiring bloggers/influencers on how to use their platforms for spreading kindness?
Lola: I think it is VERY important for anyone with a voice/platform/following to showcase kindness and do something positive for their community. Even if you feel you have a smaller following… making a difference to one person has always been good enough for me. “Don’t you want to use your popularity for a good cause?” – Cher, Clueless.

To learn how you can help Lola with What Baby Likes, visit the Facebook Group or follow her on Instagram!