CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Ali Wentworth, Ana Caskin, Sissy Yates, Annie Lou Berman, Elizabeth Thorp and Sarah Cannova
In 2002, actress and Oprah correspondent Ali Wentworth gave birth to her first child after moving back to DC with her new husband, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. By the time Elliott was six months old, Wentworth had already amassed too many baby clothes and accessories and began researching where she could donate her goods. After being turned away by many groups, the native Washingtonian decided to create her own organization to help provide necessities to local little ones in need.
“I realized that Washington was in desperate need of this service [so] I called my closest and most proactive friends to help build the organization,” she says. “In June 2009 we had our first BabyLove drive.” BabyLove DC harnesses the networking power of area school groups, neighborhood listservs and mommy blogs to spread the word about each drive. BabyLove DC partner Junk in the Trunk assists Wentworth and the board members and provides the cute pink trucks for deliveries gratis. “Every time I see Ali and her friends fill a few trucks, I’m so proud of my wife and so happy for the families getting help,” says Stephanopoulos. “Thrilled too, by the example they’re setting for our kids,” he adds.
In addition to Wentworth, five busy local women sit on the board of BabyLove DC and all say their work helping local children has just begun. Sissy Yates (Wentworth’s sister) is an event planner; Ana Caskin is a pediatrician; Elizabeth Thorp runs her own PR firm; Annie Lou Berman is the former editor of DailyCandy Kids; and Sarah Cannova owns and operates Sassanova boutique in Georgetown, Baltimore and Bethesda. The group of moms will hold its first major fundraiser in March and will continue to organize drives throughout the year. “We still have a lot of work to do,” says Wentworth. For more information, visit babylovedc.org.
