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Believing everychild deserves a strong start

Thursday, September 17, 2026

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Share Our Spare is

Share Our Spare is a community resource of essentials, education and advocacy for families and the agencies that serve them. Parents in financial crisis often must prioritize food, rent and other basic needs over diapers, wipes and baby supplies, making impossible decisions for the wellbeing of their family. Service agencies often do not have access to these essentials, digging into their own pockets in order to provide them to the families they serve. We work to help fill these gaps, so that every Chicago area child – from newborn to age 5 – has a healthy, safe start, and every parent the opportunity to provide one.

We Believe…

ALL children are our children
EVERY child deserves a good start
NO family should have to choose between surviving and thriving
ONE day we will see the end to generational poverty if our children have the essentials and opportunities to succeed
Share Our Spare delivering diapers

The Need

65,000 children in Cook County are experiencing poverty

1 in 2 Chicagoland families struggles to afford diapers

Diapers can represent 14% of take-home income for a parent earning minimum wage

Diapers are taxed as “luxury” items and no federal assistance exists for diapers

Families with low incomes pay more for basic supplies because they can’t buy in bulk or purchase memberships at wholesale stores

Diaper need is the #1 stressor for moms, above food or housing insecurity

Soiled diapers can lead to health problems and fussy babies who are at higher risk of abuse

Read more about the need.

Closing the Gap

2024

0

Children served through agency and community partners

0

DIAPERS DISTRIBUTED
0

ESSENTIALS PROVIDED
0

CHILDREN RECEIVED DIAPERS
0

CHILDREN RECEIVED ESSENTIALS
bar chart
270
DIAPERS PER CHILD
average family
usage per month
60
DIAPERS PER CHILD
average SOS
supply provided per month

See more of our impact.

How We Serve

Share Our Spare gear stroller

We collect new baby essentials, give new life to gently used baby items, such as clothing, high chairs and strollers, and open our Sharehouse for partner agencies to select items their clients need.

See our accepted items.

Share Our Spare diaper

Through a network of nonprofits partners and large-scale community partnerships, we provide essential items for families to close the gap and ensure every child’s basic needs are met because basic needs are more than basic, they are essential.

View our directory of agency partners.

Share Our Spare community

We are committed to supporting the community not only with basic needs but opportunities to work together and educate one another. Our Sharehouse is a space for corporations, social organizations and partner agencies to volunteer, connect, share ideas and resources, learn, and grow.

Learn more.

Where We Serve

We partner with social service agencies representing 120 zip codes in the following counties:

Cook
DeKalb
DuPage
Kane
Lake

McHenry
McLean
Will
Winnebago

Find out how to become an agency partner.

Share Our Spare area of coverage map

A Connection Point for Communities in Need

“Before Share Our Spare, it wasn’t uncommon for me and my team to spend our own money to buy what our patients and their babies need; when you see a need, you can’t turn away from it. Now, we know we can turn to Share Our Spare for immediate needs as well as ongoing ones like diapers. A huge burden is lifted through this partnership for us and our patients.”

Esperanza Torres, Case Manager Team Leader
Erie Family Health Centers

Share Our Spare partner shopping
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Share Our Spare Bridget Rundquist

Bridget Rundquist

Director of Partnerships and Community Engagement

A native Chicagoan, Bridget is a mission-driven professional with extensive experience serving young people, working in the intersection of education and social work, and building relationships with diverse communities of stakeholders. Bridget holds a Master’s in Social Work from the George Warren Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor’s in History with minors in Education and Psychology from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She spent a semester abroad in Northern Uganda studying Post-Conflict Resolution and has spent several summers in Jerusalem with Project Harmony Israel.

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Jesseca Rhymes

Director of Operations

Jesseca began her career with Apartments.com, where she worked directly with property managers and management companies. She also has served as an assistant property manager with Mercy Housing and as the assignments coordinator at DePaul University’s Department of Housing. In 2015, Jesseca founded Never Go Without, which has donated over 50,000 menstruation and incontinence supplies to individuals in need around the Chicago area. She earned her Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management and has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Eastern Illinois University.

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Get In Touch

Share Our Spare
3800 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Chicago, IL 60641
‭773-657-3117

Email:
info@shareourspare.org

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Share Our Spare Lou

Louis Macmillan

Driver

Louis (Lou) attended Progressive Truck Driving School in Chicago where he received his Class A CDL license. After working at PGT Trucking, he decided to make a change in occupations and started with Share Our Spare in the fall of 2021. Lou says, “I love my job and our mission! I get to deliver essential items for children and meet a lot of new people doing important work throughout the community. I look forward to what’s to come each day!”

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Sade Chapman

Operations Manager

Sade (they/them) is a community-oriented service industry professional and administrator with a passion for cultivating care through highly personalized experiences. Sade holds a Master’s in Museum Studies from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a Bachelors’ in Anthropology and International Studies from the University of Washington.

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Bill Ross

Auxiliary Program Coordinator

After spending years working as a cook and organizing live music events, Bill pivoted to a new field joining the Share Our Spare team in January 2022 as an AmeriCorps VISTA. He was hired on as the Auxiliary Program Coordinator at the end of his VISTA term in January 2023.

Bill currently lives in Andersonville with his partner. He enjoys his free time playing video games, biking, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and exploring Chicago’s vast landscape of restaurants. He has a passion for workers’ rights and LGBTQIA+ liberation, and hopes to pursue future opportunities related to queer advocacy and labor equity.

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Sade Chapman

Operations Manager

Sade (they/them) is a community-oriented service industry professional and administrator with a passion for cultivating care through highly personalized experiences. Sade holds a Master’s in Museum Studies from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a Bachelors’ in Anthropology and International Studies from the University of Washington.

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Sade Chapman

Operations Manager

Sade (they/them) is a community-oriented service industry professional and administrator with a passion for cultivating care through highly personalized experiences. Sade holds a Master’s in Museum Studies from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a Bachelors’ in Anthropology and International Studies from the University of Washington.

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Jonathan Jackson

Development Manager

Jonathan is passionate about developing a circular economy across Chicago. He has supported grant/application writing, compliance reporting, and policy and procedure development for social service organizations and non-profit development funds in Chicago and beyond. He has a BA in Psychology and an MA in Industrial Organizational Psychology.

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Sade Chapman

Operations Manager

Sade (they/them) is a community-oriented service industry professional and administrator with a passion for cultivating care through highly personalized experiences. Sade holds a Master’s in Museum Studies from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a Bachelors’ in Anthropology and International Studies from the University of Washington.

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Ella Gilles

Program Coordinator

Ella began her nonprofit career in Oakland, California where she served as a Jesuit Volunteer at Civicorps. After supervising conservation crews for an additional year, she transitioned to family-based service in the Chicago area. She is passionate about developing healthy individuals to promote empowered communities. Ella holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a focus in Computer Science from the University of Notre Dame.

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Gina Jagminis

Development Associate

Born and raised on Chicago’s south side, Gina is passionate about community-based work in her hometown. She has previously worked directly with middle school youth, and she feels grateful for the opportunity to work towards a more equitable future alongside like-minded people. Gina holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

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Zach Ellenberger

Warehouse Coordinator

Zach Ellenberger is a logistics and operations professional. His first experience with nonprofit organizations was in high school volunteering with Make-A-Wish Foundation in the Pittsburgh area. Zach holds a bachelor’s in Communications with a minor in Multimedia.

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S. Mayumi “Umi” Grigsby (she/her) Executive Director

S. Mayumi “Umi” Grigsby

Executive Director

Umi Grigsby is a Chicago-based attorney, policy leader, and equity advocate whose career spans government, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector. She previously served as Deputy Chief of Policy and Director of Legislative Affairs at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and Chief of Policy for the City of Chicago, leading major initiatives advancing equity, health, and opportunity for families and children.

Through her firm, Grigsby Strategic Solutions, Umi has advised organizations on policy strategy, coalition building, and equitable journalism practices, and she has held leadership roles with the Chicago Foundation for Women and the Cook County Human Rights Commission.

Umi joins Share Our Spare at a pivotal moment as the organization celebrates 15 years of impact. She is deeply committed to ensuring every Chicago-area child has the essentials they need for a strong start in life.

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Winter in July Coat Drive

Purchase coats today to help us get a jump on the need and ensure a warm and strong start for our littlest neighbors.

PURCHASE COATS PURCHASE COATS
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Ayesha Jaco is a lifelong resident of Chicago’s West Side dedicated to improving community health and economic vitality in the community she grew up in. As Executive Director of West Side United (WSU), founded by 6 major health systems, she leads cross-sector partnerships to eliminate the 18-year life expectancy gap between West Side residents and the Loop. Under her leadership, WSU has awarded $2.5 million to over 175 small businesses and coordinated $10 million in social impact investments supporting housing and economic development. She helped secure the $10 million Chicago Prize for Sankofa Wellness Village and serves as board chair of the Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative. She also sits on the boards of Choose Chicago and the Institute for Translational Medicine.

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Dr. Inger Burnett-Zeigler is a nationally recognized expert in mental health in Black communities. She has two decades of clinical experience providing psychological interventions to help people with stress management, trauma symptoms, mood and anxiety conditions, and difficulty in interpersonal relationships. Her scholarly work has focused on the role that structural and social determinants of health play in disparities in mental illness and treatment. She has led research to develop culturally tailored mental health interventions that meet the needs of the most under-resourced, marginalized populations. She actively partners with community based organizations to increase access and engagement with evidence based interventions in service of mental health equity. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), The Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), The Greer Family Foundation, and The Davee Foundation. Inger is actively engaged in the community and has served on several non-profit boards including Thresholds, Cook County Health and The African American Legacy of the Chicago Community Trust. Her past board service includes Heartland Alliance Health, Chicago High School for the Arts, and the Women’s Board of the Joffrey Ballet. Inger has written dozens of articles and lectures widely on mental health and trauma in the Black community. She is an active contributor to the public discourse on mental health and has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Good Morning America and CNN. She is the author of the favorably reviewed book Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen: The Emotional Lives of Black Women (Amistad, 2021). She is currently working on her forthcoming book, The Black Pregnancy (Amistad, expected 2027). Inger has been recognized for her commitment to public service and health equity; she received the impact award from the Chicago Foundation for Women (2022), wellness woman of the year from Sista Aafa (2023), and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from DePaul University (2024). She currently holds positions as Chief Behavioral Health Officer at the State of Illinois and adjunct faculty at Northwestern University.

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Salimah N. Turner—Mommy extraordinaire, Black therapist, owner of S.N. Turner and Associates, and Certified Lactation Counselor—is passionate about supporting individuals and families throughout the perinatal journey. She specializes in maternal mental health, postpartum wellness, breast/chestfeeding education, and lactation support, helping parents navigate the emotional and physical transitions that accompany pregnancy, birth, and beyond. Through compassionate, culturally responsive care, Salimah empowers her clients to build resilience while creating meaningful and lasting change. She strives to ensure every client feels seen, heard, and supported. Her mission is to erase the negative stigma associated with therapy, one person at a time.

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Michelle Alero Adeniyi is a maternal and child health leader, licensed practical nurse, full-spectrum doula, speaker, and consultant committed to closing care gaps for women and families. She serves as Director of Maternal & Child Health, Collective Impact at March of Dimes, where she leads cross-sector initiatives advancing health equity, workforce development, and community innovation. Her work has shaped the Doula-Hospital Integration Project and Healthy Pregnancy & Community Wellness Event Series. Michelle has contributed her expertise and lived experience to perinatal mental health initiatives with the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative and March of Dimes. Through UIC’s Maternal Health Digital Storytelling Workshop, part of the Illinois Maternal Health Innovation Program, she created a digital story about her postpartum mental health journey and became a Certified Patient Family Partner with MoMMAs Voices. She is passionate about using lived experience to inform policy, strengthen care systems, and equip families to advocate for change.

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Jess Roe is the founder of Windy City Mama Creative and the creator behind The Windy City Mama, a Chicago-based platform where she shares everyday life, family resources, ways to support the local community, and advocacy around motherhood, inclusion, and public policy. She is a mom of three and runs a coffee shop in Chicago. Through storytelling, Jess strives to connect families with trusted information and resources while creating a safe, welcoming space across her platforms. As a longtime supporter of Share Our Spare, she is honored to serve as the virtual host for this Maternal Mental Health Advocacy Panel.

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Jenny LeFlore is the founder of Mama Fresh Chicago, a trusted community platform dedicated to helping modern moms feel seen, supported, and connected. Through storytelling, community events, and advocacy, she has become a leading voice for Chicago families, creating spaces where parents can access resources, build relationships, and engage in conversations that matter.

As the moderator for today’s discussion, Jenny brings her experience connecting families, nonprofit organizations, and civic leaders to facilitate meaningful conversations that inspire action. Her work has been featured by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Parent, ABC, NBC, WGN, and WBEZ, and she is passionate about ensuring every mother has access to the support she deserves.

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