Contact: Robin Farmanfarmaian, Director of Community Development

Contact Info: Robin@healthtap.com

Charity/Nonprofit beneficiary: Help a Mother Out

Website: http://tapmommies.healthtap.com/diaper-drive/

This holiday season, why not give back to those who need it the most, Mothers.

Vivanista recently sat down with Robin of Healthtap to learn more about the health resources that they provide online, as well as their involvement with the ongoing Diaper Drive in partnership with Help a Mother Out.

What is HealthTap? What is unique about your organization?

HealthTap is a health technology company dedicated to helping people improve their health and well-being, one decision at a time.  What makes us unique is the way we provide health information to people.  Using HealthTap (online or on a mobile device), for the very first time, you’ll be able to find truly personalized health information (health information that’s reliable and actually relevant to you), as well as find people who are similar to you and who have had similar health experiences so that you can learn what’s worked for them. HealthTap isn’t “health search,” it’s a unique and new experience allowing you to “tap into” your health!

How and when was HealthTap inspired and created?

HealthTap was created in 2010 by Ron Gutman, the former CEO and founder of Wellsphere, one of the largest independent health sites online (Wellsphere has helped over 100 million users find reliable health information from experts and health writers).  HealthTap was inspired by the realization that while almost everyone looks for health information online, most people report that what they find is of no use at all (2010 Pew Internet Research study).  In part, this is because health information is organized around symptoms, conditions, and treatments – but not around what’s most important – you!  HealthTap solves this need by providing health information based on expert knowledge and community wisdom and personalizing the health information you see around you.

What is the overall goal of HealthTap? How do you hope to impact change?

HealthTap envisions people everywhere ‘tapping’ into precise, personal health information, at anytime, and from anywhere.  We hope to enable this change by providing people with a safe and secure way to share and receive personalized personal health information.

Tell us about your Diaper Drive in Partnership with Help a Mother Out. How do you hope it will change holiday giving?

Toy drives and similar initiatives are popular organized efforts to make a real difference in the happiness of families in need, and we want to do something to help make a real difference in the health of those families.  Diapers can represent a substantial ongoing expense for families in need, and not changing diapers often is one way to save money.  Unfortunately, this can lead to health problems, and increase baby fussiness and family stress.  Helping to provide diapers, together with basic baby diaper health information, is one small and simple way to promote healthier and happier families.

Tell us about Help A Mother Out. What is their goal, and how has HealthTap aligned with their efforts?

Help a Mother Out (HAMO) is a fiscally sponsored program of Point, a 501(c)(3) organization.  Help A Mother Out’s mission is dedicated to increasing access to diapers for families in need. A grassroots organization, HAMO raises both diapers and awareness, and envisions a day when every baby has an adequate supply of diapers.  HAMO coordinates a network of diaper drive campaigns and facilitates donations through partnerships with diaper banks and social service agencies.  HAMO operates a “diaper bank” in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, providing diapers to agencies in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Solano counties.

HealthTap is aligned with the mission of HAMO because we believe in the power of communities to promote and understand the importance of a healthy start to life, and the power of relevant health information delivered to people at the time of need.  By providing mothers with additional health information and assistance with a basic health need for their babies, we’re helping to empower and support peoples’ engagement in their personal health, health education, and the health and comfort of their babies.

Who are your partners or sponsors? Do you work with any other volunteer groups or non-profit organizations?

For this diaper drive, in addition to partnering with Help a Mother Out, we’re working with the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital to facilitate the distribution of these diapers.  We’re excited to be working with a health care provider because this is a great opportunity to provide basic education and health information in connection with the distribution.

What external resources do you use in your fundraising and outreach efforts (i.e. websites, mentors, social networks etc.)?

As a technology company, we are excited to use the Internet and social media as great ways of getting out the word about this outreach effort.  We have an active and well-connected presence Twitter and Facebook , as well as our company blogs (www.healthtap.com, and tapmommies.healthtap.com), which are all great ways of spreading the word.  However, one of the best ways of sharing what we’re doing is through other online communities of caring and interested people – including mom blogs, other organizations social media presence, and of course, fantastic websites like vivanista.

How can we get involved/help?

Getting involved and helping is easy – first you can give.  We’re registered on multiple diaper sites, where diapers are inexpensive (less than $10), and there are no added charges for delivery.  If you’re local, feel free to drop by our offices (this is a great way for moms who have baby’s who have grown out of diapers to drop off sizes that are too small).  Second – and as importantly, help us spread the word.

While we have a holiday goal for this drive, this is an important initiative and we are helping to build a cause that is present to meet a year round need.  So we’re excited to work with people who share our same passion for continuing these efforts on a year-round basis.

Because working locally is very important to us, we’ve also opened up our offices for walk-in diaper drop offs.  We’re located at 575 High Street, Suite 310 in downtown Palo Alto, California. Everyone is invited to stop by with diapers any time!