This Mother’s Day marks 20 years of Bowery Babes—a small beginning that became, over time, a great and living circle.
Founded in 2006 by Melissa Errico, what began as a prenatal yoga class on Bowery Street—guided by the luminous Mia Borgatta at Lila Yoga—grew into something far larger than anyone could have imagined: a New York 501(c)(3), more than 5,000 members strong, with over 20,000 lives touched along the way.
Before Facebook took hold, they created a bulletin board where new mothers could reach out to one another in times of stress, offering organized support for breastfeeding, postpartum depression, sleep and relationship dynamics. For the children, there were regular story times and picnics, and always the presence of an embracing community.
Their sense of mission grew especially acute when Hurricane Sandy struck. The Bowery Babes sprang into action—collecting food and clothing, offering beds and lights, and collaborating with Diapers.com to bring supplies to families in need.
With the steady partnership of Marge Ginsburg and a devoted board, Bowery Babes became a place where mothers could find one another—in joy, uncertainty, exhaustion and celebration.
It held space for the full spectrum of life: new beginnings, deep losses, postpartum shadows and the everyday miracle of raising children in this great, demanding city.
They gathered in libraries and YMCAs, in parks and living rooms. At one point, the community spoke 27 native languages. They celebrated holidays at downtown Bloomingdale’s and beneath the open sky of Washington Square Park. They partnered with organizations like Toys for Tots, Baby Buggy and New York Family Magazine, and supported the early work of Aliza Pressman. They showed up for one another—in ways large and small, visible and invisible.
As they close this chapter, it is with great honor that they pass forward what remains of Bowery Babes. A $20,000 donation will be made to the Scarlett Fund for pediatric cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a deeply meaningful initiative led by Jennifer James.
“May this gift carry forward the care and fierce protection of children that has always been at the heart of this community,” Errico says.
Twenty years later, they bring Bowery Babes to a close not because it has ended, but because it has fulfilled its purpose. Its spirit lives on in the friendships formed, the children raised, the strength discovered and the quiet acts of care that continue to ripple outward.
“To every woman who came, who gave, who needed, who stayed: You are the story.” – Melissa Errico.