Glendale woman taking 500 baby carriers to Greece to help Syrian refugees
Sarah Johnson, 25, from Littlefield, Texas, left, and Glendale resident Cristal Logothetis, 31, founder of CarryTheFuture.org, show some of the 1,700 baby carriers they have collected and are ready to distribute in Greece. Logothetis is taking four suitcases full of baby carriers to donate to Syrian refugees that arrive at the islands of Greece.
A Glendale mom is heading to Greece to help Syrian refugees, and she’s packing 500 baby carriers for the trip.
After seeing images of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi wash up on the shore of the small island of Kos, Cristal Logothetis knew she had to do something.
She owns a local translation-service business and said translating birth certificates for free sounded like a good idea, but then she saw more and more photos of refugees crammed into camps or walking extremely long distances.
“Any picture or any footage you see, it’s of people carrying their babies in their arms,” Logothetis said. “I just couldn’t imagine how hard that must be.”
So she launched an Indiegogo crowdfund campaign to help pay for baby carriers for long treks to countries such as Germany.
Expectations were modest, a $2,500 goal was set. But word got out fast and an explosion of donations generated $36,000.
Logothetis said donors must have agreed about the problem of carrying babies for long periods of time, especially on a difficult journey on foot.
“It’s making someone’s life easier. Anyone can relate to that,” she said.
Sarah Johnson, 25, from Littlefield, Texas, left, and Glendale resident Cristal Logothetis, 31, founder of CarryTheFuture.org, show some of the 1,700 baby carriers they have collected and are ready to distribute in Greece. Logothetis is taking four suitcases full of baby carriers to donate to Syrian refugees that arrive at the islands of Greece.
The original plan was to get the baby carriers to Logothetis’ in-laws in Kos, who would then hand them out.
But now with 1,700 baby carriers stuffed into a San Fernando Road storage locker, the effort will take multiple trips.
Many were also stored at Logothetis’ office at the Hollywood Production Center on Lexington Drive in Glendale.
One day, the landlord of the office building saw baby carriers being hauled on two pallets and gladly let Logothetis temporarily store them on a soundstage, said Mary Alvarado, who handles marketing for the string of Hollywood Production Center properties.
“I think what [Logothetis] is doing is great,” Alvarado said. “She didn’t expect the huge explosion she was going to get.”
On Wednesday, Logothetis is flying to Kos with 500 carriers. On a second trip in November, she will head to Athens and on a third trek in December, she will go to Serbia, where refugees are walking alongside a railroad track to get to mainland Europe.
The baby carriers are worn like reverse backpacks and are being stuffed into multiple large suitcases. About 30 volunteers will help transport the carriers to Greece.
Handing them out will be the easy part, Logothetis said.
“[Refugees] are in the harbor, the beaches, the parks and squares,” she said.
Logothetis previously attempted another fundraising campaign that fell short and left her disappointed. But the recent outpouring restored her faith in people, she said.
“I believe people care, they’re just waiting for the right venue, the right way to show it,” Logothetis said. “Sometimes, it’s a bit more realistic to shoot for little changes in the world than big drastic ones.”
The Indiegogo campaign is still accepting donations. To donate, visit the campaign website here. Also, Logothetis said she would also appreciate donations of airline miles by emailing her at mamabebeblog@gmail.com.
Through Nov. 2, used baby carriers and slings can also be sent to Reliable Translations Inc., 121 W. Lexington Drive, Suite L, 106D, Glendale, CA, 91203.
