Birds of Hope - Green Diaper Store and Thirsties Exclusive

Green Diaper Store is so proud to reveal our Thirsties exclusive design, Birds of Hope! 

This has been such an intense and meaningful labor of love; most of the images, symbols and even the color choices on this design have a special meaning. We at Green Diaper Store have always been partial to Autumn – the pumpkin spice lattes, cozy sweaters, warm cider, changing leaves, and beautiful sunsets always seem to bring comfort and a renewed sense of purpose with them, so we decided to combine the warmth of Autumn colors with the symbols of love, community, empowerment, hope and awareness that have been a touchstone for us over the last several years. 

My son, Patrick was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of four. It was a devastating diagnosis for our family, but being the Warrior that he is, Patrick, thank goodness, has been in remission since day 29 of treatment and he finished chemotherapy at age 7. We wanted to create a design that not only honored Patrick’s journey, but that symbolized all the warmth, support, community and hope Patrick and our family received as he went through those years of unpredictability and treatment. Plus – we wanted a gorgeous exclusive we would be excited and proud to sell, and I do believe that we have succeeded in our goals! 

Since it was Patrick’s battle with cancer that inspired this diaper, I wanted a golden yellow ribbon to be a prominent design feature because gold is the ribbon color for childhood cancer awareness. Not only does the goldenrod trim on the diaper itself work in this capacity, but the sparrows are holding onto a long, winding golden ribbon, lifting it up off the ground and keeping it safe. Sparrows, in modern times, are said to represent community and empowerment – two things cancer parents require in spades. The second design element I wanted to incorporate was a symbol for hope, for the silver lining after the rainstorm. For hope, we chose a beautiful rainbow spanning trees covered in autumn leaves along with a few of those delicate, silver clouds to represent hope and the calm and beauty that can only arrive after a storm. 

We really think this diaper is one of the prettiest we have ever seen and are so happy to have been able to work with the talented designers at Thirsties to make it happen. They were able to capture not only the look we were going for, but were able to bring all the symbolism that makes this diaper so special to us at GDS into a cohesive, fully fleshed out work of art. 

Since September is pediatric cancer awareness month and Because GDS feels very strongly about giving back to the community was there for us when we needed them the most, we are committing to donating at least 5 percent of our profits from Birds of Hope to the Jessie Rees Foundation, whose motto is “Never Ever Give Up”, or NEGU for short. 

Jessica Joy Rees was the loving, kind, compassionate and caring 12-year-old who created JoyJars, as she knew firsthand what it was like to battle cancer. JoyJars were Jessie’s idea after driving home with her mom and dad from the hospital where she received her daily radiation and chemotherapy treatments. She was wondering out loud about what life was like for the kids whose treatments didn’t allow them to return home daily, as hers did. She was very concerned with what kind of experience they might be having staying for weeks, months and sometimes even years on the pediatric cancer ward. She felt compelled to help bring those kids happiness and encouragement, even as she battled her own fight with cancer.  As soon as the family arrived home, Jessie sprang into action. She pulled armloads of toys, stickers, art materials and little games from her room, collected colored markers and crayons and a bunch of small paper bags, and started to load each bag to the top. She hand-decorated each one with colorful drawings, stickers, and sayings like “Smile” and “Don’t Ever Give Up”. When her parents saw that she was serious about helping the children on the cancer ward, they contacted the hospital where she was being treated. The only thing the hospital requested was that instead of brown bags, that the toys and gifts be packed inside of a jar … and that’s how JoyJars (Joy is Jessie’s middle name) were born. Jessie had one wish, which is the mission of her foundation, “Never, Ever Give Up.” Even though Jessie lost her own battle with cancer, her foundation is bringing thousands of children smiles, happiness and comfort with her JoyJars. 

The Jessie Rees Foundation believes that every child fighting cancer deserves joy, the opportunity to smile and to NEGU, or NEVER EVER GIVE UP. JoyJars were one of the things that helped Patrick during his battle with cancer and did indeed bring him joy and numerous big smiles. He absolutely loved receiving his jar and was entranced with all the presents waiting inside and it surely did make the day a little brighter for him. Jessie’s vision and mission helped our family in its darkest hour, and Green Diaper Store is incredibly honored to be able to partner with them and donate five percent of the profits from the sale of Bird of Hope products to The Jessie Rees Foundation to help them continue spreading Jessie’s mission of NEVER EVER GIVING UP.

https://negu.org/