Why More Moms are Donating Milk and Changing Lives in the Process

the most beautiful, selfless act people can do. Honestly, saving lives.

You're doing all the stuff to be a parent and then you still take the time to prioritize others ahead of you.

A mother could have all the money in the world, but without another mother's generous heart, this wouldn't pan out.

The milk is the medicine. At what point is the milk bank needed to step in? From South Bend to Evansville and everywhere in between, this is Get In, the show focused on the Hoosier State and the incredible stories happening here today. I'm Nate Spangle, founder of Get Indiana, and I will be your host for today's conversation. Before we get into the show, Aberine is Indiana's first agood and wellness lifestyle community, and it's unlike anything else in the Hooer State. This is an upscale custom home neighborhood located in Center Grove.

But it's more than that. It's a new kind of community, one that's been carefully crafted to cultivate connection to people, to nature, and to a more active and intentional lifestyle. Picture rolling terrain, timeless design, trails, open spaces. It's elegant, peaceful, and designed for families, business owners, and empty nesters who are done with the noise and ready to live with purpose. Arberine isn't just a place to call home, it's a community to join. Go to arborine.

com to schedule a visit. Now, let's get into the episode. Today, I'm joined by Lindsay Maguire, marketing leader, nonprofit advocate, mother of two, and the assistant director of advancement at the milk bank. Now, she uses her storytelling superpowers to amplify the voices of NICU families and educate communities on the lifesaving role of human milk. She was a two-time milk donor before joining the milk bank's advancement team, giving her a direct connection to the mission. Passionate about systems change, Lindsay blends content strategy, compassion, and community leadership to fuel long-term maternal and infant health equity, starting with Indiana's tiniest citizens.

Today, we're going to be talking about the problem that new mothers are facing and how the milk bank helps and hear stories of the impact they're making across the state of Indiana. Lindsay, welcome to Get In.

Thanks, Nate. What a wonderful introduction. Thank you.

No, uh, no problem. Jenna on our team does a fantastic job. I always say she is like the ultimate internet sleuth. Um, so we find out all all the fun things as a marketer. I get that.

Yeah. Right. It's crazy like every year just like more and more info you can find. Uh I'm really excited to talk about the milk bank and the impact you guys are making in the state of Indiana and really get educated on you kind of said as you came in here like a lot of no not a lot of people know exactly what you do and who you serve and all these things. So uh I'm excited to dive in. To set the scene, we need to start off with the issue that you all are solving. So, talk about I I recently learned right before this, you talked about Indiana ranking 41st in infant mortality rate. Let's start with Let's start there.

Yeah. So, unfortunately, Indiana does rank 41st out of 50. And you want to be a low number, not a high number in that ranking. Um, so it it really is our mission to help more babies see their first birthdays. that's really a tenant um staple core message for the work we're doing every day. Um so what the milk bank does is we ensure that infants have access to safe pasteurized donor human milk um especially babies who are in the NICU um very critically ill medically fragile uh to ensure they get the best start in life and really can see their first birthday.

What is the leading cause that has our uh infant mortality rate so high in the state of Indiana? Yeah. So it's a very complicated multiaceted issue but one of the leading causes um of death in NICU is necroting necrotising intercolitis um also referred to as neck. So this is an intestinal disease that babies who are um premature or low birth rate are very high risk for and unfortunately has a fatality rate of up to 50%. Um so it is a leading um disease within those um NICU units. So, we're 41st in infant mortality, but it's a it's a coin toss if they get neck if a baby gets neck whether they make it or not.

Correct.

Oh my goodness.

But there there is some hope and this is where we come into that picture is um studies have shown that babies who are provided a 100% breast milk diet um have a 77% better uh odds of not getting neck. Um so it really is even more past just nutrition. um the work we're doing, it really is providing medicine to these babies. And overall, they have found too that babies um who are low birth weight and premature, they have access to 100% breast milk diet, they'll have a 75% better odds as far as that infant mortality.

Well, talk to me there about when the milk bank steps in. Um obviously, we know you said the scene the infant mortality rate is high and breast milk like literally the we kind of had in our notes that the milk is the medicine, right? It can be medicine. So, um, at what point is the milk bank needed to step in?

Often times, what it's going to look like is a mother is going to have just given birth. It's going to be within that first usually hour to 12 hours, 24 hours. Um, if that mother is planning to breastfeed, usually they're going to try to breastfeed themselves. But if their baby's in the NICU, their baby's going to be separated from them. So then that also um places further challenges on that mother because she's separated from her baby, she's more than likely going to now have to pump versus actually breastfeed, which is another layer of a challenge to have to do. Um and a lot of times women who um deliver early, have a child in the NICU, they're facing um birth traumas, they're facing the stress of having a baby who's critically ill, who's in the NICU setting.

Um, and for those who might not be very familiar with breastfeeding, um, your stress levels have a direct correlation to your output when you are, uh, breastfeeding and pumping, especially when you're pumping. Um, so a lot of the women that we serve have challenges with their milk coming in. Um, have challenges with um, the amount of milk they're able to provide. For instance, um, one of the stories we recently highlighted was Megan and she had twins who were born early and one of them um, didn't have neck but had another intestinal issue. He had a hole in his intestines that they had to do emergency surgery at 4 days old. And because of the trauma of her birth, so she had one vaginally and then one 5 hours later cescareian.

And because of the trauma she had gone through because she was away from her babies, um she had just such challenges with her milk coming in and she did everything she could. You know, she met with lactation specialists, she talked with her doctor, she was pumping um on and on and on and she just could not keep up. She was not producing enough. And so at that point in time, that's when her nurse and her doctor recommended donor milk and she was here um in Indianapolis. And so that would have been milk from the milk bank. So oftentimes um what's going to happen is um that baby is going to specifically need breast milk as essentially part of their treatment plan um because it is the best fit for them as either a premature baby or a low birthw weightight baby.

Um, and so if mom is either not able to produce any or enough of that breast milk, then that's when the milk bank can come in with that pasteurized donor human milk.

Well, give me a rough sense of how many children are born in the state of Indiana or just in general.

Oh, that's a great question. I have no idea that

that might be a chat GPT question,

but I can tell you last year alone, so we service the entire state of Indiana as well as Kentucky and Missouri. Last year alone, we provided more than 600,000 ounces of pasturized donor human milk. Um, and to give you some concept of what does that actually mean. Um, so for those babies we're predominantly serving, which are babies in the NICU, very young, very small, um, 1 ounce of breast milk is going to equate to up to three feedings. Um, so if you do the math on that, that's about 1.8 million feedings last year.

1.8 million 1.8 million baby meals. Let's go. Okay. So 60,000 ounces. I'm trying to think of that in terms of like a swimming pool.

Oh, 600,000.

Yeah. Okay. So see I think we have 60,000 a month.

60,000 is a month. Yes.

A so over 600,000. Yeah. That has I don't know how many ounces are in a gallon, but that is a massive tank.

Math is not my

We're not doing We're not doing public math on the pod here. Okay. So we have a total number of ounces and feedings. How many different individual children slashmothers um do you guys serve in a year? So that's a hard part where we can't actually tell you the finite amount of people we serve because a lot of the times um our clients or customers or the the people that we're helping are going to be inatient in a hospital. So we're not directly serving you know Megan and Declan and Breck the the family I was talking about earlier. Um the hospital is going to be who's providing them that donor milk through us. So a lot of the times we don't have any um direct correlation of the number of infants and families because that hospital will put in their orders from us and then they have the donor milk to then provide as that medical intervention as needed.

Got you. And and is there a rough stat on how many mothers a year experience this challenge?

One part of breastfeeding and and nursing and pumping is um and probably women's health in general is there's not a ton of research in a lot of those areas. So, a lot of those stats are kind of just um things you might know off the cuff or things you might just kind of generalize. Um so, I don't have hard stats on that, but um one thing I will bring up is that research suggests that probably upwards of 60 to 70% of women who give birth prematurely have issues with their milk coming in.

Oh, yeah. I mean, anything you talked about stress. Like, there's probably very few things that are more stressful in the world than like, you know, if you have a premature baby and they spend time in the NICU, like I can only imagine. Oh my gosh. Let's talk about where where the journey of the milk bank started. Like, who was the person? So, you serve three states. Are you partner with a lot of the health systems and hospitals? Is that like the main distribution?

Yeah, that that's a fine word to say. So, that dist sounds kind of funny with like the the things that we do, but yes, essentially that that's what we're doing. were distributing pasteurized donor human milk. So um yes, so last year alone we partnered with 87 hospitals across 11 states. Um so we do service even outside our core service area. Um so we are um under Habana which is the human milk banking association of North America.

There are 30 milk banks across the US and two in Canada. So oftentimes we will partner with other milk banks when there might be um gaps in services, gaps in coverage, especially for milk banks on the east coast who are more temperamental to storms and blizzards and weather conditions. Um so yes, last year alone we serviced 87 hospitals across 11 states. And then we also too have outpatient services as well. So oftentimes that's going to look like babies who have long-term critical health needs. So might look like um kidney disease, renal failure, failure to thrive, those kind of issues that are long-term and deeply ingrained.

Um and then if their mother cannot provide um all or any of that breast milk due to a variety of reasons, um we do have outpatient services where we can provide breast milk in those situations.

When did this get started?

20 years ago.

20 years ago. Um, so and that was uh our spec is it kind of like like your specific like indie is it what would you call it like the milk bank of

Yes. So we started 20 years ago. We've always been headquartered in Indianapolis.

Oh, no way.

Yes. So always been headquartered here. Um, always predominantly served Indiana. Um, although Missouri came very quickly. Um, I would say anyone who's interested in learning more about kind of our history across those 20 years, we're building a virtual timeline to celebrate all those moments, memories, and milestones across those 20 years. And that has a lot of those moments and milestones and like the first opening of our milk depot, the first opening of our milk express site, when we expanded to Missouri, when we expanded to Kentucky. Um, excuse me. Um, but we have been in all three states um for predominantly almost our entire history.

Wow. Uh, I love that it started in Indiana, but it also kind of blows my mind that 2005 would have been the beginning of the milk bank. I'm guessing due to research and then someone finally being like, you know what, this is something that should like how long have blood banks been around?

That's a good question.

I mean, again, I'm like putting all the dates. We're heavy dates today.

Well, and and I'll say milk banking has been around far longer than the milk bank here. Um so just off the top of my head um in our network of milk banks I think the oldest um announcement I have seen is 40 years. I can't remember which milk bank that was, but um so milk banking itself has been around much longer than 20 years, but we as an establishment serving Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky um like you said, started in 2005. Um and we had a group um travel down to Texas and um meet with their already established facilities and decided to bring that up to here.

Yeah. For those wondering at home, the first blood bank was created in 1937 in Chicago.

Okay. And what about Milkbank?

1909 in Vienna, Austria.

Wow. Wow. So, we are ahead of blood banking.

1910 in Boston. Wow. That's wild that it didn't explode the way that blood banking has. So, this was interesting. You said you went down to Texas or they went down to Texas and learned about the whole process. Take us through. There are lots of different individuals, right? So, you have to have uh obviously the need. So you kind of have mother, child, probably hospital, then you have to go to the milk bank and then donors.

So like take us through the whole process of how like the whole thing works and how you're able to serve three different states and over I mean nationally 87 hospitals. One thing that's really fascinating in in my role and the work that we do is we have and I think this is part of the issue with why milk banking is different than blood banking is um I don't know the percentage of people off the cuff who are able to donate blood but it's much higher than the percentage of people who can donate breast milk because populationwise there's only a certain amount of the population who has recently given birth and is lactating. So that already is a small percentage of the population.

An estimated 37% of the world eligible to donate blood at any given time.

And I think the estimate estimate of those who are lactating is between 1 and 3%.

And on top of that, you have to find a mother who in probably one of the most if not the most stressful time of her life wants to prioritize others. Mhm. It is that I always talk about it's the greatest gift a mother can give honestly um to someone else. Um it really is a service of the heart. Um but yes, there there's a lot that goes into that because not only is there a small portion of the population who can donate milk just in general, we also because we predominantly serve those very fragile infants and niku and who have medical conditions and um we're trying to minimize the variables in their care. We also have um very high screening standards um and systems of ensuring the safety of that milk.

And so there are oftentimes some let's say for instance one thing is um so there are some drugs that they are safe to breastfeed your own child but because of the infants that we serve um and the variability of their care and um the conditions they have some of those um you wouldn't be able to donate that milk to us because of that. Um and again it's it's that situation where um yes it's safe for your own child but because these babies are so fragile and they have such um a unique care plan of their own. We have to minimize the variability of their treatment.

Mother has baby prematurely baby goes to the NICU and uh breast milk is put into their treatment plan. M

so doctor then like has to phone milk bank or is it on site like and then how do how does the collection process work from like are you is someone out in the hospital like hey I know you just gave birth two hours ago but like would you help some like help another mother?

No, no, no. Not at all how that works. Um and I will say too if anyone listening is in Indianapolis or is able to travel to Indianapolis, I'd be happy to give you a tour of our headquarters. um especially the week of August 4th, that is our actual birthday. August 5th is our birthday this year. Um and so we are doing a week-long tour extravaganza. Um so we'll have multiple tours every day that people can drop into and see the process from intake all the way to that distribution point. Um it is so cool and to see a milk lab working and to walk through kind of like what we're going to talk about the whole process. It's so cool.

August 4th. The week

the week of August 4th. Yes. Yes. So

the milk bank tour extravaganza.

Sure. Yeah. Birthday celebration.

Birthday celebration.

But um yeah. So what that process looks like. So first off the donor process. So we have to screen um more than 150 women every month to keep up with the demand for donor milk in the niku.

Screening 150 women. And what's the acceptance rate of that?

It definitely is a funnel of course. So our process is first you fill out an interest form. Um then

how are you finding mothers that are interested? Like how are you how are you getting the 150? Because I mean obviously it's like a great mission like you know it's a no-brainer when you talk to people and like oh yeah this is a thing

but it's easy for me to say because like I'll never be in the position to like sign up for but I'm like oh everyone should do that. It's like but I'm also not going to go like bark at all my friends and their wives and like everyone who's like just had babies and say like are you donating? like it seems a little like that would be hard to convince people. I

I I wouldn't say it's hard to convince people, but I think you just have to be you have to have the opportunity. You just have to be in a situation where a you are lactating and you are breastfeeding or nursing or pumping.

And this is going to be a really u it's just going to show that I just don't know very much like how long is that window from when you have a child like and when would that when would you stop?

So it really depends on the woman. So for us as far as our processes and our systems um once you become a milk donor you be can you can donate to us um up until your next pregnancy or your child is 2 years old. Um the reason for that is just your health indicators might change in that time period window and you would just have to go through that approval process again.

I got you. Okay.

Um but it really is up to the woman. Um so it's you know some women might go two weeks, some might go two years. at what age of their child are most um donors like you know what like this is something that's that I want to be involved in like obviously you said it's like yeah it's not like two hours after they have give birth

again it's so variable because every woman's breastfeeding journey is going to look different and even from child to child your breastfeeding journey can look incredibly different so it really just depends on what that journey looks like for that woman some women are overp producers from the get-go and might be able to donate to us as early as four or 6 weeks postpartum.

And is it uh they come into the facility and donate?

So, you go through that screening process. You do your interest form. From there, you do a screening call with our donor services team. They just ask some more in-depth health questions, kind of lay out the process, what to expect. From there, you do a blood draw that's going to test for five diseases that can pass through breast milk. From there, you do one more kind of more indepth health um questionnaire.

And then your doctor or OB/GYN OBGYn will sign off and say, "Yes, this woman's healthy enough to become a milk donor." Um, once all those steps are complete, then you can become an approved milk donor. Um, usually it takes between two and four weeks, just depending on um, how quickly those healthcare providers get back, how quickly that mom wants to go through that process. Um, and then from there, what it looks like is, uh, mothers have a few different options on how to get their milk to us. Freeze it in individual bags or individual blocks, however they see fit. Um, everything needs to be, uh, signed in at what, um, date they pumped, just so we're aware of when that was.

Um, then they can either self ship directly to us if they're, um, they, so we have milk depots across our three-state area. So, we have, um, Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky across that. Um we have more than 80 across that three-state area.

You have more than 80 depots.

Milk depots. Yes. And so those are community-based um milk depots where women can come and drop off their milk donations. Um so oftent times those are going to be at hospitals, at wick units, at um local departments of health, um areas like that, lactation specialists, things like that. Um so mom moms either have the choice to um go and drop off their milk there. So, for instance, our headquarters over on 82nd Street is a milk depot.

Um, we usually have between one and four donors walk through our doors every week and in that instance, they just put all their um milk that they want to donate into a big ziplock. they get a donor ID number so we can always ID um the donor with their milk um and they come and drop that off and then we take it and start that kind of well we'll talk about the process from there later but on their that donation journey but if they um can't access those milk depots for any reason they have transportation barriers there's not one local to them um for whatever reason um they can then also choose to self ship so either taking um so we'll send them materials to ship their donations

yeah I was going to say like the preserv ing it through transit, like that kind of stuff.

Yeah. So, they'll get a um styrofoam cooler. They will get ice blocks that they will freeze for at least 24 hours before they ship their donation. Um and then they can either do a um pickup order from their house or drop it off at their local UPS.

Oh, an easy, pretty painless process, I feel like.

Yes. And I've said um like I it was said in my bio, I've been a two-time milk donor and that's how I found out about the milk bank. This is this is what I wanted to kind of transition into next was like where did the milk bank come on your radar and like what was your process of I it just seems as though your donors are like the most generous people because they're pro like let's even say you have a 15-month-old like you're doing all the stuff to be a parent like maybe it's your first time and you're figuring it all out and then you still take the time to prioritize others ahead of you. I don't know. I think that's really cool. So where where did it become uh part like on your radar?

I it is really truly the most beautiful thing. Um and that is why I've I've joined this org um and transitioned into this work because I was in in tech for more than six years before this and when this opportunity presented itself I just like you just said it is just the most beautiful selfless act people can do and it is honestly saving lives. and the fact that these women are doing something that's going to save lives. I mean, it's just it gives me the chills every time. That's why I wake up every day and go to work. Um, but going back to my own journey, you know, I have racked my brain to try to think about how I first learned about the milk bank and I I cannot remember. Granted, I've had two kids and that was four years ago almost that I probably would have first found out about that.

Was it on your radar before you had children? Probably not. Because I will share that before I had my first child, I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to try breastfeeding, but like I don't know if it's going to work out. I don't know how long I'll do it." My initial goal was six weeks and my stretch goal was three months initially with my first son, Miles. Um, so I probably wasn't even thinking, I wasn't aware.

Um, wasn't really like on my mind. Um, just because I had done probably enough research and investigating to realize like how hard breastfeeding is and how challenging it is, especially for like modern working women, how hard it is to juggle all of that and and to do all that and also the idea of it. I just didn't feel like I would be into it just just with all the things. And so I originally had very short-term goals and that's okay, you know. Um, luckily it it seemed to all work out well and I ended up um nursing my son up till he was 8 months old and then pumped up until 13 months.

That's your stretch goal like out of the water.

You know, sometimes your assumptions are very wrong on how things are going to turn out. But part of it is um I had a very close friend and colleague who had a child um about three weeks before I did and I saw her struggling to keep up with her supply and be able to have enough milk for her daughter and I think that kind of opened the door to me understanding because I was very fortunate. I had a very strong I had challenges in the beginning with my son and and we had our own issues with breastfeeding and I had to see a lactation consultant

more than three times and just the whole song and dance but I was very fortunate I had a very strong supply the whole time and oftentimes that's not the case and so my very close friend um had gaps in her breastfeeding with her daughter and I think that made me realize oh it's not oh because it was my first child I had no idea um and so I think that gave me the realization of Oh, that this isn't what I'm experiencing is not always the case. And of course, as you research and read and look into it, you understand that it is just so different

for every single woman. Um, but I think that experience of just seeing her experience that was very different than mine made me realize, oh, there is a need for donor milk and and that was more of a personal interaction versus like, you know, it wasn't that she had a baby in the NICU. in that situation like were fulfilling for the most part but I think it did make me realize

is there a solution for uh for mothers that Yeah. like like your friend.

Yeah. So we actually do have outpatient services. So we have milk express sites where people can come and order bottles of pasteurized donor human milk from us. Um oftent times people using our milk express sites are going to be those who have um children with medical issues um a necessity or a need prescription from a doctor for breast milk and for whatever variety of reason again mom isn't able to supply um all or any of that milk

that's priority one right if you think it's like kids who are their doctors are saying this is what they really need

and our priority is always going to be those NICU babies um because for those babies again coming back to how we started this conversation that breast milk is not only nutrition it is medical intervention, it is medicine. Um, so that's always going to be our priority, but we are lucky enough that we're able to have these milk express sites to further expand access to the pasturized donor human milk. Um, again, oftentimes for children who need it in a more medical necessity, but is also an opportunity if women need bridge milk, if women are trying to meet those breastfeeding goals and have a few gaps to fill. Research has also shown if women have access to donor milk in that first kind of 7-day postpartum window, their breastfeeding success rates can go up by 60%.

One of my friends just told me about this. Their child was in the NICU and they were separated for five or seven days or whatever. And that that like success rate is harder um when you do try to go breastfeed after they get out of the NICU.

Um that is just like talk about, you know, added stress, additional like the whole nine yards. Oh my gosh. you hear about this from your friend, but just understand that there are challenges that arise and it's not the same journey for all women. Where gets you to like actually take action on this and like look up the milk bank or like fill out a form or like show up at a place and do the thing?

I think for me, I just realized that I have this milk in my freezer and I knew at some point like Miles is not going to drink all this milk. Like it's clear that I have more than enough. I don't need to have this all. I don't need to have this reserved in my freezer just sitting here like that that's not doing any good for me and my family. Um and so then I think at some point and again I just cannot remember what was the like connection point of realizing that I guess I probably what I did and data shows me this is probably what I did honestly but our our biggest channel you asked earlier like how do we get in front of people? How do people find us?

Our largest channel is SEO. I was gonna say organic search. What to do with excess breast milk? Me seriously, like our our analytics are always so wild when it comes to our channels because organic is just always so much higher than any other channel we have. Um but yes, so probably what I did is I Googled where can I donate breast milk and that's probably how I found out about the milk bank.

Are there multiple milk banks?

Um across the country there are uh 30 um accredited milk banks with um Havana. We are we are all separate entities though.

If I put uh what to do with extra breast milk in Indiana, you're number one on SEO. Come on. The milk bank.

So that's oftentimes how moms find us. They either Google it, they might ask a friend, um or we do a lot of outreach and events in our communities too as well. Um for those who are pregnant, um newly postpartum new moms. Um, but again, I think I probably just Googled it and um, my first time I did a mix of um, there was a milk depot close to my house I use and then I did self shipping probably once or twice kind of earlier in my postpartum when things are just really haywire.

At what point after birth? Like how old was Miles when you got involved?

Maybe three or four months old. I my again my friends are all in this like they're having their first baby and like just hearing their stories

like it just it amazes me that you know you said 150 donors a month take time in this super hectic and stressful uh experience to prioritize others and you talk about like what gives you chills like the generosity there like gives me chills like I think that's just so so impressive. How many mothers have excess reserves and they don't know what to do with it? Like how many do you think potential donors could you get to?

So many potentials out there.

Yeah. For like 150, you have to imagine like there's I don't know thousands of mothers at any given time in Indiana.

Oh yeah. Yeah. So the way we're trying to get in front of people to ensure that everyone knows because we talk about the fact that the worst time to know about donor milk is when you need donor milk. So part of my reason for my role and and the milk bank having me in my role is to ensure that we can help the general public because it's not just women who need to know about this. Everyone needs to know about this because generally speaking most people are going to know someone who is either going to give birth to a baby or adopt a baby or take custody of a baby. And so being aware that this is an option and and this is a a choice that people can have.

I mean, everyone should know sometimes oftentimes when I'm at public events more that are like healthfare focused and it's more of a diverse audience. Some people will walk by our table and be like, "Oh, I'm I'm out of your, you know, range." Or like, "Oh, I'm over that part of my life." It's like, "But are you are your kids having kids? Like, are you having, you know, grandchildren in your life?"

I don't know anything about being a parent or having a child or especially not breastfeeding a child, but I'm curious just from my like perception of it. Do you run into mothers that might like it's a sensitive topic to talk about? It's a journey and it's different for everyone and it's like there are mothers that have a difficult challenging time and then they have to talk about that and like obviously when you do it in the the safe space of talking with your doctor it's like HIPPA compliant like no one's going to know about it but like their friend might not know that has a

surplus that they can donate it because their friend maybe isn't that open about talking about the challenge. boxing, do you run into like uh the mothers that are on the receiving end, the ones that are willing to share their story can make a huge impact because it's like you talked about everyone know like everyone knows someone who probably has been on the receiving end, but I actually couldn't name a single person because I've never had that conversation.

That makes sense.

Yeah. I I will say it has been fascinating since I've started in this role and joined this organization how often now people tell me, "Oh my gosh, my child had donor milk and I'm so grateful for it." Because you're right, oftentimes it's not something we just bring up in casual conversation, you know, especially if you don't have kids of your own and you're talking about like births and kids.

Like is that in the momartum in the young mom circle, would you say it's like that is not like a taboo thing to say? It's like, oh, like this is the experience.

So, I think it depends on the person. There's definitely still stigma attached to donor milk for sure. There are definitely some people out there who think it's weird, who think who don't understand the purpose or why you would do that or like how that works. And um I also think people don't know about the processes we have in place and the standards and the safety practices. Um you know we are accredited and regulated by Habana. We are uh registered with the FDA because we're technically a food product. Um you know we have a sevenstep process as far as from that intake of that donation to that distribution.

And this is just showing that I just don't know anything and I'm really excited to learn about it and like sit here in the seat. I love these conversations because these are the best conversations because probably 85% of the population is just like

Yeah. Right. And it's like I'll be everyone's guinea pig and ask the the or probably on your side like, "Oh gosh, this guy's asking this question."

No, I love it. I love it. Ask them all.

You're sitting there and it's like your friend is like, "Oh, I'm having trouble." And it's like the immediate thought is just like, "Well, I have extra like you just want some of this, you know, like like giving it like directly to someone." And it's like well actually there needs to be all these this sevenstep process to make sure that like that it is receivable and like you can use it you know like so it's not just like you're going out there and like directly going okay here take this friend like you need like whatever

and informal sharing is a thing and and probably yeah oh yeah informal sharing is a thing um and probably a a general percentage of our donors probably do both um become a donor for us and also informally share um and there's all sorts of ways you can informally share us, we have to go through all those steps and processes and safety checks because we are serving the most fragile infants. And that is why we need to do what we do. And we have um all those steps in place across that pasteurization process because again those babies have their own pharmaceutical makeup already. So they need to have all those variables minimized in any other area of their care. And so for informal sharing, you're probably not going to go and try to find somewhere to pasteurize or milk to then give to your friend. Um but for us, because those babies we are serving um are so fragile and have their own medical conditions, they could be facing neck or things like that um we have to go through these steps and these processes um and these safety checks to ensure the safety because again it's not just nutrition, it's medicine.

So you said SEO is the number one way that people find you. That makes sense. other than that, rather than like someone uh opting in, they're kind of like they're exploring this already. You like have tabled like different events and some interesting events too. Like where are the other places that you're getting in front of uh recent moms that are um donor eligible?

Yeah, so those milk depots are a huge help to us and and the milk express sites as well because they are usually going to be embedded in community organizations where our direct population is going to be. So again, um those uh Wix, the Department of Health's um hospitals, um lactation consultants. So, um our depots are a huge part of us being able to connect with that audience of um soon to be andor new moms. Um and then of course like families beyond that too. um again events and doing a variety of events getting in front of not only um those families who are expecting or have recently welcomed a child um but just the general public as well because again just we are so um not well known in the general sphere. So just being able to have even opportunities like this like this is a huge win for us because I bet you there is a majority of your listeners who are like the milk bank what is the milk bank like you know and and I get that nine out of 10 times.

Well you yeah you're uh the only reason I had ever heard about this like coming from tech and that's something you don't see super often like someone to be convicted enough to leave the like tech that kind of job to go work at a nonprofit. It's like you got to have a lot of conviction in the thing that you're, you know, out there helping develop and helping market and advertise. So like I saw you do you join this what two years ago?

Uh six months ago.

Six months a time flies when you're having fun. So six that's like crazy because I feel you've made such a big impact of like bringing at least in the circle that I run like on the LinkedIn circle like I had never heard of the milk bank on LinkedIn. So, like seeing that come into yeah, that LinkedIn tech circle is really, really cool. And so, that part's working. I will say that. I want to take a minute to tell you about my friends at JC Hart and the opportunity that they are giving to get in listeners.

They are offering summer savings of up to 2 months off of rent at these brand new communities, East Bank and Noblesville, The Edge on the north side of Indie, and Wheelhouse in Westfield. If you're looking for an awesome place to live, you need to hit up my friends at JCheart. Go to homeisjeart. com/nate and check out all their cool properties. Or if you know someone that's looking for an apartment here in central Indiana, send that link to them and JC Hart can take them on a personalized tour. You know me, I'm all about Indiana and JC Hart is as hoosier as it gets and they do some amazing things in our community.

They also wanted me to let you know that they are always looking for awesome people to join their team. They just made the list of best places to work in Indiana for the 13th time. Check out their open positions at homejart. com. Now, let's get back into the episode. Another thing you're doing to help increase awareness is actual milk drives, right?

Like you hosted what? Allen County, Clark County, Lake County, Maring Monroe, Typicanw County.

Yes. So, we um had a partnership with the Indiana Department of Health and Indiana Wick. Um and they What's Wick?

Women, infant and children. Um so, they provide supports and systems for um new moms and their families. Um and they provide a lot of breastfeeding support um breastfeeding access um things like that. So that's how they kind of work alongside with us um because a lot of WICs have um a goal to improve breastfeeding rates across the state.

Nice. Okay.

Um but yes, so we partnered with them to do um some virtual milk donor drives. So essentially the goal of this was to raise awareness about becoming a milk donor. Um we ran they were just virtual Facebook events that we just did um some marketing and advertising around um and essentially it was um to help women just bring visibility to becoming a milk donor and we ran it during national volunteer month because again it is one of the um most impactful acts of service a mother can do. So that was really how we packaged that that idea. And the piece that I think is really interesting and you kind of hit the nail on the head earlier when you said the last time you want to learn about uh milk bank, the milk bank, any milk bank, milk donation is when you need it. Spans all socioeconomic classes, right?

It's like none of us can know whether you're going to be in the NICU and need this. Like whether you're the richest person or have the least amount of affluence. And so everyone having to like step up and do their part regardless of if like you know some people are like oh I can't donate a million dollars a year to XYZ charity but like the all these mothers in this in this space are like like that's the thing recipients aren't necessarily the lowest socioeconomic class or the highest socio it could be anyone like that part is just so interesting like being able to like give this such a spectacular gift

and we even have a page on our website that says something to the effect of you know a mother could have all the money in the world, but without, you know, a mother, another mother's generous heart, this wouldn't pan out.

Um, so it really again all comes back down to those milk donors, you know, and they are the champions of the work we do. Um, and without our milk donors, we would not be able to do any of this. And so that's why they are so special and I'm so focused on ensuring that we tell their stories and we talk about them. And one thing that is my absolute favorite and of course every donor story is special to me. Um, but one that comes to mind right now is we had a mother who had twins and they were born prematurely. Um, and they received donor milk for I want to say two or three days while her supply was um, coming in.

And now um, I don't remember how long it's been now. I want to say either like three or six months. that now she's a milk donor to us because she's like, I saw how impactful it was when my children received donor milk and now that I have the capacity to do it. I want to give to another mother who might be in the same situation I was.

Yeah.

It's just so beautiful and like so full circle.

The amount of like 150 donors a month. I wonder how many lives that's impacting on the other end cuz you could be like you said 3 ounces is a feeding, right?

One ounce can be up to three feedings.

Yeah. 1 oz is three. Like that is that's wild. like you know like I don't know the term but it's like eight ounces of this could make a huge impact like so many different lives.

Well and that's really why we talk about every ounce counts like it can kind of seem like a silly little sayings but it actually is truth and the work we're doing and there's also a connection into the donor side um for that every ounce counts. So we do not have a minimum donation requirement of our milk donors. So for any mother who has excess, whether that's 10 ounces, 100 ounces, 500 ounces, whatever it might look like, like we want to be equitable and inclusive for those moms. And so if you're compelled to become a milk donor, we want to welcome you to that no matter how much you have to give.

If we dive into the impact report a little bit, are there any like amazing stats or anything fun from the 2024 MilkBank impact report?

Yeah, so I'll start with a story because everyone just loves stories. Um, so this is little baby Charlotte here. So she was born six weeks prematurely. Um, and unfortunately due to the trauma of that birth and because she was separated from her daughter, um, her mother's name is Lindsay. Um, so she her milk never came in. Um, and so Charlotte had um, obviously she was premature, she was low birth weight, had a few health challenges to begin with.

Um, and received donor milk. Um, and now she is thriving. And she actually added her story to um, our timeline. She put a picture of Charlotte at her birthday and it is so cute. And just being able to know that Lindsay having access to that donor milk for Charlotte changed the trajectory of Charlotte's life. I mean, she can say without a doubt because Charlotte had access to donor milk while she was in the NICU, she is now a healthy, thriving baby.

Um, I mean, that is so powerful. And um what's really cool now too is um you know Lindsay now can go out and share the story of baby Charlotte and work together with us to raise awareness about the need and the necessity and because if you've never had a baby in the NICU, there's a lot you might not know or understand. Neither of my children have ever been in the NICU. Um I have friends who have had babies in the NICU but not up until recently. And so I think the more that we have those champions who can be open to share about their experiences, it it helps even more because like you were talking about, there's so many areas of the work we do where people just don't talk about it um for whatever reason.

Like if you could just snap your fingers and have x amount of ounces like available for new mothers. Like Yeah. I'm saying like like what kind of deficit are we trying to make up here to

if someone wants to endow us $10 million?

Yes. Right. Well, and that's another question that I wanted to ask as well. Obviously, you need like the whole thing runs on milk donors, but also like, you know, there's also staffing and like I my question that got me on that lens was who pays for the shipping back to the milk bank?

So, milk donors never pay a scent for anything. So, milk donors never pay for anything that they're doing with us. Um, so we cover all the costs of that. And then um how we cover those costs is um part of that is the revenue coming in and then part of that is the philanthropic giving.

Do hospital systems pay?

Yes. So generally the hospitals um will purchase that milk and then that milk will be accessible um from that hospital. Um, and usually it's going to be um, first and foremost in that NICU, but also available probably on their postpartum ward as well as a feeding option for moms who plan to breastfeed and might need just a little bit of that bridge milk in those first few days.

Um, and then another big part of that is going to be philanthropic and grants.

The thought of like, oh, shipping and it's like

shipping costs are insane. So someone out there, you know, like a guy could just be like, "Okay, here's

$50 or whatever." And let's say if it's $10 to ship it wherever it needs to go, it's like like five new donations just got funded with your 50 bucks.

Yes. It it philanthropic funds are what make our work possible. I mean, without them, we we probably wouldn't be able to function at the capacity we're at. We believe we're one of the top five largest milk banks probably in the country just from the the amount that we are doing on a monthly basis. like you were talking about, we're doing an average of about 50 to 60 ounces every month. Um, but yes, those philanthropic funds are are crucial to the work we do.

Is that 50 or 60,000 intake or

that's shipping out the door?

Okay.

So, on on an average month, we're going to be doing um Yep. 60,000 ounces out the door. So, that's going to equate to about 180,000 feedings up to 180,000 feedings.

Gosh, that's such an impact.

Yes. It's it's amazing.

Are there other stories that have just really resonated with you? um that have kept you in this line of work versus like oh you know what let's go back to tech and and make that run.

Well going back to the story I told earlier with Megan and her twins um Declan and Breck. Um so they are 10 years old now and so they came back recently and did a interview with us and we had Declan and Breck sitting with their mom Megan as she shared their story and it was just so I might get teeyed right now. Oh no, sorry. I'm very emotional person. But it was just so cool to see these little I wish I had their picture right now with me, but these little tiny tiny babies who had, you know, all of these little wires and, you know, their apparatuses and and um, you know, Breck had a colostomy bag um for six weeks when he had that surgery at four days old and then he had a reparative surgery um at six weeks old again. And just to know that because they had access to donor milk and now like they can sit in front of me and they can tell tell their story and and talk about the impact of that.

And um they actually drew a thank you um picture and we put that in our cards um going out to our donors of fund announce which was our biggest fundraiser we just closed. Um, so it's just really amazing to have these moments where I can see these the impact on these babies and these real people and it's just so beautiful. And another story I'll bring up too, which again talking about that outpatient access and those milk express sites, um we were at a community baby shower up in Lafayette, Indiana, and we um had a woman stop by our our table and say, "Oh my gosh, the milk bank. I love you all. like I'm at your Milk Express all the time because she was adopting a baby in January. Um he they were waiting for him to be born.

Um and her and her husband um were able to get donor milk from our milk express for him. Um, and it was just such an amazing story to know that yes, our our number one is always going to be those babies in the NICU cuz they are the ones who have the highest critical need,

but to be able to have access for families just like Cheryl and Bobby and little Matthew. I mean, and and they did an interview with us, too, and he was there drinking his donor milk on the interview, and it's just like to see it happen is just, oh my gosh,

it's just like one that you talk about that not enough people know about like cuz you know, all the things and the ways and the nonprofits you could donate to. It's like this is one that I've well one I have shifted my perspective from milk as just a food source to also like the medical impact of breast milk for children like

that is a good a good perspective sh uh change to just start there um for a lot of the listeners and also just like the impact of you know every ounce counts you know three or one ounce could be three feedings you think like a niku baby is so small so like yeah a third of an ounce it's Wow.

And one thing I'll bring up too with the point talking about understanding the the medical side of it and the nutritional side of it is um in our kind of system and processes um when we're working on um those donations, one thing we do is we actually pull together the milk from three to five different women. Um and there's two core reasons we do that. So first it's to ensure the holistic health of that milk. So every woman's breast milk is going to be different. Um, and even an individual woman's breast milk will be different according to the time she pumped um or breastfed. Um, the season she uh is feeding in. For instance, in summer oftentimes breast milk will have a higher percentage of water because your body knows that your baby has a higher um possibility of becoming dehydrated because it's hot. Um, so breast milk science is so crazy.

The body really is amazing. Holy, I had no idea about that. But again, so we pull together milk from three to five women to ensure the holistic health of that milk. So the highest percentages of fats and proteins and things like that. And we don't do anything to manipulate that. It's just how the cards fall. Um but we do have a nutritional analyzer that will take a sample of every batch and tell us the readings of that. So everyone knows what's in that milk. Um and then the second reason for that again the magic and power of breast milk is um it's going to pass those immunities um to those babies. And so pulling those women's milk together is going to ensure the maximum amount of immunities for that baby because again when you're born prematurely your immune system is essentially zilch.

Um and so having that many women pulled together it's going to increase the amount of vaccinations they've likely had as well as exposure to diseases now that they have immunities too that's passed through their breast milk. Are there other like common questions that you get that I'm missing? Like something like, "Oh, you know, especially for like let's say 28 year old guys that don't know anything about anything like they're like, "Oh yeah, people always want to know about X, Y, or Z."

Um, so what do you think is the average calories per ounce of breast milk?

10 calories.

You're close. So an average ounce of breast milk um will be 20 calories.

20 calories.

Um, but it can be as high as 24.

But 24 calories for a a little a little tikeke, like that's a big impact.

Oh. Oh, huge. Huge. Massive. Um, another one. So, um, breastfeeding moms, nursing moms, pumping moms who come in and do our tour, one common question is, "Oh, you can refreeze the milk." Like, I'm always told once you've thawed your milk, you can't refreeze the milk. Um, well, the reason why we're able to refreeze is because it's pasteurized. So, the threat of refreezing your milk after it's thawed is that's when bacteria can grow. But because our milk is pasteurized, that essentially eliminates that risk there. How long will breast milk stay good frozen?

Oh, that's a great question. So, a frozen breast milk has a shelf life of a year if it's in a deep freezer. Um, if it's in like your normal like run-of-the-mill kitchen freezer, it's up to 6 months. Um, and then like those kind of big rectangular deep freezes, it's up to a year.

How much breast milk did you have when you realized like, you know, I'm probably pretty good here? Like I could probably like go give some of this to someone else.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I've I've had enough. you know, it's like you open the freezer and it's like you start to have like more breast milk and less uh food and you're like, you know what, we could probably

That's usually how it goes.

Um, are there other like common misconceptions or things that uh people miss or need to know about the milk bank?

Just understanding the systems and processes we have in place to ensure the safety of this milk. Again, we are serving the most vulnerable, tiniest infants um and really setting them up for success for the rest of their life. really if you think about it at the core of it. Um and so once we intake those donations there's so many steps and checks and balances and processes that we follow. Um so just knowing that that is happening and there's reasons why those things happen. um and all of the um reasoning behind to our donor screening processes and our health screenings and um our pasturization process and the fact that every batch we send a sample to a third party lab just to ensure again that other final safety check there um because these babies are so fragile. How long is it from um collection to feeding?

Going to all depend on um when that milk was pumped because obviously with our inventory that's going to be what dictates when that milk is is processed for lack of better terms. Um but once that processing starts, it's going to take um about 2 to three days for that milk to go through that entire process.

Well, hey, thank you so much for coming on and sharing all the amazing things y'all are doing at the milk bank. We have a couple fun segments here at the end that I'm really interested to get your perspective on this first one. This is our younger year segment. It's brought to you by our friends at OR Fellowship. They're a great organization here in Indiana helping develop young business leaders across the state. You spent six years in tech and then in the last 6 months have transitioned into the nonprofit work. Lindsay, what advice would you give to your 22-year-old self?

I was one of those people that was very very entrenched in the idea of it's not who you know, it's what you know. Dead wrong. That's dead wrong. Wait, you you were the it was you thought it was about what you know.

Huh?

Yeah. I was very much when I was in college, I have a degree in journalism. I went to Missou. Um at that time, I was very much of the thinking of oh, it's about my skill set. It's about, you know, my creativity. It's about the the things I've done and the ways I'm growing and my skill set and and yes, that is part of the equation, but so much of your opportunities are based on your network and who you know plays such a role in the doors that open for you and the access you have and the platforms you have. The reason I'm sitting here is because of my network. I would not be here otherwise.

Yeah. Well, and it's like I don't think that's like a call that like, okay, you can just like BS and network your way into anything. It's like you have to be able to deliver once you get the opportunity, but if you were just strictly like the best resume person, like there are a lot of doors that won't be opened because you're not out there like having people like, hey, you need to meet this person and like that person leads to the next person and all of a sudden you're like meeting and doing a podcast and like learning about this thing that I had never heard

of before. Like I just think that yeah, being investing in your network especially at 22 and not thinking of it as like a transactional thing like I just need to collect as many business cards as possible like and it's like no like have be able to back it up what you know is important but then it's like pair that with who you know and you're just a

yeah it's it's a scale balance, right? You can't have one without the other and and think you're going to be successful. It definitely has to be a mix and match of that. That's really good advice, especially coming from someone who's like, "Oh, no. I just want to like, you know, be the best like what what I know is have that be the best." So, we asked these three questions to everyone who comes on the show. We get to learn a little bit more about the state of Indiana. First thing, will you serve Kentucky and Missouri? So, if you were talking to one of those two states, what's something the world needs to know about Indiana?

I'll come from my own like personal perspective because I um am an Indianapolis transplant. Um, so I grew up half on the East Coast, half in Missouri and then I took a weird stint in the South. Um, but I'm here now and I'm back in the Midwest and I love it. One thing that really stood out to me cuz I knew absolutely nothing about Indiana before I moved here. Like literally nothing.

When did you move here?

Um, I moved here in 2017.

Oh wow. Yeah. You're like fairly net new. Who's your

Yeah. I didn't know like a cousin of a friend of a halfsister of anybody. Like zip zilch nobody.

You just show up in town. So, it's because my husband, so we had a reason to move here. So, my my husband um started residency here and that's what brought us here. Um so, I relocated to the south. My husband was in med school in the south. Um and then was able to get his first choice residency, which I'm very proud of him about.

And he chose Indiana.

He chose Indiana.

Hell yeah.

So, there's there's the win. There's a big win. Um but anyway, so I knew absolutely nothing about here. And one thing that really surprised me was the diversity that is here, the diver diversity of cultures, the diversity of foods. Um, it was just very surprising to me because I think conceptions can be that Indiana is your very run-of-the-mill cornfield.

Tell my Instagram comments this one. Like, they're going to eat this one up. They're going to love it.

I mean, and there's definitely places where that's not true, right? There's definitely areas where it's not true, but for me, like when I moved here and I had access to an Ethiopian restaurant 5 minutes.

Where did you live when you first moved to town?

Oh, um, so I was in Castleton originally.

Yeah. Okay. The international market that's up there. Do you know what I'm talking about? Like up by like the Castleton Mall.

Yes. Yes. I don't like that. Yeah.

Yeah. Like talk about diversity. Like that is a very very diverse place.

Yes. and all the amount of like Asian markets we have here and just the the opportunity and the u middle eastern markets we have too and the access to really great Middle Eastern food and Ethiopian food and Asian food and that just really surprised me. Um, granted Indianapolis is a larger scale city and so that probably pays a role in that too, but I just was not expecting the amount of of diversity and options. And also like you have to understand too, I had been living in Alabama for three years before this. And so I lacked a huge amount of that.

And you were probably like I bet in like first glance you're oh great. like out of the frying pan into the skillet like Alabama to Indiana and then you actually show up and you're like oh like the way the that the whole state is painted some of it is obviously true you know like the truth is somewhere in the middle but it's not like from top to bottom 92 counties are all the exact same thing which is interesting and that's what something that I love about Indiana

a place or part of the state that maybe doesn't get as much love as it should what is a hidden gem in Indiana

the Agra Park I absolutely love the Agra Park.

Oh, over my head. What's What's the Agra Park?

It's up in Fisers and it's run by the city and it's an open working farm. And so they have you pick all through the summer and they'll tell you what is ripe and fresh and you get a basket and you can fill that basket up with whatever is ready to be picked.

What? 33 acre urban farm.

I love it. Um we go probably once every other week, I'd say, as a family. Um they have a playground. They have a walking trail. They have animals. They have specialty classes they host too. And they've actually just built a brand new building on site where they can host some of that um curated content. Like you know, I know one time they had like you learn how to make uh pasta sauce from items from the Agra part. No way. It is so cool. And I am very much a garden girl. I love food. I love cooking. I love nature. Both my parents are master gardeners. So it's just kind of in my blood to like be obsessed with the Aggra Park. But it is a

one of my absolute favorite places. I actually um I'm one of the Hamilton County Leadership Academy ambassadors. Um and they'll have us write articles for um their blog and I actually wrote one about the Agra Park because I just love it. I just love it.

I mean, no. So cool. They do summer camps, I think, for kids.

They have an excellent fall festival where you can get, I think, up to two pumpkins per person um from their pumpkin packs.

The Fischer Agra Park. This opened in 2020. So smart.

And they're building a second one.

Yeah. On the other side of

Fischers. I just saw Fischers Agra Park West.

Uh so very cool. Yeah. Tons of produce. They have livestock. They have animals.

Mhm. If you ever want to go take videos, I will be your your sub video person. I'll take you on tour.

Um Oh my gosh. Really really cool. Oh, and there's new developments coming. 2025 developments and expansion. The Fischer Agra Park. You can go. Is it like does it cost to like

No, it's all free. So, I could just go pick some fresh herbs or some produce for free.

Farmers markets are

And what's really interesting, too, is um a lot of times they'll have two options, too. They'll have the you pick where you can go in and pick it. And I think it's really cool for kids to experience too to be able to see where their food comes from and what real vegetables and food looks like. Um, but also often times they will have a a booth at the front which will have like the excess items that they've picked themselves and that you can then take home as well. So

well that's so smart too. Obviously transportation still getting there but like you think of food insecurity we had gosh pack away hunger Indiana and they talked about like 1.8 8 million meals are missed in the state of Indiana a year and it's like have and a big piece of this is like in those uh the lowest socioeconomic places is like the need for fresh produce. So it' be interesting to see like as this expands and they add more of these um how that also makes an impact in the community and the nutrition. Think about start from the beginning, right, with milk bank and like new nutrition and that for kids and then or for like you know infants and then you get into like toddler and children as they get older like the need for this.

Wow.

Well, and you brought up the idea of food deserts. If you really think about it, breast milk and access to donor milk could be the first food desert a child faces in their life.

Wow.

Look at that. The Agra Park and Fishers. I love it. Final question. This is how we learn about uh new Hoosiers that are they're doing cool things, you know, potential podcast guests, the whole nine yards, who's a Hoosier that we need to keep on our radar. Someone who's doing big things.

Uh I will give a shout out to one of my mentors to Nola Burton. She's amazing. Um she served um in an HR role at Eli Liy for many, many years. I was connected to her through Pass the Torch for Women, a local organization that connects women um with mentors. Um, and I think we got connected like three years ago now and she is still one of my greatest mentors. We meet probably once a quarter, once every other month depending.

Um, and now she owns a publishing company. Um, she's a fabulous speaker. Uh, she's an author. She's just a really wonderful example of what a woman can achieve in her lifetime. And she has two children. you know, it's just she's been very inspirational to me and she's been a great sounding board for me as I've um navigated a lot of things in the past three years that I've known her.

I mean, I want to say she has probably known me through when I got laid off. She's known me when I went to, you know, a very small scale startup. She's known me transitioning into nonprofit. So, she's seen a lot of layers of my life and becoming a mom. And I I just think she is just a powerhouse woman and she just does so much and she does it so well.

I love it. Dola Burton. All right, we're going to keep her on the list. Uh Lindsay, thanks for coming on and sharing the amazing impact that the milk bank is making across Indiana, Missouri, and Kentucky. You just really enlightened me about um these challenges that new mothers and small babies and niku babies face. uh and the idea of thinking of uh breast milk and and that piece as not just meals but also medicine like I just think that I I mean I learned especially as a 28-year-old like not I don't have any kids or anything but I it's down the road like I'm interested in this. I think that this was a great conversation that helped enlighten me and I know that the listeners will feel the same way. So thank you for sharing your story.

Yeah, thank you. And and like I said, you know, if anyone else wants to have these conversations if you want to see behind the scenes, um definitely come visit us the week of our birthday for a tour. Um you know, we can follow us on social media to kind of stay in the know of when we're going to release that sign up form, but I would love to give you a tour. So, thank you for having us.

Yeah. And if they people want to connect, what are your social handles? How can they find you and the milk bank?

Yeah. So, the milkbank's going to be at the Milkbank across Instagram and Facebook, uh LinkedIn as well. And then um for myself, if you want to connect on LinkedIn um I've held on to my maiden name on LinkedIn. Um and it just now it's too late and I'm like whatever. So um if you type in Lindsay Magcguire, you'll find me, but my hyperlink will be Lindsay Later. So don't be spooked by the French uh uh maiden name still on my my profile. Uh but LinkedIn's the best place to connect with me.

Sweet. Thank you so much for coming on and we'll talk to you soon.

Yeah. Thank you.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Get In. If you like what you heard, make sure you leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater. Whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level, click the link in the description to see all my gear recommendations at sweetwater.com. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at everything we're doing across the state, make sure you follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok, Nate Spangle. Thank you so much for listening and being part of what makes the Who's Your State great. We'll see you next time here on Get