I Interviewed Ellen Pompeo and She Believes in Helping Families In Need

I had the chance to meet and interview Ellen Pompeo this month when she and I both were in New York City for a Huggies Every Little Bottom diaper drive event. Held at the huge Babies R Us in Union Square, the event formally introduced Ellen as the spokesperson for Huggies' effort to inform the public about the issue of diaper need.

When Ellen Pompeo heard that 1 in 3 mothers in America are struggling to provide diapers for their children, she said that she knew she had to take up this cause and do what she could to help. And Ellen proved that she was lending more than her considerable star power to the cause: She passionately cited findings from the recent study that revealed that moms have had to reuse soiled diapers and miss work because they didn't have adequate diapers for their children's daycare.

Ellen was down-to-earth, accessible, real and besides being committed to this cause, gloriously in love with her daughter, one-year-old Stella. Ellen seemed an involved parent who has found a good work-life balance. "I am very blessed to be able to bring my daughter to work with me and hire the help I need. I know that I'm fortunate in that respect and that not every parent has that luxury. It is very gratifying to be able to rush back to my trailer during a break and be able to see and play with her."

She also went on to say that she believes that her working provides a good example for her daughter, and can instill confidence in Stella. "I think that if a parents loves her job, then showing her child that her career is important to her can only be good. I also believe that it's important for Stella to bond with her dad, her nanny, others who love her. And I'm not too controlling. However Dad does the childcare when I'm not around is good, however our nanny does it is great…no, no [shaking her head] it doesn't always have to be MY way!"

However, Ellen did admit that leaving her daughter for the first time overnight, after the New York event, was going to be really rough…on mom! "Yes, it's tough to spend time without Stella sometimes, but I've never left her overnight…yet. I'm actually going to be leaving her for the first time this week, but I just didn't think it was fair to her to make her travel so much, just for MY benefit. Here in New York we were able to do so many things together, see friends, enjoy the trip. But she'll be going back home while I finish another day of travel, and I just don't know how I'm going to handle it! I know I'll miss her so much."

But Ellen says that her show, Grey's Anatomy if you've been living under a rock, allows for her spend most of her time happily planted in their home base in Los Angeles. Also a fan of finding fun activities to share with her child, she said their favorite outing together is mommy/baby yoga. "And Stella's a California baby, so she adores swimming in our backyard pool."

I was excited to meet Ellen Pompeo of course, having watched Grey's religiously from the first season (come on, if you're a woman in your late 20s - early 40s, it's practically THE LAW). Having met a fair number of actors and Sunday morning talk show stars in my time, I was very impressed by her "truthiness" and that she wasn't straaaaaaining to connect with other parents in the non-Hollywood, coupon-clipping world. She seemed the real deal.

But most importantly, I was so proud to be a part of this cause that is truly helping parents in need. The fact that the Huggies Every Little Bottom program can get a product that struggling parents need, during a tough economic time, so that they can provide the best care for their kids really hits home. Remember, parents who need assistance may receive food stamps for groceries, and WIC for baby formula, but those coupons CANNOT be used for diapers of any kind.

And although I agree that cloth diapers are great for a variety of reason, please remember that the need for disposable diapers IS a very real need for many parents, especially those who are struggling. It's important to remember that

• Most day care providers will only accept disposable diapers, and require EIGHT brand new disposable diapers EVERY full day, even if you know your child will only use four of them.

• Many families do not own a personal washer and dryer, and most apartment complexes and laundromats strictly prohibit the washing of diapers in their machines. (Because that's ALL a struggling, single, working mom needs: Eviction for breaking the rules.)

• Yup, many cloth diaper advocates urge parents to launder their cloth diapers by hand in the bathtub. But let's remember that some struggling families share a bathroom with other families in their boarding houses or housing facilities, and thus the washing of soiled diapers in a common bathtub is often prohibited. Or just impractical in a home with only one bath or shower.

I was also so proud to share this opportunity with my fellow online parenting writers and bloggers. I was WOWED by the attendance of some of the best brains and pens in the NYC area. As a blog ambassador for the Huggies Every Little Bottom program, I was allowed to invite other online parenting writers to join me, and they included Selfish Mom Amy Oztan; Teicia Gaupp of Jersey Moms Blog; Cristie Ritz King of The Traveling Circus, Right Hand Mom and Jersey Moms Blog; Dada Rocks' Adam Cohen; Jessica Shyba of MommasGoneCity; Nicole Feliciano of Mom Trends; Beth Feldman of Role Mommy and new online magazine Project You; and Isabel Kallman of Alpha Mom and Alpha Mom Labs.

But another star at the event? The Executive Director and founder of The Diaper Bank of New Haven, Joanne Goldblum. One of the first and largest diaper banks in the nation, Joanne founded The Diaper Bank in 2004, (out of her home!), in response to the lack of public assistance for purchasing diapers for poor and low-income families. Joanne saw early on that an inadequate supply of diapers puts families with young children at an increased risk for health and parenting complications, and she did something about it. What an inspiration!

And because I am so inspired, in the months ahead, I will be organizing diaper drives throughout my local area of Washington, DC. And you can host a diaper drive too! It's easy with the Huggies Diaper Drive Tool Kit at your fingertips. Who is with me? I don't know if Ellen Pompeo will be able to make it to every event, but I think those babies and moms in our area who are struggling? They'll be happy with the appearances of just regular old mamas and papas like you and me. What d'ya say?

Disclosure: As an official Blog Ambassador I am a selected social media partner for the Huggies Every Little Bottom campaign. I am compensated for my time as a consultant to the program. However, I am not required to write about the campaign, the content and thoughts shared in this post are my own.

Jessica McFadden writes the informative, humorous blog for parents A Parent in Silver Spring. She is the mother of a six year old son, four year old daughter and is expecting her third child this Spring. She is a contributor to the Yahoo! Mother Board.