By Addison Jacoby, IU Corps Intern
Through innovative programs and services, holistic support, and community building, Tandem is a Bloomington non-profit dedicated to helping mothers and those who menstruate. They offer a variety of services which include childbirth education, 24/7 intensive postpartum support, and free maternity supplies in their “Free Room.” Tandem’s work mostly centers around pregnancy and postpartum aid.
Incorporated in 2020, Tandem was co-founded by Julie Duhon and Haddie Katz, offering online childbirth educational programs. In October 2022, they acquired their current building and created a community space inside. Alongside the opening of their building, they began to offer access to free supplies.
Duhon now serves as the executive director for Tandem, overseeing financial and developmental work. Before the creation of Tandem, she served as a clinical healthcare informaticist.
Duhon’s drive to create Tandem came from her experience with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the birth of her first child. By creating a space that she did not have when she was a new mother, she and Katz aim to address a gap in the services available to families in Bloomington.
“I personally experienced PTSD after the birth of my first child due to difficult labor and early postpartum experience,” Duhon said. “Opening Tandem, for me, has been in large part a way of addressing the extraordinary amount of trauma that’s faced by families in early, early parenthood.”
Tandem offers volunteer and internship opportunities to those looking for ways to help their community or looking for a service-based internship. On a given day, most of the students there are either working on their “formal” or “informal” internship, but Tandem still has many one-off volunteer opportunities. They accept both undergraduate and graduate “formal” interns, and there are several students who can complete an internship for their degree. These service-based internships typically require over 20 hours per week of work for an entire semester, with the goal of teaching the student how a start-up non-profit runs daily.
On the other hand, “informal” interns are for those who may not need an internship for their degree or cannot commit to 20 hours per week for an entire semester. These interns are asked to do about five hours per week with similar responsibilities to the “formal” interns.
Tandem’s volunteer opportunities are mainly odd jobs where “many hands make light work.” Most recently, volunteers have been helping remodel Tandem’s building. During these construction volunteer opportunities, volunteers had the opportunity to demolish walls, paint, and clean up the garden. Tandem also hosts big events where they need many volunteers to help, like their car seat safety checks and community baby showers.
“Our interns and volunteers will often help process donations, sort very cute little, tiny baby outfits, and get those to where people can pick them up,” Duhon said. “Right now, I have a volunteer who is doing some shopping for clients. We have many clients who have transportation barriers, and we will shop for them and deliver items that they need.”
Learn more about volunteer and internship opportunities by signing up for their newsletter and emailing admin@tandembloomington.org to be added to the list for notifications about one-day opportunities. To get involved in any other way or make a donation, check out Tandem’s website.
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