The Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation Launches

Parents-to-be Nicole Richie and Joel Madden launch the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation at the Los Angeles Free Clinic on Monday in Hollywood. The couple hosted a surprise baby shower for 100 expectant and new moms and handed out more than $200,000 worth of gifts. People has the scoopage:

Nicole on the reactions of the expectant moms: “The looks on their faces were priceless. Some of them didn’t even believe us [when they saw the gifts]. They thought we were joking. Everything (Baby Bjorn products, cribs, mattresses and toys from Fisher-Price) they got, we got, so everything that will be in their nursery, will be in our nursery.”

Joel on why they started the foundation: “We grew up in Los Angeles and we want our child to be a part of the community, and to know that there’s a responsibility to help the community.”

Nicole on how they came up with the name of the foundation: “We named it the Richie Madden Children’s Foundation because we each have families and our families are close, and our family is involved.”

Joel on how fortunate he and Nicole have such loving families: “We’re lucky that we have families that get along and love each other [and] I think it’s great that our child will grow up as a part of that family.”

Joel on how good he felt after the event: “Sometimes people don’t want to believe that me and Nicole are just a young couple having a baby and we’re really excited. We don’t really get to share our lives with people. It’s nice to connect with people on a real level.”