#SpotlightOnCLT: Pregnancy and Newborn Resources
Did you know that September has been the most popular birth month for more than 20 years? And at a time of the year when birth rates are at their peak, it is important to know that there are local organizations offering support and services to expecting and new mothers.
This month, we are using our Spotlight Series as a platform to highlight our local nonprofit partners who offer pregnancy and newborn resources. Read below how they serve our community and check out their SHARE Charlotte profiles to see how you can get invovled.
Baby Bundles is dedicated to providing new and gently used baby clothing, blankets bibs, books and toys to underprivileged newborns in the Charlotte area. It is a sort of "baby shower" in a bag for those mothers and babies who are not able to purchase these items on their own. Baby Bundles partners with numerous community organizations, to identify mothers in financial need to whom a bundle is provided. Their bundles are intended as a demonstration of love and community support as well as the provision of practical and essential items to the families they serve.
Bright Blessings' mission is to bring joy, care and hope to homeless and impoverished children by mobilizing volunteers of all ages. The organization operates four core programs, Bless-A-Birthday, Bless-A-Baby, Gift of Literacy and Gift of Care which will impact over 13,000 local children this year in partnership with school systems and dozens of shelters, housing facilities and community support agencies across a five-county area. The Bless-A-Baby program serves impoverished babies and mothers by providing for their emergent health and well-being. They provide Blessing Baskets, which are tailored to the needs of each individual child and provides basics that babies need.
Gate Pregnancy Resource Center
GATE Pregnancy Resource Center exists to help women who are pregnant until the child is one-year-old. They offer free options counseling and pregnancy tests and encourage clients to participate in pregnancy, parenting, and life skill classes. GATE offers resources for mother and child as well as community agency and ministry referrals.
Florence Crittenton Services Inc.
Florence Crittenton Services' mission is to promote health and hope for tomorrow's children by providing comprehensive health, educational and social services for single pregnant and non-pregnant adolescents, women and their families. Their services include: a safe place to live, counseling, medical and health care, parenting support, education services and vocational training, spiritual enrichment, nutrition education, early child development education, adoption support, maternity program for single pregnant adolescents and women, mother-infant residential foster care program, non-pregnant residential foster care program, aftercare services and alumnae events.
MiraVia provides comprehensive support to pregnant women in need. They do this through two unique programs:
1. College-based, Maternity Residential Program provides pregnant college students with housing on the Belmont Abbey College campus and provides a unique residential program designed specifically for them. While they are residents, they can be enrolled in any local college or university in the surrounding area.
2. Maternity Outreach Program which provides pregnant women and mothers with individual and group support to address issues that may be causing stress and create plans for a successful future.
Child Proof Advice is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating parents and all child caregivers about common hazards in the home that are often overlooked. They offer a do-it-yourself approach to child proofing that allows parents of all economic circumstances to do as much as they choose in providing safety for their children. Child Proof Advice provides training videos for caregivers and a checklist that explains how to make every room safer for children.
Charlotte Mothers of Multiples (CMOMs) supports families with twins, triplets, quads or more. They serve over 600 members in the greater Charlotte area and are one of the largest support groups for parents of multiples in the nation. Through its focus on providing support, building friendships, and serving the community, Charlotte Mothers of Multiples provides a variety of valuable support services to families with multiple birth children in order to help them thrive, not just survive, in their efforts to care for their multiple birth children.