Castle Rock mom Holly Gregory held up a pair of Minnie Mouse pajamas to her 2-year-old daughter Callie and asked if she likes them. When Callie nodded, Gregory put the onesie in the collection of other children’s clothing she picked up at the town's first community baby shower.
Gregory was one of more than 60 mothers and mothers-to-be who shopped at the free event held on March 24 at the Castle Rock Adventist Hospital.
Gregory said she appreciated the opportunity to grab necessities at no cost.
“It’s really great to have this help during times like these,” she said.
A partnership between Castle Rock Adventist Hospital and the local stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the community baby shower provided a plethora of free infant and child care items, inlcuding diapers, clothing, shoes, toys, strollers and baby carriers.
The community baby shower builds on a monthly event the hospital hosts, the Mommy and Me Market, which offers donated gently-used infant and children’s items at no cost. Jordan Vogel, a spokesperson for the hospital, said the market has been running the fourth Friday monthly for the last decade.
While planning volunteer projects for the church's women’s organization, Kristy Clason, the group’s leader, said she came up with the idea to partner with the market and turn the March event into a community baby shower as a way to celebrate motherhood.
To bring the party element, the church's volunteers donated chocolate cake, wrapped diaper towers and goody bags with new baby blankets, and decorated with balloons and streamers.
“We just wanted the moms to feel loved and celebrated,” Clason said. “We wanted to celebrate the joy of moms and families.”
The event also included resources on signing up for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program for food assistance. Clason said the goal of the event was to strengthen and support families.
“I think moms need all the help they can get, whether emotional, physical or spiritual, and I think this event tries to meet so many of those needs,” she said.
Clason said she's hoping to make next year's community baby shower even bigger.
Vogel said the hospital was glad to partner on the baby shower to bring more benefits to local moms and children. She added that donations for the Mommy and Me Market can be dropped off at the hospital’s information desk 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
