Lake County Community Baby Shower set for Aug. 20
Aug. 7—A group of local organizations are preparing to host the Lake County Community Baby Shower on Aug. 20 for expectant and current parents, their loved ones and other caregivers.
The shower will be held at Branches of Wellness, 70 S. Park Pl., Painesville, from 1:30-5:30 p.m. According to event organizer Shauna Rich, the event will help "celebrate families, provide them with diapers and other baby items, just helping them get off to a good start."
She noted that the shower will also offer clothes up to size 2T, toys, wipes, playpens and more, all of which will come new or in good condition. Additionally, three new car seats will be raffled off as door prizes. Two of those will be donated by Wojcik Builders, a commercial construction company based in Oakwood in Cuyahoga County.
Another aspect of the shower will be to provide information on community resources, Rich said. Attendees can learn more about community programs including Help Me Grow, WIC and the Car Seat Program. Event organizers will also provide a series of 10-minute videos on various topics, including birth support, postpartum health, early literacy, wellness, body movement and co-parenting for separated parents. These free resources will be uploaded to YouTube and available starting that day at the baby shower website, tinyurl.com/communitybabyshowercle.
Rich noted that the organizers have noticed community baby showers being held in urban areas but not as often in suburban areas. While their first shower will be in Painesville, they hope to eventually hold community baby showers throughout Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties.
"This is the first time that we have ever done this, so we're really excited to see how it goes, and we're hoping to learn from it and hopefully keep offering it," she said.
Rich, a mental health therapist, and fellow event coordinator Danielle Breach, a doula, are the co-founders of an organization called Mother Rising, located at 137 Main St., Chardon. According to its website, Mother Rising offers support groups, birth and postpartum doulas, consultation and education in areas such as pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and caring for a baby.
Rich noted that the other three event coordinators are Brianna Tavares, who owns an organization called CitiZen Group and focuses on community empowerment and advocacy; doula Leslie Radke of Rad Mama Cleveland, which offers pregnancy, birth and postpartum support services; and founder Clotea Mack of ASPIRE Academy, which works with new parents.
"We wanted to make sure that, as women who have had experienced the financial struggle and the worry that comes with expecting a baby sometimes, to offer to the community, just, baby items to reduce the cost, and moreover, just to help them feel celebrated as they're growing their family, as some people are entering into this phase of life without a whole lot of celebration," Rich said.
She added that various local community members and businesses have donated items and also offered in-kind support. Jessica Savage of Jess Imagine It, Dominique McClain of Joyous Events by Dominique and Deanna Ornelas of Yanna's Homemade Sweets will provide decorations and refreshments, while Jose Figueros of J. Martin Photography will take photos.
To learn more or to donate by Aug. 15, interested individuals can visit the Community Baby Shower website or email the shower's organizers at communitybabyshowercle@gmail.com. The Mother Rising Community Baby Shower registry is available on Amazon.
The event is free, but Rich encouraged attendees to register at the EventBrite link on the shower website.
"We have a lot of donations already, so we're just hoping to get the word out and get families there to gather all the stuff, take it home," Rich said.
