Coronavirus

Drive-thru community baby shower provides helps for mothers

BUCKHANNON -- A drive-thru community baby shower complete with gifts gave new and expecting moms in Upshur County something to celebrate.

The annual event is usually a more traditional baby shower, but COVID-19 forced organizers to think outside the box, by moving the event outside and on wheels.

In March, the shower was postponed due to COVID-19 and West Virginia Wesleyan College closing its campus.

As things began to open up, the partnering agencies looked at how to make the shower happen while honoring social distancing guidelines. Moms had previously registered for the event and donations had been received.

"We wanted to make sure that these moms got the items and the information they needed," Jodi McQuillan with HAPI/Right from the Start said.

So, the moms were invited to a drive-thru baby shower held at Buckhannon-Upshur High School with times scheduled throughout the morning and early afternoon.

As each mom pulled up, they were bestowed with gifts and helpful information as well as gifts including a diaper bag with basic baby care items and safety-related items.

"They also were able to pick out a door prize that they needed," McQuillan said. "Typically we would do a draw prize drawing. This year I just asked, "What do you need?"

"We tried to give them something they still needed for their babies," she said. "A lot of the babies are older now. They have had their babies since March and so we wanted to make sure they got something they needed."

Normally, the moms visit booths at the baby shower, but this time they were given information from various resources.

"They also got a lot of information about infant development, child safety, safe sleep, immunizations and things like that," she said. "We want the girls to go where they can go if they have any needed. We want them to know that the community is here to support them in their journey because parenting is hard. With COVID, a lot of people have lost their jobs, so they might find themselves where they financially have a lot of need.

"We wanted to make sure that they know where they can turn to in the community," she said.

Two agencies, Centers Against Violence and Unicare set up tables and passed out information while social distancing.

A census representative was also on hand to register any families that had not yet filled out their census information.

"It's a huge collaboration in the community with agencies that support families," McQuillan said.

The partnership includes HAPI/Right from the Start, Upshur County Family Resource Network, UNICARE, Centers Against Violence, Partners in Prevention, Buckhannon Rotary Club, and a Pallottine grant which provided support or financial resources to pull off the event.