ELKINS – The Randolph County Family Resource Network opened enrollment for its annual Community Baby Shower on Wednesday.

The annual event will take place on April 27 at the Phil Gainer Community Center. Only 25 spots are available to Randolph County mothers who are expecting, or have a baby younger than six months old.

“As soon as I posted the event online, I started receiving calls from mothers wanting to sign up,” RCFRN Director Karina Shreve told The Inter-Mountain. “So if anyone wants to sign up for the event, they should call as soon as they can because I look for it to be filled up by Monday.”

The event will run from noon to 2:30 p.m. and will feature door prizes, refreshments, baby gifts, information and a car seat safety check.

“We will have local agencies on hand to talk about their organizations and answer questions,” Shreve said. “We are also going to do a car seat safety area where the parents can have their car seat checked to make sure it’s in the car the right way. People can come in for a couple hours, get some food, look around, talk with agencies, and get some gifts.”

It will be the first year the Community Baby Shower has been held in-person since COVID-19 first hit back in 2020,

“The last few years we’ve had a drive-thru baby shower, so it’s going to be nice having it back in-person,” Shreve said. “We will have some refreshments and we will have a few games, give-aways and prizes. We will also have gift bags for each participant that have diapers, wipes and information on different services. It will also have a sippy cup, a toy, or something like that.”

On the second Friday of each month, the RCFRN hosts its Baby Pantry at the Phil Gainer Community Center. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and parents can stop by and receive free diapers, wipes, formula and more.

“Almost everyone who needs something comes on Pantry Day, but I do have people who can’t make it because of being at work or out of town,” Shreve said. “I will make exceptions in those cases and people can call me and set up a time to come in and get what they need.”

Shreve said the Baby Pantry served 72 children and 47 families in the month of January alone.

“The numbers can vary from month-to-month,” she said. “We try to guarantee that every pantry will have diapers, wipes and formula. But I have been trying to give out some other things like binkies, bottles, baby food, baby toiletries and clothing.”

To sign up for the Community Baby Shower or to obtain more information about the Baby Pantry, call 304-636-4454 or go to randolphcountyfrn.com.