Springfield Mothers and Newborns get Baskets of Goodies

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Springfield, June 2007 - Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services, Mercy Hospital and area agencies are partnering for an 18 month pilot project called, Welcome Baby Basket Home Visiting Program. The pilot is funded through a grant from the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation’s Cherish Every Child Initiative.

The project, which was spotlighted in an article in the Springfield Republican recently, provides visits to new mothers and their babies, four to six weeks after delivery at Mercy Medical Center. The Republican article described a typical visit this way, the new mom “receives a knock at her front door. On her doorstep she will find someone from one of eight Springfield-based children’s agencies * holding a large plastic basket filled with everything from infant socks and a teething toy, to a snack cup and books.” Each home visitor brings a basket as well as a questionnaire for the new mother to complete. One of the questions asks, “Have you read to your baby yet?” Lyn Hollinger, Thom’s Welcome Baby Coordinator, says, “We tell the moms that it is never too early to start reading to their baby!” She adds that the project planners decided to make literacy a focus because parents have a unique "opportunity to be their child’s first teacher. Some people, however, don’t have the resources for books, or don’t understand how important it is to start early.”

Another program focus is helping new moms connect with additional local resources that will help to promote their baby’s development and address important family needs. So far, the response from new Springfield moms has been overwhelmingly positive. The project planners had estimated that Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services would field about 15 requests for visits per month. Instead, Hollinger reports that they have averaged 28 requests for visits per month, since the program opened on March 19 of this year. Nearly double the number originally predicted.

For additional information about the Welcome Baby Basket Home Visiting Program, including how you or your organization can get involved, contact Lyn Hollinger, Program Coordinator at Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services - Phone: 413-783-5500 or email lhollinger@thomchild.org .

The Welcome Baby Basket Home Visiting Program is managed by Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services. The following agencies make home visits to new mothers and babies in Springfield as part of the program: Thom Springfield Infant Toddler Services Springfield Day Nursery Child & Family Service of the Pioneer Valley, Family Preservation Project New North Citizens Council Valley Infant Development Services Child Guidance Early Intervention Program MSPCC – Early Intervention Program Vietnamese Health Project