On April 29th, EverThrive IL hosted our first Community Baby Shower at the Discover Shine Bright Community Center in Chatham, a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. The Baby Shower was held during the week of National Infant Immunization Week and was an effort from our Community Engagement team to educate families on the importance of immunizations. The event was successful, with food from local restaurant Lenora’s Kitchen, our own version of the ‘Price is Right’ game, and vendors there to give out products and information. The community feel and support that came from the Baby Shower was amazing, and it genuinely felt like a family baby shower. Our Community Engagement Manager Talibah Johnson, who took the lead on this event, speaks on why this baby shower was so important:
“A baby shower is a special occasion where the mother-to-be is surrounded by her community, who come together to provide her with valuable insights and support as she embarks on the journey of motherhood with the chance to educate while celebrating the new journey to come”, said Talibah. “When we completed our Maternal Mortality and Morbidity focus groups, we identified that most moms to be dealt with lack of support outside of medical care. We offered a sense of community and family to parents and birthing people in our targeted communities.”
A couple of our guests also gave their feedback:
We would like to thank our Community Engagement team; our outreach workers, staff, and workforce that attended and volunteered; all the wonderful families that came out; and the vendors, which included: SIDS, Gifts from Liam, Educare, Ba Nia Incorporated, Family Focus, and UIC Healthy Start.
Stay tuned for more community events like this one in the future!