Pink and blue giraffes, diaper cakes, Pampers, and ribbons decorate Key West Woman’s Club for a May 19 baby shower. But this isn’t just any baby shower. The members of the historic club have been collecting items for 30 local women who are a part of Wesley House Family Service’s Healthy Families program.
“Sometimes new or expectant mothers are in certain circumstances where they don’t have a traditional baby shower,” said the club’s president, Dawn Martin. “We are trying to make their outlook a little brighter.”
Expectant mothers in the Healthy Families program, which is a free, voluntary, five-year program that provides families information on parenting and child development, will be celebrated at the event.
“The community has already started rallying around this event,” said Martin. She was chatting with a neighbor the other day and mentioned the shower. “She was so excited to buy baby items and to help celebrate the new and expecting moms.”
The members have already collected new baby bottles, onesies, teething rings, diapers and more. But they are still looking for new items like socks, blankets, bibs, changing pads, diaper bags, washcloths, crib sheets – and you can never have enough diapers…
“People will help you do amazing things; you’ve just got to ask,” said Martin. The club’s mission is dedicated service. Even though a lot of the membership has already left for season, the women have sent gift cards and packages to help the new moms. “I heard some of the women’s stories about their circumstances, and some of them just don’t have a support system.”
Florida Keys Historian Tom Hambright said when the Key West Woman’s Club first started out 100 years ago, it was known as the “Mother’s Club.” That pulls this baby shower around full circle.
Martin added that it would be a beautiful thing if five years from now they could host a “graduation party” for the moms and kids in the program. “We want the community to come out and help us make something beautiful happen,” she said.
Dawn Martin and Sharon Hirsch will be at the Woman’s Club on Duval Street on Friday, May 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., collecting more new items for the moms and decorating the club. To drop something off, call 305-292-1243 or 516-848-1115. The baby shower is taking place on Saturday, May 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. “As always, the community has truly pulled together and we should be able to give these young women an amazing baby shower and great start for their little ones,” said co-organizer Sharon Hirsch. “It takes a village, and it is wonderful when the community and organizations can come together to help each other.”
