Every year in counties across Wyoming, Parents as Teachers staff throw baby showers… not just for friends or for families in their care, but for entire communities.
“They can come, and they can get all the resources that are available to them,” said Susan Buettgenback, who helps plan the event in Natrona County. “And it doesn’t matter where they’re at in their pregnancy; even if they’re thinking about getting pregnant.”
The resources she describes include pediatricians and mental health services, financial literacy advisors, and early intervention programs, among others. For families in rural communities like these, the opportunity to access so many providers at once is invaluable.
The event responds to specific community needs, as well. Stephanie Ghormley organizes a community baby shower in Fremont County, where a recent tragedy ultimately inspired action.
“Our community got hit pretty hard this past year,” she said. “We had a family that passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning.” Thanks to the fundraising efforts of someone Ghormley refers to as a ‘champion’ for the organization, they distributed carbon monoxide detectors at the shower.
Another need they observed: there were no car seat technicians in Fremont County until several Parents as Teachers home visitors and other community partners sought certification. They subsequently provided checks at the shower, where car seats were also given to any family who needed one.
In Natrona County, a local parent inspired a feature that’s now a mainstay of the annual baby shower. Looking for positive advice for fathers, he found only warnings about negative practices to avoid. One solution came in the form of a “Daddy’s Den” incorporated for local fathers.
Staff at Parents as Teachers partner with other organizations to plan and host the community showers, and because each organization contributes, Buettgenback and Ghormley note that the cost of the event is manageable.
The impact, however, is outsized. Buettgenback recalled a mother’s eyes filling with tears at one of the events. “She’s like, ‘I didn’t realize there was this much here. I thought I was alone,'” she remembered.
At the community baby shower, new families are certainly not alone. And that’s something to celebrate.
