Faith Maternity Care exists to serve women who choose to carry their babies to full-term, by providing a home for expectant mothers, along with community client services for moms who already have a place to call home. A hidden gem for our mothers is the Baby Boutique. Our “learn while you earn” program allows residents to earn Baby Bucks through completing certain programs and pursuing educational opportunities. Mothers have a myriad of classes they are taking, both online and in person, where they are discovering healthy choices and habits as a parent, including nutrition, budgeting, positive relationships, faith, career goals, and mentoring sessions. Our moms earn Baby Bucks upon class completion, whichempowers our moms to contribute to the needs they have, for providing a way forward as a Faith Maternity Care mom. The Baby Bucks are used to purchase items in our Baby Boutique, where mothers may shop for items needed during their pregnancy, for their babies, and for future needs.
This past week, our staff refreshed the basement space that houses our Baby Boutique. As seen in the pictures, the room had become quite sad looking after a water leak, which caused us to pull carpet and address issues to repair the space. The team set to work on sealing the floor and painting it a calming fresh gray, along with adding new shelving to hold boy and girl clothes and a rack for maternity clothes and organizing diaper donations. With the help of our donors, FMC stocks the boutique with the everyday necessities a mom needs. It’s a great project to become involved in, and we are always happy to receive donations for gently used baby items and maternity clothes. New donations are a treasure as well, for diapers in sizes 2-4, baby wipes, diaper cream, toiletries, paper towels, and laundry detergent. What mom doesn’t love fun wishes like nail care and polish, bath and foot scrubs, cosmetics, hair accessories, earrings, and flip flops? We recently added a new shopping category for moms, focusing on when they graduate from FMC and move into their new, safe home. “Your Next Chapter” donated items could include kitchen, bathroom, and general household basics, like flatware, toasters, sponges, cooking utensils, towel sets, throws, and pillows. Though gently loved donations are greatly appreciated, our moms are especially excited to purchase brand new items with their Baby Bucks. If you have donations to share with our moms, please reach out to our staff at 573-642-7414, to schedule a convenient time to deliver your items.
Another way to serve our moms is on the Faith Maternity Care board of directors. We are seeking two to three additional members, especially as we look to possibly expand into the Jefferson City area for a transitional program. We are looking at Jefferson City because of the increased client access to public transportation, housing, and employment opportunities. Areas of experience and expertise for board consideration include professional backgrounds with legal, financial, banking, real estate, pastoral, insurance, business owner, and/or civic leadership involvement. Our current board professional diversity includes business owners, Fulton Chamber leader, doctor, nurse, educator, and substance use project manager. All board members are pro-life. For additional information, please reach out to board president Jennifer Books via text at 573-489-1431. As we are all on this journey to help others, it never fails that faith always finds a way.
Contributors: Jennifer Books is the Faith Maternity Care board president, and Shelley Knight is the executive director.