Celebrating New Babies

            The Calhoun County Library held its annual Community Baby Shower last week and it was a huge success for welcoming new babies in our county.

            They say raising a child takes a village; therefore, we wanted to support as many new parents as we could by showing that the library is a part of that village. On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, we had fifteen new parents along with their guests attend our Community Baby Shower. We have many community resources here in Calhoun County for parents and there are numerous professional healthcare offices that you might not know are available. We had representatives from the area give away free goodies and information. Representatives from Early Learning Academy, First Steps, OCAB, Family Health Centers, Inc., and MUSC are here to make your life easier with a new baby.

            Of course, we couldn’t have an event for new parents without refreshments and door prizes. There were so many prizes that every parent walked away with items for their new addition. These prizes included diaper genies, toys, white noise machines, and more. We even had Pack n’ Plays, bassinets, bouncy seats, and walkers that were brand new to give away!  Very special door prizes we offered  were handmade blankets from our very own Mother Goose, Mary Jo Springs! As a thank you for attending our event, every parent received a goodie bag with diapers, wipes, bibs, blankets, and multiple board books to start their very own library for their little one.

            The only requirement that we had to attend this event was be a Calhoun County resident and either be expecting, adopting, or having had a baby within 12 months. That’s all!

            We would like to thank so many people for making this event possible. We would first like to thank all of the parents who came to celebrate their child with us. We hope that we made them feel welcome and helped them get ready for their bundle of joy. We would like to thank all of our volunteers who helped to make sure this event ran smoothly, and we would like to especially thank all of the donors who donated funding or items for our door prizes. We would also like to express our gratitude towards all of our speakers and sponsors: Calhoun County, Calhoun County Public Schools, Family Health Centers, Inc., MUSC Health, Help Me Grow South Carolina, Tri-County Commission on Alcohol & Drug Abuse, Head Start, Calhoun County First Steps, OCAB, Friends of the Calhoun County Library, DHEC, and Natural Teacher.

            We had a blast celebrating all of our new parents! This event is so important to our community and we love that we can help ease the stress of welcoming a new life. If you attended and took pictures, feel free to share them with us. Good luck to all the new parents of Calhoun County. We look forward to seeing you return to the library reading to your child and enjoying our children’s programs!