Families can get free supplies, resources at community baby shower in Grand Rapids

On Saturday, July 22, the Great Start Parent Coalition will host a Community Baby Shower for families in Kent County at the Garfield Park gymnasium in Grand Rapids from 1-3 p.m. Pictured is a photo of a previous event the coalition held. (Photo provided to MLive by the Great Start Parent Coalition)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Great Start Parent Coalition is hosting a Community Baby Shower on Saturday to help expectant parents in Kent County who might not otherwise get showered with gifts stock up on much-needed supplies.

On Saturday, July 22, families can receive items such as diapers, baby wipes and clothes to help get them ready for the joys and challenges of a newborn from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Garfield Park gymnasium, 250 Burton St. SE in Grand Rapids.

Tomarra Richardson, parent liaison for the Great Start Parent Coalition, said the overarching goal of the event is to let parents know Great Start sees and understands them and their hardships.

“At the end of the day, we want parents to leave excited after coming to the baby shower. We want them to leave with an empowered feeling like ‘I can do this, I can be the parent that I need to be for my child’ and we also want them to leave enlightened with the different resources that are available.”

Richardson said the idea came from seeing the benefits from the coalition’s diaper drives. In 2009, she said the group started collecting and distributing diapers to families across Kent County, providing over two million diapers.

“How can we get diapers into the hands of families, but also do it in a fun way and in a way that we’re celebrating parents?” said Richardson about the Community Baby Shower.

She thought the shower would have the same positive effect with community engagement that the diaper drive does, but with a party vibe.

The Community Baby Shower received funding from the city of Grand Rapids. In May, the city announced it made investments totaling $78,000 to support projects designed to bring the community together and promote a deeper sense of belonging among neighbors. These investments were completed with 25 contracts brought forward by local resident leaders as part of the City’s Neighborhood Match Fund program.

Out of that $78,000, the baby shower received $2,500, Richardson said. She said the Great Start Parent Coalition matched it, in part with donations, and was able to contribute over $5,000 toward baby supplies for families in the community.

She said expectant parents aren’t just getting diapers, wipes, new parent kits that include baby mirrors and toys but educational materials, including books donated by Grand Rapids Public Library. There will also be giveaways from the Children’s Museum and Meridian Health Care, including a Pack and Play, will also be available.

Richardson said the education aspect of the event, equipping parents with different resources and critical knowledge through speakers and educational tools, is just as important as the resources being provided. She said that includes offering guidance on how to work on literacy skills with their children daily.

Speakers include a representative from WIC, a program that aims to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5, and Nurtured Path to talk about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

Paula Brown, director of the Great Start Parent Coalition, said this education and outreach into the community is what the coalition is all about, working with multiple partners across Kent County to assist families in sectors like early childhood care and education, parent education, essential needs, social emotional health and mental health.

“It was great to have the city come along and be able to provide us with a city match grant because I think the city and Mayor Bliss are very involved in education and a lot of family support,” Brown said. “I think the community right now understands probably more than ever, in just coming out of COVID, how needed resources are for families of young children.”

Every family on Saturday will be able to take home one box of diapers and wipes, Richardson said. The first 50 families at will also go home with the new parent kit.

Richardson said through her interactions with families she has learned that what new parents need the most in the community is essential items to cut down their expenses.

Brown said these events are necessary for Kent County in particular because there are a wealth of resources here for families, but it seems that awareness is the problem. She said they are hoping that this is not the first and only year the community baby shower will be available, but become part of their rotation and advocacy.

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Families can get free supplies, resources at community baby shower in Grand Rapids