LEXINGTON, Ky. — The holidays are here, which is a time when people often come together to give back.
The city of Lexington did just that Saturday, gifting soon-to-be mothers with essential items during a community baby shower.
A number of items were gifted to several expectant mothers through goodie bags and raffle prizes.
Coreise Johnson, Lexington Fayette County Health Department health equity and diversity educator, said each mom who came through the door and was registered received a parent manual, in addition to items such as wipes, diapers, socks, lip gloss, books, formula and bibs.
These are items that Emerald McGhee, an expectant mother who is 32 weeks pregnant, said she was grateful to receive, particularly diapers.
Diaper prices continue to rise. According to a 2023 survey by the National Diaper Bank Network, 28% of respondents who reported diaper need said they skipped meals to afford more diapers.
“The baby shower is helping out tremendously because I have nothing for my child until I got blessed today,” McGhee said.
Community partners were also in attendance, passing along resources to expectant mothers, in addition to information on child safety.
“It definitely enlightened me on a lot of things because even though I am a more seasoned parent, I still do mess up at times and re-learning everything over again helped a whole lot,” McGhee said.
This event came together thanks to the Lexington community.
“Everything was donated here,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have to purchase anything out-of-pocket."
Though it’s a lot of work to prepare for a baby, McGhee can now go into the final weeks of her pregnancy knowing that she has some of the basic, yet important, items to care for her soon-to-be newborn.
“Being able to have a community that’s supportive for single mothers who are alone and don’t really have a support system really means a lot,” McGhee said.