Last fall on giving Tuesday, a group of awesome volunteer fundraisers set up online fundraising pages for the Baby & Me, Tobacco Free Program at MHP. They are Herb Thompson, Debbie Mathies, Sharon Hammond, Mary Jo Custer, Tina Hobbs, Holly Scott, Elaina Tindall, Rob Zimny, Corbin Lewis, Cheyanna Smith, Melinda Linville, Vickie Horner, and Amy Larrison.

The group raised $2,050 from 72 donors. These donors and fundraisers purchased about 8,200 diapers. Here’s why that’s so important:

Baby & Me, Tobacco Free is a nationally recognized, proven program being offered by the MHP Maternity Department to help expectant moms stop smoking and stay nonsmokers. For up to the first eight months of pregnancy, a smoking mom-to-be receives counseling and education to help her stop smoking. Starting in the ninth month and for one year after, every month that she tests free of carbon monoxide, she receives a $25 voucher for diapers. One other person in the household who tests free also receives a voucher.

A baby goes through about ten diapers a day. This means that, ten times a day, when a mom changes her baby’s diaper, she receives positive reinforcement and knows, “My sacrifice is worth it. I’m taking good care of my baby.”

Our team of fundraisers provided this positive reinforcement 8,20 times!