Help the Stork’s Nest Fill the Baby Bus

The 11^th annual Stork’s Nest Baby Shower, hosted by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Larry Combest Community Health & Wellness Center and March of Dimes, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 20 at Kmart, 6501 University Ave.

This year, South Plains residents are asked to help the Stork’s Nest “fill the baby bus” with new baby items that then will be given as incentives to encourage pregnant women to receive early and consistent prenatal care and gain education about how to have the healthiest baby possible.

Community members are also urged to support the Stork’s Nest by hosting local baby showers, diaper drives or fundraisers benefiting the organization prior to the fill the bus event, said Amy Johnson-Rubio, director of Program Services with the March of Dimes.

“Stork’s Nest is making a difference,” Johnson-Rubio said. “In 2012, Stork’s Nest participants averaged a preterm birth rate of 8.5 percent while the Lubbock average is 13.4 percent. We rely on donations from the community to help serve our Stork’s Nest families so encourage people to support this great program.”

The Stork’s Nest Baby Shower has raised more than $354,000 for pregnant women in the community since it began more than a decade ago.

The Stork’s Nest is a national cooperative project of the March of Dimes and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. The project is also part of the Combest Center, a nonprofit nurse managed primary health care center operated by the TTUHSC School of Nursing.

Donations of baby items or monetary donations are being accepted now. For more information, contact Johnson-Rubio at (806) 686-0307 or email ajrubio@marchofdimes.com.

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