United Way Women of Tocqueville members gathered virtually on April 26 for their fourth-annual baby shower, celebrating 100 expectant and new moms from our community partners Abide Women’s Health Services, Ascend Dallas, AVANCE, Delighted to Doula, Family Care Connection, Lumin Education and Metrocare Services.

The Women of Tocqueville are a group of passionate United Way supporters who work to advance our mission of improving access to education, income and health in North Texas. Each year, the group hosts a virtual baby shower to support new and expectant moms to ensure their babies get a strong start in life.

During this year’s shower, moms and volunteers played baby shower games, such as Animal Gestation, where they matched the animal with the average number of days they are pregnant, and The Price is Right, where they guessed the cost of baby items such as diapers, baby bottles, baby lotion, bibs and pacifiers.

The moms shared what they were most excited about, including:

• “Reading to my new baby.”
• “Hearing his first word.”
• “Spending time together.”
• “Watching her grow.”

Then, Women of Tocqueville volunteers shared tips and words of inspiration, such as:

• “Remember you are strong and amazing!”
• “Take care of yourself and get plenty of sleep.”
• “Lean on your support system of family, friends, and nurses.”
• “Be patient and ask for help.”

A parent from the Lumin Education program shared:

“The baby shower was so fun, I never experienced anything like it. I had so much fun thank you for the opportunity.”

A Community-Wide Effort

Gifts for the shower were made possible by donations from the WOT Joy! event in December and by the generous support of Classic Whimsy and Contran Corporation. These gifts impacted 100 expectant and new moms who gave birth in the last three months. Moms expressed many heartfelt thanks and gratitude for the shower, the baby items, and words of encouragement and support.

Abide Women’s Health Services, Ascend Dallas, AVANCE, Delighted to Doula, Family Care Connection, Lumin Education and Metrocare Services are important partners of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. Their early childhood services bring trained parent educators, nurses and birth workers to the homes of pregnant moms and new families to promote maternal and child health, advance school readiness, and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Advancing the Women of Tocqueville Mission

These partnerships align with the Women of Tocqueville mission to give, advocate and volunteer in support of the community through United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and to leverage the collective power and leadership of women to produce visible impact in education, income and health in North Texas.

Thank you to everyone who generously supported the WOT Joy! event, as well as the expectant and new moms who joined our Women of Tocqueville members for this year’s baby shower.

And a special thank you to Joan Cetera, Danielle Cooper, Inia Franklin, Eva Hevron, Hayley Krahl, Dee Ricks, Katie Rose, and Ashley Sink, who make up the Women of Tocqueville Volunteerism and Engagement Subcommittee, for your leadership, service and dedication to our mission. Finally, a special thanks to Natalia Mundo, a fellow Women of Tocqueville member, for translating in Spanish throughout the event for our Spanish-speaking moms.