Welcome Baby

Who we are

The “Welcome Baby” program is a free community resource available to all families in Utah County. Our main focus is to empower and support new mothers and fathers during their transition into parenthood. We understand that becoming a new parent can be both exciting and overwhelming, and our aim is to provide assistance and guidance to parents as they navigate the challenges and joys of parenting with strength and confidence.

HISTORY

The program was initially created by nurses at the Utah County Health Department with
the intention of supporting high-risk mothers. Over time, as the demand for this program
grew in our community, the United Way of Utah County joined forces to ensure that
every family wishing to participate could receive free visits from trained and experienced
home visiting volunteers.

The Welcome Baby program facilitated by the United Way of Utah County offers four
main components: Home Visitation, Ready To Learn workshops, Playgroups, and
Bedtime stories. Through these programs, we provide valuable tools and resources that
promote parental resilience, strengthen families, and contribute to building stronger
communities.

Programs

Home Visits

Home Visits are offered both in-person and virtually and help parents or
primary caregivers manage the demands of parenting by building confidence in their parenting skills and help them understand their child’s development from birth to 1 year.

During home/virtual visits, we discuss a variety of materials related to infant and maternal health. We also talk about early child development and school readiness, as well as address questions and concerns of parents, encourage problem-solving, facilitate goal setting, and connect families to community resources.

Ready To Learn

Ready To Learn parenting workshops help parents raise healthy children. The sixteen workshops present key steps in your child’s development, demonstrate how to combine media with reading, and provide hands-on activities to enhance your child’s learning. Each month, participants receive fun activities to do with their children and a complimentary children’s book. Pizza is also provided for in-person classes. This program is made available through a partnership with PBS Utah.

We are currently offering virtual Ready To Learn classes on our Welcome Baby Facebook page. They occur on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Participants watch the class, fill out a short survey, and receive a free book that they can pick up in our office.

We also have in-person classes each month across the county at 6 pm at the following
locations:

1st Thursday of the month at the Utah County Health Department in Provo
2nd Thursday at the Wasatch County Library in Heber and the Orem Public Library in the Media Auditorium
3rd Thursday at the Kids Who Count in Salem
4th Thursday at the Kids on the Move in Lehi
Additionally, we have one class during the day at the Utah County Health Department in Provo at 11:15 am on the 4th Wednesday of each month.

View the Facebook Live classes here

View the recorded classes here

Printable Handouts (Classes 1-16)

Benefits of Media
Rhymers are Readers
Music is a Must!
Storytelling: You Can Do It!
The Brain: How Children Develop
The FUNdamental Powers of Play
What is Emotion? Social and Emotional Development
Who is my Child? Understanding Temperament
What Do You Do With the Mad That You Feel?
Learning Through the Early Years: The Benefits of Repetition and Variation
Shared Reading: Tools to Bring Literacy to Life
Building Blocks: The Sequence of Emergent Literacy Skills
STEM/STEAM: Living and Non-Living Things
STEM/STEAM: Light
STEM/STEAM: Weather
STEM/STEAM: Math

Monday morning, 10:00 am at the Kids Who Count in Salem – 345 UT-198, Salem, UT
84653
Monday mornings, 10:30 am at the Utah County Health Department – 151 S University
Ave, Provo, UT 84601
Monday afternoons, 12:30 pm at Thanksgiving Point’s Museum of Ancient Life in the
Dino Den – 2929 N Thanksgiving Way, Lehi, UT 84043
Wednesday mornings, 10:00 am virtually, through a Google meeting.
Friday mornings, 10:30 am at the South Franklin Community Center – 770 S 700 W, Provo, UT 84601

PLAYGROUP

Welcome Baby Playgroups provide an opportunity for parents and their children to
get together (physically or virtually) and interact. It helps parents to feel more confident and ready for parenthood and prepares children for school. Playgroups provide children with a stimulating environment, strengthen social skills, and help them learn through a variety of stimulating activities. Each week children learn something new, make a craft, sing songs, and enjoy a snack.

Welcome Baby Playgroups are generally for children who are 18 months to 5 years old.
We are currently holding one virtual playgroup and four in-person playgroups. Participants are welcome to join any one of these playgroups. Each month, we put together craft supplies for the families that participate virtually which they can pick up at our office (817 S Freedom Blvd Provo, UT 84601).

“We love the Playgroup. It is close to our home and we walk there each week. I have connected with other moms, made friends, shared ideas and even had an employment opportunity through the people I met there. My child has been able to practice early social skills through the shared experience. The variety of activities seems just right for the average age of kids that attend.”

“Welcome Baby is a great program. It sounds almost too good to be true. I wish more people knew about this free service.”

“[Ready To Learn] teaches me a lot! I learn more of my children's development and how alternate ways to respond to different behaviors. It also really empowers me as a mother. I LOVE these classes and I look forward to them each month! I also love the handouts they give, because we use them at home and we really enjoy the learning and fun they are. Also free lunch..that's just the cherry on top 🙂 thanks everyone for helping my family!”

DONATE

Thank you for your interest in donating to and serving with Welcome Baby! As a non profit program, we rely on and greatly appreciate donations and service from generous community members and organizations. Please contact Brianna John, the Welcome Baby coordinator, at briannaj@unitedwayuc.org with any questions or concerns about donating and serving.

Funds

Donations to the Welcome Baby program will go toward funding home visits to new parents, parenting workshops, and playgroups.

In-Kind Donations

Welcome Baby accepts donations of new or handmade baby/mother related items. These include blankets, swaddles, bibs, socks, books, diapers/wipes, clothes, toys, Frida Mom products, and more.

After each home visit, we deliver a gift to the families doorstep. These kits include a blanket, an outfit, a book, and other items. We appreciate donations of the individual items or of premade kits. These kits are usually for sizes 3-18 months and are either girl’s kits or boy’s kits. We are currently in need of any Baby Boy items, bibs, burp cloths, onesies, diapers, toys, bath items, and formula!

You can purchase these items from our Amazon wish lists here:

Host a Community Baby Shower

A community baby shower is just like any other baby shower, but the gifts are donated to Welcome Baby and then distributed to new mothers and babies throughout Utah County. These gifts are given according to need. Host your own Baby Shower with games and refreshments for your family, friends, neighborhood, church, school, or another social group!

SERVE

Home Visit Kits

Help us collect materials for and assemble Home Visit Kits! This is a great project for a group. These are gifts bags that we give to the new mothers that we visit and they include a book, an outfit, a blanket, a bib or burp cloth, and more.

Developmental Activities

Help put together developmental activities for us to give to the families that attend our Ready To Learn parenting workshops! We have designed activities that go along with the lessons each month, and we appreciate help gathering materials for and assembling these activities. This often entails cutting, gluing, coloring, and other crafting skills and would be a great project for an individual or a group of any size.

Get Involved

Volunteers

Welcome Baby’s success depends greatly on our volunteers. As a Welcome Baby volunteer, you will be trained to do Home Visits (virtually or in-person) with new mothers. You can take it at your own pace and do as many visits a month as you feel appropriate. You will typically visit a mother two times, and each visit will be around 30 minutes long. Mothers have the option of receiving long-term visits every 6 weeks or so. Our volunteers are typically experienced mothers, nurses, or students studying topics such as child development, family life, or public health.

Interns

Each semester, including summer term, Welcome Baby has multiple interns. There are many valuable experiences interns have while volunteering with Welcome Baby. Intern responsibilities include communicating with families and volunteers through email, text, or a phone call, connecting families to resources, writing newsletters, helping with Playgroups and Ready To Learn parenting workshops, virtually visiting families, and more. We are currently accepting applications for the for Fall 2023 semester.

Meet the team

Savannah Cox

Playgroup Intern

Brooklyn Wright

Home Visitation Intern

Chriseline Quirante

Social Media Intern

Sophia Crowley

Ready to Learn Intern

Welcome Baby of Utah County is a program of United Way of Utah County.

148 North 100 West, Provo, Utah 84601

Phone and voicemail: 801-691-5440

welcomebaby@unitedwayuc.org

Office Texting Line: 801-921-5485

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