Through a collaboration with United Way of the Coastal Bend, families with newborns at Corpus Christi Medical Center (CCMC) participated in a literacy initiative aimed at strengthening parent-child interactions for bonding and early learning.
“At Corpus Christi Medical Center Bay Area, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life and support healthy beginnings,” said Eric Evans, CEO of Corpus Christi Medical Center. “We are thankful for our community partnerships, United Way of the Coastal Bend and Save the Children for providing tools for success to families and their ongoing contribution to helping our community.”
In July, the United Way Success by 6 Program’s Happy Birthday Baby! Initiative provided care bags filled with books, materials and information in English and Spanish to families of newborns delivered at CCMC Bay Area. The care bags were distributed to families admitted to the postpartum and antepartum floors. Each bag included information and items such as a rattle, bib, onesie, soap and more, with suggestions for how families can use each item to talk to, sing to, read to, play with or nurture their baby.
“Early learning and brain development are both largely shaped by the baby’s environment,” said Sherry Peterson, Success By 6 Director at United Way of the Coastal Bend. “Our initiative gives families intentional, intuitive tools and information to help them better connect with their new baby and foster healthy brain development.”
“We’re grateful to Save the Children for providing some of the items included in our care bags, as well as to Corpus Christi Medical Center for being an inaugural partner in what we hope will grow into a broader initiative,” said Donna Hurley, vice president of community impact at United Way of the Coastal Bend.