Third-graders know how vital a car seat is to many modes of transportation. They’ve been in them for most of their life.
It’s much easier to cart a newborn around in one too. That’s why the third-grade class at St. Louis the King School in Glendale chipped in to buy a vital gift for one of their newest neighbors.
They pooled their funds to buy a new car seat for a newborn residing at the nearby Michael House, one of four Valley Maggie’s Place homes for expectant mothers and their infants. Car seats are among the ongoing and more costly items on the nonprofit’s needs list as they must arrive in original packaging.
St. Louis the King third-graders decided to use funds they might have spent on a personal gift exchange on a gift for Maggie’s Place instead. Donna Magee, their teacher, said the effort showcased every student learning expectation, known as CARE: Christian witnesses, Active learners, Responsible leaders and citizens, Effective communicators.
Maggie’s Place has served more than 84 families since the Michael House opened in 2007 and can serve up to seven moms and their infants at once. The nonprofit is rooted in Catholicism and has welcomed more than 800 mothers and their children since its inception in 2000.
Women who don’t have a traditional system of support can live in community while pregnant and until their child is six months old. Maggie’s Place provides for the immediate physical and emotional needs of expectant mothers including shelter, food, clothing, and a supportive community that fosters goal setting and goal reaching. The organization also connects mothers to the appropriate agencies and resources including prenatal care, health insurance, low-cost housing, and education programs.
