Organization delivers warmth, love to Parkland newborns
‘Love Thy Baby’ volunteers sew quilts, garments for hospital’s smallest patients
Photo caption: Grisel Rios, born in April at Parkland Memorial Hospital, wears a hat knitted by 'Love thy Baby' volunteers while swaddled by her mother, Griselda Manrique, 28, of Dallas.
Griselda Manrique, 28, of Dallas, gently rocked her newborn daughter in her room at Parkland Memorial Hospital, gazing in amazement at a closet full of baby clothes, fleece blankets and quilts.
“Does this all belong to my baby?” Manrique asked.
Thanks to a hardworking volunteer group called Love Thy Baby, happy surprises like hers happen every day at Parkland.
Every Thursday, the group gathers at a Farmers Branch church gymnasium. On a recent hot July morning, chatter and laughs, the hum of sewing machines, squeak of ironing boards and click of knitting needles filled the room. Tables were stacked with colorful fabrics, yarn and thread. Two women folded and arranged items donated by friends and strangers alike. Others sorted and color-coded bags of neatly packed squares of cloth.
The group of about 100 sew, quilt, knit and crochet quilts, blankets, clothes, hats, booties and other baby garments, delivering more than 50,000 items per year to infants in need across North Texas. Love Thy Baby’s main mission is to provide warmth and comfort to the smallest and most vulnerable through these special keepsakes, given as soon as possible after they are born.
In 2016, 12,045 babies were delivered at Parkland. “Most newborns leave the hospital with items donated by Love Thy Baby. When they come back we see them still using those items,” said Hannah Clark, Certified Child Life Specialist in Parkland’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Founded in 1999, the organization operated during its first 15 years as a local chapter of Newborns in Need. In 2015, the group became Love Thy baby – a branch of Love Thy Neighbor, Inc.
“My friend Patricia Clay-Jolly called me one day and told me about her dream of starting an organization that helped babies,” said Marge Bessire, a volunteer with Love Thy Baby. “From the beginning, because so many of the babies who are sick and in need are born at Parkland, we felt that is where we should focus. And that’s what we’ve done ever since.”
Many of the volunteers work from home. Others attend lunch-and-work sessions together. However, their efforts don’t stop at the sewing tables. The items are packaged and delivered to Parkland once a month.
Recently Bessire and two other volunteers delivered a truckload of items – 2,296 to be exact.
“You can be artsy-craftsy and know whatever you create isn’t going to end up collecting dust in the back of a closet,” said Cindy Day, one of the volunteers. “Having your work go out in the world and do some good for others is what drives me.”
After the items are delivered, Child Life specialists at Parkland give them to mothers and their babies in the NICU and Women & Infants Specialty Health clinic.
Manrique gave birth prematurely to baby Grisel Rios at Parkland in April. She said receiving the care package and quilt was a kind gesture at a time when her family needed all the support they could get.
“I think it’s so nice that strangers donate their time and talents to make these items for families like mine. I want them to know it means a lot,” she said.
“The mothers are so appreciative and excited to receive these beautiful and much-needed items for their babies,” said Clark.
What many see as a hobby is more than that for the volunteers at Love Thy Baby and the staff at Parkland; it’s a labor of love that brings the community closer.
“I’ve come to know and love so many talented people from all walks of life and economic levels. They come together for the one purpose –working together to make things for the babies. That’s the joy for all of these wonderful people,” Bessire said.
For more information about Love Thy Baby visit http://www.ltnlovethyneighbor.org/love-thy-baby-program/. For more information on services at Parkland, please visit www.parklandhospital.com.
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