Community Baby Shower to provide support, resources to local mothers

By Zamariah Strozier
Contributing Writer

The saying “It takes a village to raise a child” also applies to the care needed for expectant and new mothers. A Community Baby Shower to support the well-being of pregnant and new moms hopes to provide New Orleans-area mothers with care during and after pregnancy, recognizing that a happy and whole mother is important to the well-being of the child and the family.

“As a mother, I’ve learned early on in motherhood that you can lose yourself in motherhood just trying to work, provide, take care of the kids, and if there is a man around, taking care of the husband,” said Janitza Vasquez, the founder of One Happy Mama, the organization that hosting the Community Baby Shower.

Vazquez, a mother herself and an educator of ten years, said that One Happy Mama was founded in 2022 to serve the Greater New Orleans area and strengthen support networks for young mothers. Vasquez along with board members Jewel Bush and Monique Egana, have assisted over 200 young women and mothers of all ages since the organization began its work.

The Community Baby Shower, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 21, from noon to 3 p.m. at the University of Holy Cross, will offer expectant and new mothers baby supplies, resources, advice, opportunities to network with other mothers and maternal health professionals, maternity photo shoots and door prizes. The event will also feature several community partners including March for Moms, Training Grounds, Labor and Love, and Humana, as well as some of its sponsors including Walmart and Hello Bello, among many others.

A photographer will be on site to capture the tender moments amongst all the women and mothers as well as provide free mini maternity shoots and family photos. Each family will leave the event with diapers, wipes, one baby item, and many other essentials.

“It actually turned out to be way bigger than I expected and I’m very excited about it,” Vasquez said. “We have about, originally 12, and at about 15 vendors now and they all are community organizations that work in the family and maternal realms.”

One Happy Mama’s team hopes that, through events like these, young women can acknowledge themselves as a person outside of motherhood and have the resources to make informed decisions about how to raise their children and take care of themselves.

Vasquez said the organization is working to provide long-term assistance and mentorship for local young women and mothers through three main programs: The Mama Tribe, the OHM (One Happy Mama) Resource Center, and The Mama on a Mission (M.O.M) workshop.

The Mama Tribe is a mentorship program centered around academic success and career development as well as personal growth and includes a $200 monthly stipend for its participating mothers; A Community of Mamas, formerly known as the OHM Resource Center, a community-based initiative, provides resources and support to young mothers, including diapers, wipes and menstrual products. OHM has plans to expand the resource center’s offerings to include baby clothing, baby furniture and other essentials; Mama on a Mission (M.O.M) is a six-week interactive workshop series that teaches young women aged 13-23 about developing critical life skills to support themselves and their little ones. Participants also receive a $250 stipend at the completion of the workshop.

In addition to providing transportation, on-site child care, and food for participating mothers for all its programming, the organization is also working to provide new laptops to assist participants with completing their education, whether they are obtaining a GED, attending classes or tutoring, or pursuing college degrees and professional certificates.

“With our girls, our whole goal is for them to become self-sufficient for themselves and for their kids,” Vasquez said. “As moms we are future-makers, because we are bringing and raising the next generation. We are our kids’ first teachers, first mentors, first everythings.”

Those interested in learning more about One Happy Mama, to donate or volunteer, to enroll in one of its programs or to apply for resources, can do so online at www.onehappymama.org.

This article originally published in the October 16, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.