-
Who: Community Partners of South Florida, BRIDGES at Riviera Beach, and Clinics Can Help partnered to aid local expectant parents.
-
What: The organizations hosted a community baby shower, distributing 150 Pack ‘n Play cribs to ensure safe infant sleep.
-
Where: The Bundles of Joy community initiative took place in Riviera Beach within Palm Beach County.
-
When: The joint event was hosted for area families on Tuesday, July 7.
-
Why: The project directly counters rising child-rearing costs that strain household budgets across South Florida during a baby’s first year.
Welcoming a new baby is a joyous milestone, but the financial reality of a childās first year of life is hitting local families harder than ever.Ā
Community Partners of South Florida (CPSFL) and its neighborhood program, BRIDGES at Riviera Beach, recently partnered with Clinics Can Help, nonprofit organization committed to improving access to healthcare by providing donated medical equipment, supplies, and assistance to underserved individuals throughout Florida, to provide vital support to expectant parents at the Bundles of Joy Community Baby Shower on Tuesday, July 7.Ā
Recent data from LendingTree reveals that families now spend an average of 22.6% of their income on basic annual expenses associated with raising a small child which is a steep increase from 19.0% just three years ago.Ā
When factoring in healthcare and childbirth, estimates show that a child’s first year can cost anywhere from $14,680 to $36,050 depending on location and household income. Even without factoring in the massive cost of childcare, baseline expenses easily land between $15,000 and $18,000.
To help ease this burden, Clinics Can Help stepped forward with a generous donation of 150 Pack ‘n Play cribs, ensuring that local infants left the event with a safe place to sleep.
“We are incredibly grateful for our partnership with Clinics Can Help,ā said Kelly Powell, CEO of Community Partners of South Florida. āI want to extend a special thank you to their CEO, Owen O’Neill, whose dedication to our community shines through in moments like this. Because of his team’s generosity, we were able to provide peace of mind to our neighborhood’s newest parents.ā
Since launching the CRIBS Project over a decade ago, Clinics Can Help has donated over 10,000 new Pack ān Play cribs to local families helping to save precious lives. When asked why Clinics Can Help took on this initiative, OāNeill shared, āThese are our most precious residents and if we can do something to save lives, we will.”
For more information on how to get involved, please visit www.cpsfl.org.
# # #
About Community Partners of South Florida
Community Partners of South Florida is a $15 million comprehensive community development nonprofit agency headquartered in Riviera Beach that provides services to families facing social, emotional, and financial adversity. By using a unique, breakthrough approach integrating housing and financial empowerment, child and family mental health, and community services, Community Partners of South Florida creates self-sustaining families and communities and serves as a driver for growing its local economy. For more information about Community Partners of South Florida, visit www.cpsfl.org. Community Partners of South Florida is a proud chartered affiliate of NeighborWorks America, a national, nonpartisan nonprofit striving to make every community a place of opportunity.
About Clinics Can Help
Clinics Can Help (CCH) is a vital resource in Southeast Florida for families in need of medical equipment such as hospital beds, wheelchairs, nebulizers, and more. As the only organization of its kind in Florida, CCH provides access to life-saving medical equipment to thousands of children and adults who cannot afford it. Through its innovative recycling program, CCH has helped more than 30,000 individuals, distributing over $18 million worth of medical equipment and supplies. The organizationās mission is to increase access to health equity for all. To learn more, visit www.clinicscanhelp.org.
