MANSFIELD – Richland Pregnancy Services is helping strengthen the next generation of parents through a workshop in partnership with North Central State College (NCSC).
Recently, Richland Pregnancy Services and NCSC partnered to provide a “Building Strong Parents” for new or soon-to-be parents participating in the college’s TRIO program. Around 10 prospective parents spent the day at Richland Pregnancy for parenting lessons involving infant care and social development.
TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) is a federally funded grant program through the U.S. Department of Education. It includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.
According to Richland Pregnancy Services Executive Director Pam Crank, NCSC’S TRIO program approached the organization due to their experience in working with and educating pregnant mothers and new parents.
“Obviously we care about pregnant women and especially women who are choosing to parent, and then when they’re in school there are a whole new set of obstacles to work around,” Crank said. “We want to be able to help in any way that we can to make that a little bit easier and give them the support they need.”
The group of new parents went through topics like the basics of breastfeeding and child development, and learning simple tasks like how to bathe their new baby or install a car seat. Participants then toured the pregnancy center and learned about the free services they provide.
“Any time you’re being a parent, especially a first-time parent, you’re basically overwhelmed with responsibility for this child,” Crank said. “The more knowledge you have, the more confident you’re going to be in yourself. And you’re going to know the alerts when you know something is not quite right.”
Each parent in attendance received a gift basket filled with baby supplies. In addition, TRIO presented a large donation of baby items to the boutique at Richland Pregnancy Services.
Crank said Richland Pregnancy Services enjoys partnering with local agencies in order to help serve the community.
“Education is going to be the key, so any time we can build on that and reinforce those behaviors, we’re doing a good thing,” she said. “And I think they just need to know there are people here to support you. It was definitely a good partnership.”
