The following is excerpted from the Church Newsroom. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
Two organizations are working together in Memphis, Tennessee, to help mothers and their babies thrive in an area that has one of the United States’ highest infant mortality rates.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered Saturday, November 19, 2022, in Memphis’s 38126 zip code to announce the launch of MyBaby4Me — a program with classes to help new and expectant mothers.
“This partnership is God-ordained and God-inspired,” said NAACP Memphis Chapter President Van Turner. “I’m just so happy that it’s happening at such a critical time in our city. We’re dealing with public safety, we’re dealing with homelessness, we’re dealing with poverty. [It’s critical to address] the origin of humanity, when these young people are in the womb, and try to make sure they get the proper care while in the womb [and then] come out and survive and be healthy. Once that happens, they have a great start in life. That solves and resolves those other issues. So, I’m so happy to be partnered with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and all our other partners because this is really a great endeavor.”
This is the second humanitarian collaboration between the NAACP and the Church of Jesus Christ since Prophet and President Russell M. Nelson in 2021 pledged US$2 million a year for three years to fund these projects. The inaugural undertaking last month focused on improving a community garden in San Francisco.
“We’re going to teach mothers how to nurture their babies and how to become a mother,” said Vickie Terry, executive director of the NAACP Memphis Branch. “We’re going to teach them how to feed a baby and how to even put a baby in a car seat — just the basic things that need to be done in order to take care of a baby.”
To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
