A huge thank you to the organizers, donors, volunteers, and shoppers who came together to make our annual yard sale a huge success! It was a banner year at the sale and the proceeds will go a long way toward supporting the work and programming we do throughout the year here at the Birth Circle. And thanks also to those who have added the Birth Circle to their Kroger Rewards account, we just received $100 from that program last quarter! If you do not already support a charity through the Kroger rewards program, we can help you get started and Kroger will make a donation for each purchase you make, without costing you any additional money.
Ariel Carver
Executive Director, The Birth Circle
director@athensbirthcircle.com
740-652-6262
Postpartum Support Group
Athens Library
If you, or someone you know, would be interested in joining a postpartum support group, please contact us and we will put you in touch with a new group that is forming! The year after baby arrives is fraught with physical, emotional, and mental transitions and experiencing these alongside other new Mamas can be validating and comforting. You are not alone. We are looking into a monthly meeting time and location, which will hopefully be announced within the next month!
Play Group
Tuesday, September 4th
Join Birth Circle Board member Maira and her children at the Athens Library in the children’s section the first Tuesday of the month 3-5pm for informal free play and socializing.
Loss Support Group
Thursday, September 6th
6 pm Athens Community Center Playground
This month the pregnancy and infant loss support group will meet for a family potluck at 6 pm on September 6th at the Athens community center playground. This will be followed by a time of remembrance of our babies gone too soon as we tie ribbons on the ribbon tree near the playground at 7:00. The ribbon tree hosts new ribbons all year long, so if you can’t make it but would like to tie a ribbon on to honor your baby who has died, please do so. If you plan on coming to the potluck, please bring a dish to share and a chair. Text or call Emily with questions (740)808-2448.
Prepared Mommy Camp
We are preparing for our fall session of Prepared Mommy Camp, which will run 8/18, 9/15, 10/20, and 11/17. We had three Mamas participate in August and one who was unable to attend because she was three days postpartum, and hope to have a few more able to join us in September. We are still taking registrations, we have plenty of space! If you are interested in being a part of this program we are glad to have volunteers, our basic needs are transporting participants and food, and Mamas who want to hang out; something as simple as seeing other women breastfeed in the course of their daily baby care can make a huge difference to some of these young moms who may not have other breastfeeding moms in their life! If you run a small business (cleaning, photography, massage, etc.) and are able to donate a gift certificate for some kind of self-care service for our participating Mamas, we will be collecting for the grand prize at the end of the Camp.
Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, September 26
7 pm at the Athens Library
This month we will explore facing the unexpected during pregnancy and infancy; when pregnancy ends in loss, when birth is traumatic, and when that new baby requires a visit to the NICU. We will hear from three mothers who have been there and learn from their experiences about ways of managing the stress, finding support, and support friends and family who are experiencing this difficult season of life.
YOUNG MOMS’ GROUP
Date and Time to be announced, stay tuned on our facebook page!
We hope to gather later this month for some play and socializing, we hope to see you there!
MEALS FOR FAMILIES (formerly Meals For Moms)
Let The Birth Circle community cook for you! If you’ve just had a baby, if you are going through another type of transition in your family, or have experienced a loss, The Birth Circle is more than happy to organize a meal calendar to help support you. If you are interested in receiving meals, providing meals or both, please contact our Meals For Families Coordinator, Ariel Carver at arielrose.carver@gmail.com for more information. Find our online sign-up forms here.