News
March 4, 2019Capital Region Chamber’s Leadership Tech Valley Class of 2019 to Create Baby Safety Boxes in Support of Underprivileged Teen Parents
The Capital Region Chamber’s Leadership Tech Valley (LTV) Class of 2019 will partner with Young Parents United, Inc. (YPU), a newly-founded, Schenectady-based nonprofit organization, to implement a Baby Safety Box initiative focused on reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Founded in July 2018 by Ginni Egan, YPU’s mission is “to invest in the future of families” throughout the Capital Region. The organization provides education, case management, and comprehensive support services to teenage mothers and fathers, and their children.
The Baby Safety Box initiative will equip teen parents with much needed infant items for the baby’s first few months of life, such as clothing and diapers. These items will be presented with a bassinet. This initiative is modeled after a successful government program in Finland that has significantly reduced the infant mortality rate related to SIDS.
The LTV Class will work collaboratively with YPU on all aspects of the project, including raising the funds and collecting supplies for approximately ten baby boxes. The class will be hosting a community baby shower event, assembling the boxes, and helping to deliver the items to local teen parents in need.
The LTV Class of 2019 will be fundraising and accepting in-kind donations from individuals and organizations. Donations can be submitted online at: http://www.leadershiptechvalley.org/project/.
Ginni Egan expressed her excitement to work with this year’s Class following the announcement: “As a newer nonprofit organization, we’re very grateful to be selected for this collaboration.”
“We’re thrilled that the Class of 2019 has chosen such a deserving organization and that they are engaging Chamber members as well as the community at-large in this effort”, says Mark Eagan, President and CEO at the Capital Region Chamber.
Participants in this year’s LTV Class solicited proposals via an RFP process and received more than a dozen submissions from local community organizations. This Class recognized the vulnerability of the underserved teen parent population and collectively decided to help make a difference in the lives of teen parents and their children through partnership with YPU.
Leadership Tech Valley, an initiative of the Capital Region Chamber and a program of the Capital Region Chamber Foundation, is a dynamic, interactive program that provides skill development and community immersion experiences that enable participants to grow personally and professionally as they explore issues and opportunities in the Capital Region.
