Care Packages for Teen Moms

Last year, I created this fundraiser to raise money to create totes bags for teenage mothers. Through this fundraiser, I was able to raise $425 and create 40 totes packages. Each tote bag contained baby diapers, maxi pads for the mother, baby bibs, a  baby bottle, a baby blanket, baby wipes. In hopes for this year, I want to add a few additional items and informational brochures to assist teenage mothers better. All the totes will be donated to the organization Hand-In Hand Program, which assists young teenage mothers, and the Honor Ground Orphanage Home, which assists teenage mothers and orphaned babies. In progress, I want this fundraiser to become an annual fundraiser in hopes of becoming a nonprofit in the future. I was so grateful for all the support last year, and I hope it will be more of a success this year. Thank you so much for all the donations. Below is information provided on teenage pregnancy and how it continues to affect our present world. 

     Teenage mothers are faced with such a great responsibility at such a young age with either little to no support. In addition, these mothers are not fully equipped to take care of themselves, and in the next nine months, a newborn would be in their care. Additionally, most would be unprepared and overwhelmed by the new sense of responsibility. Statistically, teenage pregnancy has dropped significantly during the years but, babies continue to be born to women at ages of 15-19 at a birth rate of 18.8 per 1,000 women. Additionally, complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death of fifteen to nineteen-year-old women. During pregnancy, adolescent mothers ( ages 10-19 years) face higher risks of eclampsia, puerperal endometritis, and systemic infections than women aged 20-24 years. The babies of adolescent mothers face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm delivery, and severe neonatal conditions. Furthermore, pregnancy and birth are significant contributors to high school dropout rates. A study states that only 50% of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by 22. Also, children of teenage mothers are more likely to have a lower school achievement, dropout of high school, have more health problems, be incarcerated at some point during adolescence, give birth as a teenager, and be unemployed as a young adult.