Being the Village: Partnering with MotherWise

If it takes a village to raise a child, then MotherWise is that village. They embody their mission – to empower women and their families to thrive – and it perfectly describes what they do every day.

And guess what? BookGive is part of that village too.

MotherWise’s core program includes six weeks of workshops plus one-on-one coaching for mothers to understand themselves better, form healthy relationships, communication and relationship skills for all of their relationships, and how to connect with their newborn baby. During the workshops, mothers of all stages have the opportunity to create community with other moms who may be experiencing similar life challenges. 

It’s the connection to baby and helping mothers understand themselves where BookGive and MotherWise found alignment, bonding through reading books with infants and toddlers.

“Spending time with baby by reading books and using storytelling as a relationship builder is so valuable,” says Jessica Purcel, Director of Programs and Community Outreach at MotherWise. “I tell my mothers all the time to read board books to their infants!”

BookGive had the pleasure of distributing 115 parenting and pregnancy books, along with 100 board and children’s picture books to help mommy and baby bond. We know how critical reading to infants is for baby’s literacy. 

“Reading together gives mommy and infant an opportunity to form a nurturing bond and positive maternal/infant attachment,” says Purcell. By providing busy working moms with age-appropriate books in excellent condition, BookGive helps make these bonding moments possible.

At MotherWise, moms are shown various ways to engage their babies with books. Techniques such as calling out objects – “look at the yellow bus” – or relating characters to real life – “the mommy in this book likes her eggs the same way I like my eggs” – are ways MotherWise moms learn to go deeper when reading to their children. This article has more tips about engaged reading for children.

As we know, reading to children goes beyond teaching them literacy, but also fosters empathy. You might refer to our recent blog showcasing the role books play in learning empathy.

Purchasing books may not be a priority or a reality for many mothers. Accessing them at the library is an additional errand. So free books from BookGive are distributed to mom in the orientation box she receives for her MotherWise classes. Having books at home correlates to higher literacy rates, so together, BookGive and MotherWise are helping to build family home libraries.

Inside the orientation box are additional gently-used or new items for mom and baby like clothes, breast pumps, car seats and sometimes food. A cash card is also included that she can use for whatever she needs. “We encourage them to use the card for date nights so mom and partner can talk about the skills they are learning during the program,” says Purcell.

MotherWise serves between 300-400 mothers with three cohorts of eight to fifteen moms running 50 weeks a year for English and Spanish speakers. Some are referred to the program by Denver Health. Others, according to Purcel, found MotherWise by word of mouth or hearing about it on Spanish-speaking radio stations.

Mothers come to class (virtually for now) twice a week for six weeks. They work with a family support coordinator, a one-on-one coach who helps moms navigate the workshop curriculum and helps her apply it to her own life. She is also connected to resources outside of the organization who can help her if she’s experiencing food scarcity, housing issues, or any other barriers that keep her from successfully absorbing the curriculum.  

“We’ve developed a wrap-around model to help moms through our program. The group workshops are where we are building community for her and normalizing ‘mom struggles.’ And because the content can be a little heavy, we also have the one-on-one support that helps mom think through it all.”

It’s logical that parents who are overwhelmed might concentrate on the basics before taking time to read with their children. MotherWise staff strive to attend to the whole family, allowing mothers to prioritize the classes that will help them in the long run.

“We try to make sure all barriers from attending are out of the way,” explains Purcell, including (in the before times) providing childcare for older sibs and transportation as needed. She adds, “If Mom misses a meeting, we have caring people who call to make sure everything is OK. We don’t shame; our goal is to understand what those barriers are and meet her where she is.” Now that most classes are virtual, it’s even easier for moms to attend.

BookGive is helping raise a generation of readers through our partnership with MotherWise. If you or someone you know would benefit from participating in a MotherWise workshop, call or text 720-504-4624 or send an email to motherwisecolorado@gmail.com. Like a devoted village, we know they’ll take the best care of you and your sweet baby with books and so much more.

This blog contributed by BookGive volunteer, Stacey McDole.