The Idea for the Expo is Born
A group of women from Muhlenberg College approached the Allentown AFTH team one day a few months back. As Business Administration majors with a Concentration in Healthcare Management, their semester project was to aid an organization to implement new or improved services, events, or whatever the organization needed most. The Adoptions team was happy to bring on the students and after some brainstorming, asked them if they could assist the team in creating an event…The First Annual Women’s Health Sharing Expo! The group got to work and help the Allentown AFTH team pull together an event for something they felt was a necessary step forward for women in their community. After months of planning and outreach, the combined forces were ready to open the doors for the expo!
Over a Dozen Organizations Join for Expo
The Lehigh Valley area is fortunate to have many wonderful organizations that support women’s health. The next step to helping women in the community is bringing together these organizations to show each other what they do, and how they can work together to provide the best services possible. At the Women’s Health Sharing Expo, Lehigh Valley organizations did just that. Attendees and speakers came from organizations across the area including KidsPeace, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Planned Parenthood, Carnet, Lehigh Valley Crime Victims Counsel, the YWCA, Nurse Family Partnership, the Salvation Army, Adoptions From The Heart, and many more.
Organizations Share Services and Expert Opinions with Expo Attendees
From the many organizations that came out to the expo, eight took the podium to share their expertise on women’s health and the missions and services of their great organizations. We were thrilled to learn more about the services available to women and how they could help the women we serve every day.
Find out more about just a few of the many amazing programs we learned about!
Care Net– Offering a “Earn as You Learn” program, pregnant women, and women or men with children age two or younger can earn “Care Net Baby Bucks” by joining Care Net’s education program and learning about topics such as health and nutrition, healthy relationships, pregnancy, childbirth, parenting skills, life skills, and money management. Participants can use their “Baby Bucks” at Care Net’s Baby Boutique to shop for diapers and other general supplies as well as gently used or new cribs, car seats, strollers, and children’s clothing! Care Net also talked about their many other wonderful programs such as; free on-site pregnancy tests, mentoring, healthy relationship programs for teens, referrals, and more. Care Net is a caring, compassionate, and confidential organization helping women every day. Find out more here.
KidsPeace– In conjunction with Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, PA, KidsPeace aims provide mental health services to both children and parents in the community. With services including; psychiatric evaluations, group therapy, psychological testing, individual and family therapy, medication monitoring, parenting support, and urgent care assessments for referrals, KidsPeace is able to help families cope with mental health issues and “Bridge the Gap.” The organization is able to offer so many wonderful services thanks to their many specialized facilities in the Lehigh Valley area. Families or individuals looking to find out more can even take advantage of a free walk-in assessment, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with no need to make an appointment. KidsPeace offers online resources for teens and parents to continue positive education 24/7. Find out more about KidsPeace here.
Nurse-Family Partnership– Servicing first time mothers that meet certain income requirements, Nurse-Family Partnership provides support from registered nurses who will visit expecting mothers in their homes throughout their pregnancy and beyond until the baby is two years old. This free program allows first-time mothers to utilize support from a nurse who will help them have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby, become a better parent, build a strong network of support, making the home safe for the child to live and play, find ways to continue education and develop job skills, set goals for a family’s future and find ways to achieve them, and get referrals for healthcare, childcare, job training and other services. The Nurse-Family Partnership is helping prepare mothers and build parental accountability and family success. Learn more about the program here.
Adoptions From The Heart also took the stage to discuss their services for birthmothers including the support from our social workers, the benefits of open adoption, the Birthparent Scholarship Fund, and more! If you want to learn more about our services for expecting parents, click here. Also check out this great video on the options for pregnant women considering adoption!
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Having Fun Supporting a Successful First Annual Expo
In addition to sharing and learning about all the different ways professionals in the Lehigh Valley are helping support Women’s Health, the expo attendees got to have some delicious food and enter for a chance to win some wonderful prizes. Thanks to the hard work of our Muhlenberg partners and the generosity of local businesses, there were five raffle baskets at the event. Everyone who attended got one free ticket and could buy more after that, with all proceeds going to the AFTH Birthparent Scholarship Fund. Attendees could enter their tickets into baskets for an Anytime Sun Tanning gift card, a wine and food basket from Stone and Key, a gift basket with hair products from Outlooks for Hair, a spa package gift card to Elements Spa, a Mary Kay basket filled with beauty goodies, or an AFTH basket filled with our organization’s favorite AFTH gifts including a blanket, towel, and AFTH multi-pocket bag!! Our winners brought home baskets, but everyone brought home extra pastries and great new knowledge of Women’s Health.
After this successful event, AFTH wants to thank all of the organizations that came out, the companies who donated food and prizes, and especially our teammates from Muhlenberg College. We can’t wait to see everyone next year!
