Team Toby Tolin made the news again this morning with our first ever delivery of baskets! Check out the video and the story link below š
DENVER ā The hospital can be a scary place for any new parent, especially if their newborn is placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Just ask the Tolin family.
9NEWS met the Tolins in May, and they were featured in our high-risk pregnancy series. Toby Tolin was a severely growth-restricted fetus and was born prematurely. He spent extensive time in the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children’s NICU before finally being allowed to go home.
Now that he’s out, Elizabeth and Josh Tolin decided they wanted to give back to other families going through a similar experience. That’s where the Team Toby Tolin nonprofit was born.
On Wednesday, the Tolins kicked off their first assignment: delivering a batch of baskets for the Shower for Babies project.
“The basket helps fill in what they maybe would’ve liked to have brought but didn’t have the time,” Elizabeth said. “Parents come from all over across multiple states, and there’s no time in an emergency situation, so they may not have anything at home yet because the babies are so young in gestation.”
Each basket contains a handmade fleece tie blanket to cover the newborn’s isolette, two swaddling blankets the parents can use in the hospital and other items that will make the hospital stay feel a little more like home.
“They have a couple of books that they can read to baby, help them interact and feel like they’re doing something, because I know it’s hard sitting here day in and day out, you can’t really do a lot. They have a stuffed animal to decorate the room and then a journal for the parents,” Elizabeth said.
Renee Giles Casper has been in the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children NICU since June 10. Her twin girls were born premature on June 21. She says receiving the gifts will make their stay more positive.
“Their experience is going to help the next person because you come in here and you have no idea,” she said. “To have someone who’s got experience before and who’s kind of reaching out to families … it’s helpful, and it makes the experience less scary.”
The Tolins have already received their nonprofit certification from the state of Wyoming (where they live), and have their 501(c)(3) pending. Eventually, the group will apply for grants to help them fund the baskets. Until then, however, they’re running solely on donations to help get them off the ground.
If you would like to donate to the Shower for Babies project, you can do so by visiting the link: http://showerforbabies.org/.