For many expecting mothers in military families, they are faced with preparing to welcome their child into the world without their husband or family for support.
Operation Shower has been a nonprofit focused for years on making sure those moms have a proper baby shower to celebrate this time in their life.
“For us, it’s a chance to say, ‘thank you’ to them and to let them know that they’re not alone,” Operation Shower product director Lindsey Fletcher said.
The latest of these showers took place on March 10 thanks to a partnership with THE PLAYERS Championship.
Fifty local mothers attended the event, which was held at Patriot’s Outpost at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course.
Some of the mothers were members of the military themselves and they were all expecting or had given birth within three months of the shower date.
This included one couple that was there along with their baby, which was born just three days before.
According to Fletcher, many military mothers do not live in the town they were born in and are not often near family members, so they do not get to have the usual baby shower that moms receive.
“So many of these families completely uproot their lives to move to military bases and have had very few people that they know,” Fletcher said. “It’s fun to connect them with others that also know what they are going through.”
The baby showers given by Operation Shower are always a special time for those involved, but the shower held prior to THE PLAYERS was even more special because it marked the 200th shower given since Operation Shower got its start in 2007.
“It started as a small way of giving back to service members and their families and has really grown naturally and more people have wanted to join in and be a part of the celebration over the years,” Fletcher said. “THE PLAYERS has continued to be one of our main supporters through the years.”
There were several surprise gift bundles handed out throughout the event, all designed to help make the mom’s lives easier once their baby is born.
