Our Mission

The mission of Room to Grow is to enrich the lives of babies born into poverty throughout their critical first three years of development. Parents expecting a baby are referred to Room to Grow by selected prenatal programs assisting low-income families. Upon their referral, parents visit Room to Grow's warm and inviting space once every three months from just before the birth of the baby until their child turns three. During their one-on-one appointments with our staff social workers, typically lasting two hours, parents receive developmental information, customized support, and all of the needed baby items to ensure a healthy and secure start for their child. For more information about how we work, please click here.

Our Goals

Goal #1: Children will thrive during their critical first three years of life, meeting appropriate cognitive, social, and physical milestones in their development. To meet this goal, Room to Grow:

• Promotes cognitive development and childhood safety by helping parents be more responsive and engaged caregivers
• Nurtures emerging literacy through exposure to books in the home
• Promotes attainment of developmental milestones through modeling stimulating activities and providing age appropriate toys
• Promotes long-term physical health by encouraging preventive medical and dental care, sharing information about childhood nutrition and helping parents engage their children in physical activity and healthy routines of daily living.

Goal #2: Parents will attain the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to assure that children fulfill their emotional, intellectual and physical potential. To meet this goal, Room to Grow:

• Improves parental knowledge of educational, health and general parenting strategies
• Helps parents access needed support from family members, friends and community resources
• Nurtures the development of parental skills and coping strategies for the stress of raising a baby in poverty
• Builds confidence, affirms parenting strengths, detects early signs of risk and facilitates treatment when necessary

Goal #3: Low-income families will have access to clothing, books, developmentally appropriate toys, and other items, thus relieving families’ financial strain and ensuring that they have high-quality items similar to those in middle-class homes. To meet this goal, Room to Grow:

• Obtains donations of new and nearly-new baby items from individuals, companies, and community groups
• Prepares the donations as necessary by cleaning, fixing, and organizing the donations
• Provides needed baby items free of charge to families

Capacity

Room to Grow’s program employs evidence-based practices that research has shown to be effective in promoting babies’ healthy development. Our national advisory council, comprised of distinguished national experts in early childhood development, offers Room to Grow advice and information on the adoption of research-proven, cutting-edge practices. In addition, staff social workers participate in early childhood development professional networks and supervision. These activities have lead to several important enhancements to the Room to Grow model, including:

• Support groups for parents with babies 0-6 months old to strengthen social networks.
• Post-partum care and visits to reduce maternal isolation.
• Increasing the focus on early literacy and teaching parents how to nurture language development and engage in daily book sharing.
• Continuing contact after families graduate from Room to Grow with check-in calls six and twelve months after program completion.