Wednesday, August 27, 2025
www.thepapersonline.com
Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . . . . 2➤ Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Vol. 55, No. 9
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
BOOKS TO READ — Yolanda Strietzel sorts through some books parents can check out. She is the new B.A.B.E. Boutique coordinator.
B.A.B.E. Boutique
helps new, current parents with necessities By PHOEBE MUTHART Editor Having a baby is the one of life’s most treasured moments. In addition to a new child, there are expenses. One nonprofit aims to help parents with necessities, such as clothing, diapers and more. The B.A.B.E. Boutique in Warsaw is a program of Heartline Pregnancy Center, offering free baby and maternity supplies to families in Kosciusko County. Families earn coupons through participation in various community wellness programs and can then redeem these coupons at the boutique for items like diapers, clothing and formula. B.A.B.E. stands for Beds And Britches, Etc. The boutique is located within the Health Services Pavilion, where Heartline Pregnancy Center is also situated. Families earn coupons through participation in Heartline’s programs, like the “Earn While You Learn” program, or through partnerships with other community organizations, like W.I.C., libraries, the county health department, and participating doctors and dentists. It has 60-plus Kosciusko County distributors to choose from. The distributors, in turn, give the coupons to the parents, who can use them at the boutique. The first step is to confirm a pregnancy with a test and an ultrasound. This is done at Heartline. “It helps establish care,” said Brenda Whitehead, Heartline’s executive director. “That’s how they start getting B.A.B.E. coupons.” Once the pregnancy is confirmed, Heartline will help expectant mothers with health care and insurance, such as Pregnancy Medicaid, which only covers nine months. The goal of the program is wellness and for the mother to
of children may also use its serhave a healthy pregnancy. “The goal is to support families vices, as long as a child is 4 years and help them grow together and old or younger. There is no income requirement. be healthy,” said Whitehead. The B.A.B.E. Boutique is fundThe benefits to the distributors is to increased participation in its ed through community sponsors, the K21 Foundation and donaprograms. The boutique provides a range tions, said Whitehead. In addiof baby and maternity essentials. tion, “Supermarket Sweep,” a These include diapers, wipes, for- yearly fundraiser, also supports mula and clothing. Bigger items, the program by donating money, such as car seats and strollers, which in turn provides 80% of the are also available in a catalog lo- funding to B.A.B.E. for the year. cated on Facebook. For example, For more information or hours, a stroller is 30 coupons. There are call (574) 337-7267 or visit heartlinepregnancycenter.org/b-a-b-eover 70 items in the catalog. “I encourage them to take par- store, Instagram and Facebook. enting classes so they can get B.A.B.E. is located in the coupons,” Yolanda Strietzel, the Health Services Pavilion, 1515 new B.A.B.E. coordinator, said. Provident Drive, Suite 230 (sec“Parents are to ask for the cou- ond floor), Warsaw. Heartline is BABE BOUTIQUE VOLUNTEER — Pam Ward, a volunteer at pons at a distributor.” also located in the pavilion. B.A.B.E. Boutique, irons some children’s clothing last week. She said the boutique also offers emergency vouchers for things like diapers. Strietzel is bilingual, as are three other boutique volunteers or employees. A quarter of its clients are Spanish speaking. Currently, it has seven volunteers, but can always use more. “We have amazing volunteers,” she said. In addition, it also offers books through its lending library and partners with libraries in Kosciusko County in order to receive coupons. It offers a program for fathers, too, called the Rock Solid Fatherhood program. It offers free, one-on-one coaching for soon-tobe or current fathers of children age 4 and younger. Fathers can also earn coupons in the fatherhood coaching program. Visit heartlinepregnancycenter.org/ dad-coaching to learn more. One doesn’t need to be pregnant to receive help. Parents, SHOPPING FOR CLOTHES — Julie Cherlemagne, left, checks out some clothing with the help of volfoster parents and grandparents unteer Jenny Erickson.