Members of participating nonprofits are waiting to greet and shower expectant mothers with gifts. Photo courtesy Diocese of Texas

[Diocese of Texas] Over 80 expectant mothers in east Harris County were treated to a one-of-a-kind baby shower in a drive-thru event on Oct. 30. Mothers were showered with baby clothes, fresh food, diapers, cleaning supplies and other goods to help meet their needs during the pandemic.

The collaborative effort was hosted by church planter Maria Bautista Vargas at Northshore Episcopal Church, Houston (a church plant in the Diocese of Texas). Seven other nonprofit organizations from the Houston area, including United Healthcare and East Harris County Empowerment Council (EHCEC), joined forces to help make this event a success.

“I was happily surprised by the team and support we received for this initiative,” said Bautista Vargas. “It was a huge blessing how everything came together.”

Northshore Episcopal, United Healthcare and EHCEC packed over 400 different outfits for the soon-to-be-born babies.

Connie Claros from United Healthcare explained that before COVID-19, the health care organization held large baby showers in different parts of Harris County for low-income mothers enrolled in their program every quarter, but the pandemic put a halt to those events.

As Bautista Vargas and Claros started to accumulate large amounts of baby clothes at Northshore Episcopal, Claros decided to reach out to EHCEC to see how they could best host a safe but enjoyable baby shower for mothers in need.

Their efforts resulted in putting together a successful event, and they plan on hosting another baby shower drive-thru around Easter.

“We appreciate the opportunity Northshore Episcopal Church is giving us to host this event for the moms in the area,” said Claros.