A Campaign Update from Liz LaRose
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Joe Marks, former CEO of Baudelaire Soaps, was inspired to create the StartSmart Birth Gifts program as a way to acknowledge and honor his employees while also providing an age-appropriate, brain-building gift for their newborns. Click here to hear Joe discuss why he felt this was so important.
A big “thank you” to our Pacesetters! Their campaigns help MUW get a jump-start on our new annual campaign.
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23 Center Street,
Keene, NH 03431
PLEASE NOTE:
With the importance of social distancing, we are limiting the number of hours that our staff come into the office to process gifts received via US Mail. We are asking donors to use our safe, secure donation portal whenever possible. However, we gratefully accept checks from anyone who prefers to donate in that manner and we will ensure that they are processed in a timely manner.
Dear Friends of MUW, 
 
Are you looking to honor a parent-to-be in your life or at your place of work? If so, please consider a StartSmart Birth Gift. The most important thing anyone can do for children is invest in brain development at an early age. This gift shows that you care about the parent, the child and your community. 
Each StartSmart Birth Gift includes a set of 4 board books for the new baby, Social Emotional Tools for the parent/caregiver, and a set of fun tips for early childhood brain development from Vroom, all wrapped in a flannel baby blanket. 
 
Heather Bell, Vice President of Electronic Imaging Materials (EIM) and a member of Impact Monadnock Business Ambassadors (IMBA), makes fulfilment and delivery of these gifts possible through her workplace. She feels passionately about the StartSmart program because it supports both the parent and the child.
“StartSmart is an easy way to welcome an employee’s new addition while supporting the growth and development of our newest community members. If we are going to purchase a baby gift for an employee, why not make sure that gift is one that will support that child’s brain, and support the family around that new baby?” 
Another wonderful perk of the StartSmart program is that for every gift purchased, a local, at-risk youth is enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Liz Chipman, Executive Director of the Keene Housing Kid’s Collaborative and manager of enrollment in the program explains why this is so important:  
“In enrolling children in Imagination Library, the StartSmart initiative puts books directly into the homes and hands of children in our community who might not otherwise have them. Every child enrolled in Imagination Library receives a new book every month in the mail until their fifth birthday.”
We are so grateful for the support of IMBA, EIM, and the Keene Kid’s Housing Collaborative in making StartSmart Birth Gifts a successful program. Helping get books into the hands of children and supporting their parents with useful tools and resources is the immediate goal but our hope is that the long-term effect of the program will be healthy, nurtured, inquisitive children who grow up to be fulfilled community members. 

Sincerely, 
 
Liz LaRose, President 
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