Holy Cross Saders for Life is stepping up to show their peers that they truly care for and support them. Both last year and this Fall, this compassionate group of students have hosted baby showers for expectant students on campus.
On December 7th, Holy Cross Saders for Life hosted a heartfelt shower to celebrate fellow student, Samantha (“Sam”), and the upcoming birth of her daughter (due in January).
Fr. Jim Hayes, the group’s advisor, shared about how the group connected with Sam, the expectant mother.
“Marybeth [Director of the Office of College Chaplains] had learned about Sam’s pregnancy and reached out to her and referred her to me. I contacted her, and we began meeting every two weeks for spiritual conversations. I offered for SFL to do a shower and she accepted.”
Fr. Jim noted that the event was filled with laughter. “I heard them laughing so loudly all because of the wonderful games. We ordered all the food she liked…. People brought her great gifts, and I know she was deeply touched. In fact, Danielle, for whom we gave a shower last year, sent Samantha a gift.”
Sloane Burns, a senior member of the Saders for Life group, said, “She [Sam] was very grateful for the shower. She even contributed to some of the planning especially with respect to the games.” She noted that the young mom was “surrounded by friends and family.”
Emma Jehanno, a Holy Cross junior, shared, “It was very nice to see Holy Cross students and faculty come together to make Sam’s baby shower so special.”
To those students who are interested in hosting a similar event, here are Sloane’s words of encouragement:
“”It was awesome how supportive my fellow SFL students were in the busiest time of the semester to take time to help out with this event. Seeing Sam’s face and how happy she was surrounded by friends and family made it all worth it… it shows that SFL is a group on campus where you can be welcomed into a non-judgemental zone, and the couple can come for support (material, spiritual, and relational) during this very confusing time in a couples life if they find themselves unexpectedly pregnant… it reminded me that I even as one person can make a difference and helped me gain confidence in myself and in my leadership skills.”
I would encourage other groups to do this for students… We advocate so much for pro-life issues- the most popular of which is our stance against abortion. We go to the March for Life. But doing events such as baby showers for pregnant students on campus is a small physical and tangible reminder of why we do what we do through our advocacy as it seems like many women abort because they don’t have or don’t know where they can access resources to take care of a child at especially a young age or if they are not financially stable. Our group like others across the nation can connect women to these resources which is one more reason why women should not abort a child based on that.”
Great work, Holy Cross Saders for Life! The SFLA Team is so proud to work with such a loving and enthusiastic group of students. We encourage students and supporters to show their support for this group by “liking” their Facebook page.
If your group would like to host a baby shower on your campus, check out SFLA’s “Host a Baby Shower for a Pregnant Student” activity guide.
Do you want to get more involved with supporting your peers on campus? Contact our SFLA Team to start the Pregnant on Campus Initiative on your campus!
