Supporters Like You
Allyson Felix
“Being a first-time mom can be terrifying. I’ve been there too.” Allyson Felix, Olympic and World Champion, reflects on her experience as a new mom and helps ensure that no frightened young woman is facing her first pregnancy alone.
Read more of her story
You might wonder what could scare an Olympic champion. Training your mind and body to compete for the Olympics can be tough and intimidating, even for the most experienced athlete — but so can preparing for motherhood. Allyson Felix, Olympic and World Champion, reflected on what her experience was like preparing to welcome her baby girl, Cammy, to the world.
“Being a first-time mom can be terrifying. I’ve been there too. After a scary birth experience — dealing with preeclampsia, delivering my daughter Camryn 2 months early and a stay in the NICU — becoming a mom was an intimidating experience. And now in the face of a global pandemic that fear and uncertainty that many moms face is heightened to unfathomable levels. Nurse-Family Partnership is doing their part to help first-time moms out by providing nurses who can offer support during such an unnerving time. I’m so thankful for the work that they do!”
Somewhere in America, a young woman is facing her first pregnancy alone — she may even live in your hometown. Now imagine her anxiety at the thought of giving birth and caring for a newborn during the COVID-19 crisis. As a leader in public health for more than 40 years, Nurse-Family Partnership has successfully helped families and communities. Our nurses are uniquely positioned to navigate the immense uncertainty and anxiety brought on by a public health crisis, like the current pandemic. We are so grateful to Allyson and to every single member of our donor community in this time of uncertainty and great need — because you’re stepping up to meet these turbulent times with immense compassion and generosity. Truly, we are all in this together. Thank you!
Dorothy Hughes
Many years ago, Dorothy was looking to establish annual giving to organizations that acted only on issues she cared about. Her sister’s passion for helping new moms led her to become a supporter of Nurse-Family Partnership. She believes strongly that every mom, every family, deserves this kind of support.
Read more of her story
I began giving to NFP many years ago after reading a Nicholas Kristof article highlighting NFP’s work, at a time when I was looking to establish annual giving to organizations that acted on issues I cared about. I credit my older sister with first making me aware of maternal and infant health issues. She is a family primary care doctor in a rural area of Michigan and her passion is infectious. I learned from her the society-wide impact of maternal and infant health issues, the inequalities in healthcare particularly for women of color, and how our healthcare system often overwhelms providers and is simply not built to provide the full scope of services moms need to thrive.
When I got pregnant myself, despite being in a privileged financial position, white and highly educated, I frequently felt overwhelmed. My sister listened to all my questions and worries and gave me sound, evidence-based medical advice. She also gave me the mama wisdom that comes from experience and love. My sister gave to me what NFP nurses give to the moms they serve. NFP takes this foundational model of two women — my sister and me, experienced and inexperienced, medical professional and newly pregnant mom — and scales it. An NFP nurse relies on modern medicine, but the role they play — a trusted advisor, a wise confidant, a person sharing knowledge and experience — this role is ancient.
Women were never meant to navigate this alone. The impact of NFP is so far-reaching. It’s racial justice, social justice, economic justice. It impacts public health, poverty, housing, education. I believe strongly that every mom, every family, deserves this kind of support.
Ritter Family Foundation
When asked why the Ritter Family Foundation supports
Child First, Kate Ritter has a long list: wraparound
services for children and families, collaborative work in
local communities, the two-generation approach,
foundation in brain science, passion for evidence and
data, and more.
Read more of their story
Katie Ritter shared, “Everything that Child First is and represents hits all of the key elements of things that make us most excited.”
ABOUT THE RITTER FAMILY FOUNDATION
Founded in 1996, the Ritter Family Foundation has long been a key investor in programs supporting children and young families, particularly in their local community of Norwalk, CT. When Kate came on as executive director in 2018, the foundation began a more strategic and systematic approach to grant-making. She prioritizes relationship building to let the foundation “lead with trust” with grantees. “Yes, we have a mission and, yes, we have passions, but we really understand that as philanthropists we don’t have the answers. The people who are doing the work and are on the ground do, so it’s our job to be responsive to them.”
BUILDING STRONG PARTNERSHIPS
For Child First, that has meant a robust relationship with Kate and the foundation’s Board, and steady investments as the model expands into new states. Child First’s merger with Nurse-Family Partnership in 2020 was an exciting new phase of this partnership. Kate explains, “There are all these really best kept secrets everywhere. Through our partnership with Child First, we knew how transformational it is, but the merger really puts Child First on a much bigger stage for others to learn about it, to invest in it, and to partner with it.”
The National Service Office is grateful to partner with the Ritter Family Foundation to foster strong, nurturing caregiver-child relationships to families seeking empowerment. Their support helps Child First grow strengthens our network in Connecticut and beyond.
“Women were never meant to navigate this alone. The impact of NFP is so far-reaching. It’s racial justice, social justice, economic justice. It impacts public health, poverty, housing, education. I believe strongly that every mom, every family, deserves this kind of support.”
-Dorothy Hughes, Monthly NFP Donor
Join A Giving Society
Together we can do so much.
Join a community of people who share your passion for supporting new moms and their babies by becoming a member of one of our giving societies.