Photo: Contributed

The winners at the most recent 100 Women Who Care event in Penticton.

The OneSky Pregnancy Support Program was a big winner at the quarterly 100 Women Who Care charity event last month, receiving $3,100 for their services.  

Jill Taggart of OneSky was on hand to tell the women about the program and its many benefits.

"We offer services to women who are pregnant, so pre-natal programs, as well as programs for mothers," Taggart said. "These are women who have a range of challenges, they could be on their own, living below the poverty line, they could have other health challenges, but the main message is that they are really afraid and need some support as they go through their pregnancy."

The program offers pre-natal classes that teach the women how to take care of themselves, how to advocate for themselves, how to plan for their birth and what the baby will need afterward. 

"We take away some of their fear by taking them on a hospital tour before the birth so they can actually see where they're going to be and what they might experience," Taggart said. "And we also provide supplies for them closer to the birth like diapers and bottles and formulas and breast pumps and even things like car seats."

The help doesn't stop when the babies are born. OneSky helps connect the mothers and their infants to support groups with other new parents. 

"And these are for people who are perhaps isolated in the community, or a little bit depressed or a bit anxious," Taggart said.

The support program is free for the mothers and entirely funded by private donations, which is why the boost from 100 Women Who Care was welcome. 

"Winning was very important to us. We were very grateful to the 100 Women for that," Taggart said. "It really goes a long way."

The money will go towards supplies like car seats that are expensive, and more of the essential supplies for the new mothers.

 The Pregnancy Support Program is always looking for donations of baby clothes and accessories, as well as money. For more information, click here.