Prizes, Prizes, Prizes

We'll be publishing the list of prizes available for our International Babywearing Week raffle over the next few weeks!  Please forgive my terrible photography skills.  Here are the first ten:

1) A huge lot (12+ lbs.) of scrapbooking supplies including die cutters, stamps, ink, pads, markers, paper, and more, courtesy of Stampin' Up!

2) A ring sling made from an African Kikoy, courtesy of Tara Wambugu

3) A hand-dyed length of cotton fabric, suitable as a scarf, play silk, or even a doll wrap, courtesy of Cathy Dean

4) a hand-dyed length of linen fabric, 3.2 meters long, courtesy of Cathy Dean

5) A Package of three children's books from Barefoot Books: Zoe and her Zebra, Cleo's Counting Book, The Gigantic Turnip, courtesy of Jennifer Gates Grey (we'll be doing a Barefoot Books fundraiser later this year so don't miss out on a chance to see these great books in person!)

6) Dinner and a Movie Package #1 and #2 (we have two of these to give away): $10 gift card to Jason's Deli and 2 tickets to the Byrd Theater, courtesy of Jason's Deli and the Byrd Theater

7) Dinner and a Movie Package #3: $20 gift card to Sticks Kebab Shop and 2 tickets to the Byrd Theater, courtesy of Sticks Kebab Shop and the Byrd Theater

8) A Rockin' Baby Hero Ring Sling, orange (just like our lending library carrier!), courtesy of Rockin' Baby Ring Slings

9) Gift Certificate for a one month membership to Romp 'n' Roll, courtesy of Romp 'n' Roll

10) A set of 4 reusable holiday gift bags and 2 reusable BPA free snack bags, courtesy of Cathy Dean

Save the Date: International Babywearing Celebration and Membership Appreciation Picnic, October 11, 2014

International Babywearing Week is coming up soon!

We've got lots of fun events planned in our Facebook group but our big celebration will be a picnic and playdate event at Crump Park in Henrico County, on Saturday October 11, 2014 from 11am-1pm.

Come early, come late, come whenever your littles allow.  Big kids, spouses, and friends are welcome!  We have reserved picnic structure number 2 which is near the playground.  We will have some food courtesy of our fantastic sponsors but please feel free to bring a dish or snack to share (with ingredients clearly labeled since we have many food allergy families) or just your own picnic lunch to enjoy.

The highlight of our event will be the membership appreciation raffle!  We already have more than 30 great prizes donated by our members, friends of the group, and local businesses and there are more on the way.  Watch out for more information on the great prizes you can win over the next few weeks!

So, how do you get raffle tickets?  Lots of ways!

Members (all members, regardless of when you joined or renewed as long as your membership is current) get 30 tickets just for being members.

Everyone who comes to the party in person, adults, including spouses, also gets 5 tickets for coming to the party!  So members, if you attend the party in person you will get 35 tickets for free!

You can earn extra tickets by referring a friend who buys a membership (5 tickets), buying a gift membership (5 tickets, plus if your friend redeems it they get 30 tickets too!  Bring them to the party!), ordering a BWI of CVA t-shirt (5 tickets), or donating a carrier (or funds to purchase a carrier) to our carrier drive benefitting the Mama Bear Shop (5 tickets).

You can also obtain extra raffle tickets by making a donation to BWI of Central Virginia (1 ticket per $1 donation, or 30 tickets per carrier donated to the lending library).

You don't need to be present to win (although prizes do need to be picked up at a meeting or from a leader) but we hope you will join us!

We look forward to celebrating International Babywearing Week with our friends and family.  Thank you to all of our members and participants for all of your support over the past year!

What to Expect at a Babywearing of Central Virginia Meeting

We're so glad to hear that you are interested in attending a BWI of Central VA meeting.  We love to have new attendees.  Here is a little bit about what you can expect at our meetings:

All of our meetings are FREE and open to the public.  Parents and caregivers of all types are welcome (including fathers, grandparents, doulas, babysitters/nannies, siblings, and parents-to-be) and children of all ages are welcome too.  There are usually plenty of toddlers and preschoolers around to play with. You are free to come late or leave early if your little one or schedule requires it.

When you arrive you will be greeted by a volunteer and asked to sign our liability waiver and attendance form on a tablet or phone.  Typically we have a few minutes for socializing, setting up, and then we will all introduce ourselves and go over any announcements.  A Volunteer Babywearing Educator (VBE) will then ask the attendees to introduce yourselves, your child(ren)/child you will be wearing (or when you are due), and what you are there to learn today or if you're just there to socialize.  Please bring any carriers that you have questions about to the meeting so that we can help you troubleshoot.  If we have a large group or lots of brand new babywearers we usually do a short babywearing 101 presentation, otherwise we can provide the same information one-on-one with any new wearers.

After introductions, we break into small groups of people with similar questions or you may receive one-on-one assistance from a VBE.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask one of us for help!  We are often at meetings with kids in tow and getting pulled in many different directions but we want to make sure that everyone has their questions answered so please speak up!

While at the meeting you will be able to examine and try on a variety of different carriers.  Our lending library has more than 175 baby carriers of all different styles and varieties and normally we have several dozen at any given meeting.  We have a wide variety of carriers including soft structured carriers, ring slings, mei tais, woven wraps, and stretchy wraps including options appropriate for newborns, babies, and toddlers.  Anyone can try on carriers at a meeting with VBE assistance for free!

At busy meetings VBEs wear bright orange headbands and our Meeting Support Volunteers, who can answer questions about membership and library checkouts, wear white headbands.

We try to make meetings a comfortable environment for all parents.  Feeding babies (breast or bottle) is welcomed and encouraged.  We try to have changing facilities available whenever possible, but please plan on bringing dirty diapers home with you.  Please be aware that our food policy states that no food is allowed in the meeting areas. A spill-proof container for water is okay. We ask that all snacks are consumed outside the meeting areas.

Please use your best judgement in assessing the health of you and your family members. The community we service is full of young children and pregnant women, and our aim is to protect them from illnesses. BWI of Central VA reserves the right to ask those who are visibly ill to leave a meeting at any time for the protection of other attendees.

If you join BWI of CVA (membership is $30/year) you may borrow one carrier per month from our library to use at home.  We have membership information available at every meeting and can take cash, credit/debit cards, or checks!  Membership is a great way to support our volunteer efforts in the community.

We look forward to seeing you at a meeting soon!


Revised 3/1/16