Learning Histories

B.A.B.E. Mission Statement Infant Stages - Part 1 of 6 First Steps - Part 2 of 6 Growth Spurts - Part 3 of 6 Forming an Identity - Part 4 of 6 The "Real World" - Part 5 of 6 Growing Pains - Part 6 of 6 Click here to download all parts in one file (Rich-Text format 121KB) E-Mail Questions and Comments

First Steps

The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies committee soon joined efforts with another local hospital, St. Joseph of Mishawaka, and the Women's Care Center, a pregnancy testing center. The Women's Care Center already had a small clothes and supply closet to assist families who needed baby items, and by collaborating with the B.A.B.E. program, service duplication was avoided.

"No one wanted to be left out," described Julie Koza, amazed at the ease with which community partners appeared on the scene from the onset. The hospitals and other agencies involved let their employees donate time to setting up the B.A.B.E. program. The more community support increased, the more collaborators expressed their willingness and excitement to be involved. "Politics worked in our favor," Julie said, "Everyone wanted to make sure it was a community project."

The first B.A.B.E. store opened in Mishawaka in 1992, using space donated by the Women's Care Center. Volunteers had cataloged and tagged merchandise based on a "shopping list" of baby items that most families would need or want. Vendors had been recruited well in advance of the opening to give them time to distribute B.A.B.E. coupons to clients, but still, Julie said, "We had no idea how many people would come in." B.A.B.E. relies on coupon vendors to control the number of shoppers they see. A smooth operation is dependent on a reasonable number of people redeeming their coupons over time. "When we opened, we didn't know how many coupons were out there floating around."

Figuring out coupon numbers and distribution, shopper flow, stocking, and inventory, was a gradual process shaped by customer visits and requests that first year. In the very beginning, however, much of it was luck. Julie says they were clear with partners and the community from the beginning that glitches might arise that would have to be worked out together -- running out of baby items, having more coupons presented than they were able to redeem, or even little or no customer interest in the store. "But everything just fell into place," she said.