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Hi, Village! 💛Welcome to the Grow Our Village newsletter Sept 2026- we have a LOT to share with you!
If you’re new here, I’m Audrey — founder of Grow Our Village, mental health therapist, Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional, and, most importantly to this story, a mom.
Grow Our Village began from a very personal place.
After the birth of my own little one, I experienced perinatal mood and anxiety challenges firsthand. That experience eventually led me to pursue additional training and certification in perinatal mental health, but it also opened my eyes to something much bigger.
When I was about a year postpartum, I found myself thinking again and again:
Why don’t some of these resources already exist?
Why isn’t there one place where a new parent can learn from trusted local professionals, connect with other parents, try out baby essentials before spending hundreds of dollars on them, get mental health and wellness support, and simply feel a little less alone during one of the biggest transitions of their lives?
And what about support for the whole family — not just moms, but non-birthing partners and every caregiver trying to figure out this new season together?
That question became the seed for Grow Our Village.
Our mission is to nurture and empower new parents by providing affordable access to essential baby products, inclusive learning opportunities, mental health and wellness services, and a supportive community — helping every family thrive, regardless of background or income.
And goodness, has this little seed started to GROW. 🌱
Parents Day: Look What Our Village Created!
This summer, we hosted our first Parents Day Celebration, and I’m still overwhelmed by the way our community showed up.
More than 40 businesses, organizations, professionals, and individuals helped us create a day centered entirely around supporting and celebrating parents.
We shared resources. We connected families with local providers. Parents watched Holding Mother, participated in meaningful conversations, took home goodies and resources, and — perhaps most importantly — had an opportunity to be surrounded by other people navigating this wild transition called parenthood.
Parents Day confirmed something we already suspected:
Our community wants spaces like this.
So yes — Parents Day will be back next year! 🎉 It will always be the fourth Sunday in July so save the date for July 25th 2027!!
Check the bottom of the newsletter for some of my favorite pictures from the day. If you attended and did not get your link to view all the pictures, reach out and we will get those to you :)
Coming Up September 21 🌱
Helping Your Little One Thrive
Join us for our next no-cost community workshop:
Helping Your Little One Thrive📅 September 21🕟 4:30 PM
We’ll be joined by Emily Tester and Kendall Hampton, who will share practical information and support to help caregivers better understand and nurture their little one’s development. As always, our goal isn’t to overwhelm parents with more things they “should” be doing.
It’s to give you accessible information, trusted local professionals, practical tools, and a space to ask questions.
RSVP
Visit growourvillage.com/events to reserve your spot. Honestly, even if you are not 100% sure you can attend, please RSVP anyway. That way you can get reminders sent to you and you can have all the details added to your calendar. You have enough to carry - don't let info for our event be one more think to take up precious mental space.
Help Us Fill the Room!
One of the biggest barriers we continue to run into isn’t a lack of resources — it’s making sure families know those resources exist.
You can make a huge difference without spending a dime.
Share our event post on Instagram or Facebook, send the flyer to a friend who is pregnant or parenting a little one, forward this newsletter, or share the event with your workplace, church, parent group, pediatric office, daycare, or community organization.
Every share helps another family find their village. 💛
Something BIG Is Growing 👀
Our Vision for a Multidisciplinary Perinatal Collaborative
One of the lessons I have learned repeatedly through this work is that new parents rarely need support in just one area.
A parent might need therapy — but they may also need lactation support.
They may need pelvic health treatment, a postpartum check-in, help with feeding, doula support, massage therapy, developmental guidance, or simply someone to help with their baby long enough for them to actually receive the care they need. And right now, accessing all of those services often means finding different providers, in different parts of town, scheduling multiple appointments, and figuring out childcare every single time.
We want to change that.
We have officially begun searching for a space to create a multidisciplinary practice under one roof focused on pregnancy, postpartum, infants, parents, and families.
Our vision includes independent providers from multiple specialties working alongside one another in an affordable, collaborative space — with on-site assistance with baby to reduce one of the biggest barriers caregivers face when trying to access their own care.
We’re already incredibly excited to have interest and collaboration from:
🩺 A nurse practitioner🤱 A lactation consultant💛 A doula team
…and we have room for many more.
We are especially interested in connecting with professionals whose work supports pregnancy, postpartum recovery, infant development, parenting, and family wellness.
If you are a provider or community partner who might be interested in joining the collective, collaborating with us, or simply learning more, please complete our Collective Interest Questionnaire here:
This is still growing and evolving, and we are being very intentional about building something that is accessible, collaborative, sustainable, and truly responsive to what North Alabama families need.
Give a Gift That Helps Grow the Village 🎁
Need a baby shower gift that goes beyond another adorable onesie?
We offer curated gift boxes designed specifically to support the new parents AND their new baby.
Fourth Trimester Survival Kit
A thoughtful collection focused on helping a parent survive — and hopefully enjoy a little more — of those exhausting early postpartum weeks.
Newborn Essentials Sampler Kit
A practical collection of newborn essentials that gives families an opportunity to try useful products without purchasing full-size versions of everything first.
These make wonderful baby shower gifts, gifts for coworkers, friends, new parents, or even a thoughtful “we’re thinking about you” delivery after baby arrives.
& Take Care Down There® Postpartum Recovery Kit by Earth Mama
But there’s another reason we love them:
Your purchase directly supports Grow Our Village programming.
Proceeds help us continue offering accessible workshops, support groups, community events, lending resources, and other programming for new and expecting families throughout North Alabama.
So when you purchase a gift box, you aren’t only supporting one family.
You’re helping us support the entire Village. 🌱
[SHOP GIFT BOXES → https://www.growourvillage.com/category/purchaseswithapurpose]
How You Can Help Us Grow
Grow Our Village is still young, and community support is what has allowed us to grow as quickly as we have.
This month, you can help by:
• Sharing our September 21 event with a new or expecting parent
• Following and sharing @GrowOurVillage on social media
• Forwarding this newsletter to someone who should know we exist
• Purchasing a gift box for an upcoming baby shower or new arrival
• Connecting us with perinatal professionals who may be interested in the multidisciplinary collective
• And, most importantly, telling families about the resources available to them
Sometimes growing a village is as simple as saying:
“Hey, I know somewhere that might be able to help.”
Thank you for helping us become that somewhere.
With so much gratitude,
Audrey
Founder, Grow Our Village
Mental Health Therapist & Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional
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