Keeping Pace with Multiple Miracles was founded in 1996 by two young moms of triplets struggling to manage the demands of parenting and the isolation it creates. Fast-forward almost 25 years and we have grown into a non-profit organization that offers subsidized educational / social classes, support meetings, community events, and a free food/diaper pantry to thousands in need. More amazingly, even despite the hardships of the last year, we have continued to grow. We have evolved into the nucleus of a network of over 9,300 local families who work collaboratively to support one another.

Even with the limitations of 2020, the annual attendance for our community programming totaled over 70 families from 35+ towns throughout the state. These numbers are expected to skyrocket over the coming year bringing us back to, or exceeding, the 125+ families that attend annually pre-Covid. The building we leased did not have the space needed to meet the growing needs of our community - this was true even before government regulations were put in place.  So in February, KPMM signed a lease to take on an additional 1,500 sq feet. The space is being transformed into “The Nest”- a comfy and safe respite located in a closed section of our resale storefront (where donations generate our funding). In the evenings, the space will be used to host support meetings for new and experienced parents, and a fledgling group focused on dads of multiples - a vulnerable community in itself often overlooked. During the day, it will double as an area for educational and social classes.  We have numerous physical and mental health focused classes already being coordinated, including: nutrition, new parents “boot camp,” post partum yoga, kids’ yoga, dance, music together, story-time, “mommy and me,” and art.

The Nest will also be the new location of our Baby Café- KPMM being one of just 148 licensed locations in the U.S. Once a week, mothers can come to sit and talk to women experiencing similar struggles and receive free lactation support from an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). The Baby Café also has planned guest speakers including a developmental specialist from Early Intervention (discussing developmental norms, services that are available, infant massage, etc), a nutritionist (discussing nutrition for mother and child) and a chiropractor (discussing tongue ties and chiropractic adjustments). The services we provide free to these mothers would normally take weeks, a hefty co-payment, and a medical referral to receive. 40 mothers from 18 different towns visited our Baby Café since it became licensed last Oct (60%+ from low to moderate income families). And numbers are expected to grow exponentially with the larger gathering space.

The desire to become a certified Baby Café came straight from the feedback of the at-risk community we serve. Endless studies have shown that breastfeeding success is greatly impacted by accessibility to timely intervention and solutions. Moreover, support in general for post-partum mothers is vital for lifelong parental bonding and the mental health of the whole family. Having been established for over two decades, KPMM can more than attest to the validity of this statement. Currently 83.2% of U.S. mothers initiate breastfeeding but, contrary to CDC recommendations, only 24.9% exclusively breastfeed for the recommended 6 months and even less continue for 1 year. The statistics are astronomically smaller for mothers of twins and triplets who must balance the needs of multiple infants at once.

The Baby Café is also partnering with our Tiny Table program to provide additional baby food, supplemental formula, and diapering resources.  We have seen a steady 10-14% monthly increase over the past two years. In 2020, KPMM distributed $82,000 worth of goods to 76 communities on 1,551 occasions (100% of the recipients being low to moderate income). Only a third of the way into this year, we have already distributed over half that amount in goods to families from 70 local communities- $43,470 worth: 135 cases of diapers, 969 jars of baby food, and 1488 cans of formula. Additionally, we provided a complete holiday dinner to 25 families on Thanksgiving and 10 families at Christmas.

KPMM’s mission since its creation has been to support, empower, nourish, and educate our community. Moving forward, our goals are to strengthen our existing programming and spread awareness to its availability. The majority of KPMM funding originates from sales at its donation-based resale store, microgrants, and individual contributions from local families. However, this non-profit cannot continue to impact the thousands of families that it does each year without continuous help from companies that see the value in directly supporting the community.

One of KPMM's largest fundraising events is the annual Holiday Party. This year it will be held Dec. 12th at the Canoe Club Ballroom in Bridgewater, MA. Multiple local press channels (including the Enterprise Newspaper) are expected to attend, and articles/photos will be released through both physical and electronic mediums. Likewise, photos from this event will be posted on both public and private KPMM Facebook groups (boasting 10k+ members) and on the personal pages of all 70+ local families who have RSVP’d to the event.