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Two area organizations recently partnered to help babies in need sleep safely.

Blankets of Hope-Berks and Adalyn Rose Foundation are collaborating to provide portable cribs to shelters and other agencies that assist families with infants.

Each sleep set includes a crib, bedding, infant sleep sack and safe-sleeping education material.

“We wanted to make sure that any family in Berks County that needed a safe place for their baby to sleep could get one,” said Chloe Ciferri, co-founder with her husband, Adam, of Adalyn Rose Foundation. “We never want to get those phone calls saying a baby died while sleeping.”

Formed in 2021, the foundation is named in memory of their daughter who died in 2017 in the second trimester of gestation. It provides support to parents grieving the death of an infant, stillbirth or loss of a pregnancy.

Financial assistance includes help with burial and cremation expenses.

“When people don’t have a crib, they often put the baby in bed with them and that can lead to accidents,” Ciferri said. “We wanted to add this preventive piece to our services.”

Teaming with Blankets of Hope was suggested by an Adalyn Rose board member, Ciferri said.

The nonprofit, founded in 2011 by Marc Goldstein, supplies fleece blankets, bedding and beds to area shelters and social service agencies.

It turned out to be a natural fit for both organizations. Although they have different missions, Ciferri said, they have some common goals.

“It really worked out beautifully,” she said. “It was the perfect recipe for a community partnership.”

Because neither is equipped for receiving or storing or one-to-one distribution of the folding cribs, they turned to other community partners, Goldstein said.

He called on Chris Fecera of Fecera’s Furniture, Lower Heidelberg Township. The furniture store was already receiving, storing and delivering the hundreds of beds Blankets of Hope donates to individuals in need through the Reading School District, Life House, Safe Berks, Family Promise, Olivet Boys & Girls Club and others.

Fecera agreed to accept delivery of the portable cribs.

Immanuel United Church of Christ, Shillington, stepped up to warehouse those not immediately distributed for use at shelters, including Opportunity House and Mary’s Shelter, or to agencies, such as the Nurse-Family Partnership of Berks, which is better able to oversee individual distribution.

The first 48 cribs were ordered in January with Adalyn Rose covering the cost of 36 and Blankets of Hope paying for the rest.

Going forward, Goldstein said, his organization will buy the cribs and bedding, while Adalyn Rose will supply the educational literature that goes with each set.

Each complete safe-sleep set, including the crib, costs $85, Goldstein said.

Donations can be made on the Blankets of Hope Facebook page.

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