News

May 25, 2018

In order to ensure Baby 1st Network's longevity, several months ago the board entered into a partnership with the Global Infant Safe Sleep Center, a national organization founded over a year ago by our own Dr. Stacy Scott. The partnership combines the 40 years of SIDS education and bereavement services of Baby 1st Network with GISS Center's grassroots safe sleep education activities in African American communities across the country.

Our office will be relocating to Toledo effective July 1, 2018. Our new mailing address will be PO Box 403, Toledo, OH 43697-0403. Our phone numbers will continue as 330-929-9911 (office) and 330-929-0593 (fax).

With our family situations, the Cuyahoga Falls staff is unable to relocate. Dr. Scott will take over as Executive Director and Marvin March will be the office manager. Baby 1st Network will continue and I am excited about the future for the organization and our mission to help families and save our babies. 

As we close our Cuyahoga Falls office, memories from my first day over 20 years ago come flooding in. Back then, we were called the Sudden Infant Death Network of Ohio and we have been evolving ever since. I leave knowing Baby 1st Network is in a good place with Stacy as Executive Director. She has been committed to our organization for almost 18 years as we worked to reduce SIDS and sleep related infant death and she has been on the forefront nationally for her work in infant mortality and racial disparities.

Before saying goodbye, I want to say Thank You. My life has been enriched because of the relationships I have had with all of you. To my colleagues, whether we know each other through committees we sit on together, our work through the Sudden Infant Death Program, our mini-grant programs or our work to reduce infant mortality, I have grown both professionally and personally because of you. I know that our hard work in spreading the infant safe sleep message to every neighborhood and community in Ohio will prove effective in ending sleep related infant death. The work we do to save our babies is not always easy, but I am stronger because of the determination, drive and passion we all share in our efforts to put an end to these tragic deaths.

My heart goes out to the families who never wanted to know me or Baby 1st Network but did because of the sudden loss of their child. You are the reason I came to work every day, in the hopes that one day, our services wouldn't be needed anymore because SIDS and sleep related infant death were eradicated. I am hopeful that our bereavement services helped you find hope as you navigated through your unthinkable grief.

I thank the families who have held fundraising events to support our programs. It has been a pleasure working with you all as you turned your grief into a positive by holding golf outings, raffles and runs to share your story in the hope that your contributions to our education and bereavement programs would help other families. I have watched your families grow and gotten to know many of your friends, some for almost 20 years. I wish you all the best and appreciate everything you have done for Baby 1st.

I am excited for the future of Baby 1st Network and I feel blessed for having the opportunity to have worked with all of you.

Cheers!

Leslie A. Redd, Executive Director