Community Rallies For Local Mother Of Twins

OCEAN CITY – The community has turned out from all directions to help a mom in need who delivered twins early, just in time for the holiday season.

A single mom with two children living in Salisbury recently gave birth prematurely to twins and the generosity she has received from the region is overwhelming. As of Monday, the babies were still in the hospital.

“It is just like a Christmas miracle,” Shirley Grace Pregnancy Center Executive Director Mari Quillen said. “It is really neat to see our community, such a strong community, pull together for a purpose of helping people in need.”

Quillen said that the mom, whose name cannot be released due to confidentiality, originally contacted Shirley Grace Pregnancy Center in Berlin in need of a play pen for the babies to sleep in.

“She was in need and really reluctant to tell us her needs,” she said.

A volunteer of Shirley Grace asked a family within a local church to sponsor the family for Christmas and the community’s generosity branched out from there.

A Facebook group, Lil Buddies, is a group of moms throughout the region. A simple post of the mom’s story on Lil Buddies Facebook created quite a reaction.

“There have been people coming in non-stop,” Quillen said. “The center has been a hub of where they are bringing the items, but literally it has been unbelievable of how people have responded all over the community, not just one particular person.”

Quillen said everyone from individuals and families to religious groups and businesses have been donating items the babies may need. She added that a local hardware store donated a girls bike for one of the mom’s other children.

One story in particular overwhelmed Quillen of the community’s generosity. She said that a Lil Buddies mom was at Wal-Mart checking out while telling the cashier of the mom’s story.

“The lady behind her, a complete stranger, said that I will pay for those items right now,” she said. “She paid like $100 worth of items for this family.”

Quillen said that the mom has been in further contact with the Shirley Grace Pregnancy Center and has set up counseling and has become part of the organization’s parenting program.

“I am blown away by our community,” Quillen said.

The Shirley Grace Pregnancy Center is a non-profit organization offering support for anyone facing a crisis or unintended pregnancy and provides services free of charge.