A baby shower is a special experience in the life of a mom-to-be. Friends, family, and the spouse gather together to celebrate the pregnancy journey and kick off the adventure of motherhood. But for many in the military community, deployments are the dark clouds that hover over expecting moms. Many of these expecting moms feel alone, separated by war and mission, and with little support during an otherwise joyous time.
This is where one special organization has found a welcome niche. Operation Shower is on a mission to spread joy to military moms-to-be. Founded specifically to honor the mothers that hold it together on the home front, Operation Shower provides a “baby shower in box” to celebrate motherhood while building and nurturing a support network.
The genesis of Operation Shower occurred in March 2007, when LeAnn Morrissey was looking for a way to give back to her uncle serving overseas. Her uncle asked wondered if she would send something to spouses of soldiers serving in his command: their wives were pregnant back home and he knew that something from LeAnn would be an appreciated gift.
Together with family and friends, she sent a “shower in a box” to the four military families who were expecting babies. The overwhelming support she welcomed putting these boxes together and the messages of thanks she received from the expecting mothers left her with little doubt that this was something worth doing – over and over again!
LeAnn soon worked to hold the first unit-wide baby shower at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina in June 2007.
Operation Shower was born.
