WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) – Every year infants are illegally abandoned in the U.S and in 2021 alone, at least 31 babies were placed and left in dangerous locations.
22 of these infants were found deceased.
In order to combat this statistic in our area, Ciarra Beaver, owner of Meraki – A Hair Salon, is working to bring two Safe Haven Baby Boxes to Downtown Wheeling.
One will be at the new fire department headquarters located at 168 17th Market Street, and the other will be at the Wheeling Island station at 11 North Wabash Street.
They are hoping to fundraise $20,000 to get these boxes up and running, which would prevent illegal abandonment of newborns 30 days old and under, while also helping mothers in need.
”My mom is adopted and then they actually adopted four kids as well several years ago. And so I always wanted to give back and I found this online. I was just searching of, I don’t want to say easy ways, but I’m a mom, I’m busy, I own a business. And so something that I could give back to the community while also still living my life. So, I found Safe Haven Baby Box and they have worked phenomenally with me. It warms my heart and I want to give back in any way possible. So, if I can help another family adopt a child in the long run, or I can just save one baby, I think that that would be the most phenomenal thing out of all of this.”
Ciarra Beaver – Owner, Meraki – A Hair Salon
WVU has also agreed to donate $16,000 to this cause to pay for half of each of the two baby boxes.
If you’d like to help them reach this $20,000 goal, flyers with a QR code available to scan will be placed around the community.
We also have the direct link to donate HERE: Safe Haven Baby Box For Wheeling, West Virginia (qgiv.com)
