Doing something for others, without expecting anything in return is the true definition of kindness. In early 2020, One Indiana teen showed the world what kindness really means when he raised $10,000 for a baby drop-off box. These boxes have saved lives, and this one box, in particular, received its first newborn just 224 days after it was installed.
Nineteen-year-old Hunter Wart saved up for over a year to have Safe Haven Baby Box installed in his hometown of Seymour Indiana. He mowed lawns, scrapped metal, and did odd jobs here and there. The box was purchased for the local Seymour Fire Department in Indiana. Wart made this challenge his senior year project, and it looks like all his effort paid off.
Baby’s Life Saved, Thanks to Drop-Box
In January of last year, the box that Wart worked so hard for had received its first newborn baby. Less than a year after being installed, the Seymour Fire Department heard the baby drop-off box alarm.
Chief Brad Lucas was alerted of the newborn within one minute of her arrival. “We are ecstatic that the system was used,” Lucas told CNN. “It worked perfect, exactly how it was designed to work.”
“Today I was just sitting in my office, and just doing what I usually do Thursday afternoon. I get a call from the guys out here who say, ‘Hey, we’ve got a baby.’ And so out of the blue, you don’t expect it, but that’s when it happens. We knew it was gonna happen at some point.”
Chief Brad Lucas – ABC WHAS
According to Lucas, the baby was only about an hour old when she was placed in the drop-off box.
“This is why we put this in. So that a mother would have this choice,” Lucas told WHAS. “I’ve been on cloud nine ever since it happened, knowing we were able to help this baby and the mother, help the family to take custody of the baby, give it care and see that the right things did happen for that baby.”
Chief Brad Lucas – ABC WHAS
Wart requested that the baby girl be named Mia. Firefighters helped take care of Mia until emergency services arrived to take her to a hospital. Mia was then placed in the state’s social service care for children.
Mayor Matt Nicholson was informed of Mia, and the success of the drop-box.
“I shed a tear thinking about the fact that somebody did exactly what they needed to do and didn’t leave their baby in a worse situation,” said Nicholson. “It’s a lifetime of difference in my mind. This child has a chance to go out and grow up and be apart of the world with a caring family.”
Matt Nicholson – WHAS
Both Lucas and Nicholson said they hope the word will spread, so more people from around the area know the drop-off box is there as a resource.
Safe Haven Baby Box
According to the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Monica Kelsey, this program has helped save many lives.
“Twelve babies have been surrendered inside Safe Haven Baby Boxes since the first was installed in 2016. Two other babies have been surrendered at fire stations with Safe Haven Baby Boxes. Nationwide, 100 surrenders have resulted from calls to the Safe Haven Baby Boxes national hotline.”
Safe Haven Baby Boxes
“Many mothers-in-crisis want and need anonymity when surrendering an infant, due either to fear of recognition, the stigma associated with surrendering a child, or fear of prosecution due to ignorance and/or misunderstanding of the Safe Haven law.”
Safe Haven Baby Boxes
There are Safe Haven Boxes in several states across the country. To see a full list of locations, go to their website, or simply click here.
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Sources
- “A teen raised $10K to install a community baby box. Less than a year later, a newborn was found inside.” CNN. Alaa Elassar. January 27, 2020
- Safe Haven Baby Boxes
- “Indiana Teen Praised After His $10K Baby Drop-Off Box Receives Abandoned Newborn.” Health. Rachel DeSantis. January 29, 2020
