It all started 17 years ago, when it was time for LeAnn Morrissey to send her son off to kindergarten. The former lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mom says she was looking for a way to “be of help” to other moms. “I was looking for something that would matter,” LeAnn says.
At the time, LeAnn was sending care packages to her uncle, who was deployed overseas in the U.S. Army. “My uncle said he had four men under his command who had wives back in the U.S. who were expecting,” LeAnn says. “He suggested instead of sending him care packages, maybe I could send cards to acknowledge them. ‘Recognize those moms’ was his advice to me. That was my spark.”
So, LeAnn gathered friends and family to assemble a “shower in a box” for each of those expectant families. “And because it also gave the husbands, those serving overseas, peace of mind, it really felt like it made a difference,” LeAnn says.
Those four showers in a box quickly morphed into “Operation Shower,” a service that has since served more than 9,000 American families.
Soon individual box showers became group showers. The first one showered 17 moms at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty) in North Carolina. “I wanted to bring them together with other moms. A lot of people related to being away from their spouses and could understand that was really challenging,” LeAnn says.
Now, “Chief Shower Officer” LeAnn and the Operation Shower team and volunteers shower military moms and moms-to-be all over the United States while recognizing all that expectant military families do for their country.
“Military families need to be celebrated and appreciated. We understand that military families are often separated during milestone events in their lives–like having a baby. Operation Shower works to be there for these families and show them they are not alone,” she says.
And that’s no small task.
With individual donors, foundations, corporations, and loyal sponsors such as Pepsi and the St. Louis Blues, locally, all coordinated by Chief Product Officer Lindsey Fletcher, each family receives a full baby shower, with a diaper bag, sleep and feeding time items, toys, books and one or two large items, like a stroller, car seat or crib. Volunteers are pooled locally and in each state they serve (Operation Shower just reached Alaska) to help with organizing and carrying out the showers. Her team also coordinates knitters and crocheters who handmake blankets as part of shower gifts.
Amy Belle Isle works from Massachusetts coordinating companies and individuals, including graphic designers, bakers, decorators, florists and photographers, from coast to coast to personalize each shower.
Each shower requires at least 20 volunteers, as well as Operation Shower staff, who help with the showers, LeAnn says. “It’s a lot of work, times 30, for each shower.”
To help reach as many military moms as possible, Operation Shower also created the “B is for Baby” Box (BIBB) program to honor military moms it cannot reach with a group baby shower. And the “Welcome, Baby” Boxes-to-Bases program meets military moms where they are by sending sets of boxes to military bases across the country.
There’s even a private Facebook group wherein moms and volunteers stay connected after the showers, sharing experiences and photos of their babies as they grow.
“It’s all super lovely,” LeAnn says.
For information on volunteering, giving monthly, sponsoring a shower, or donating through their registry, visit OperationShower.org.
“I was looking for something that would matter." ~LeAnn Morrissey