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A spirit that is not afraid

Baby Steps to host charity auction to raise money for student mothers

<p>Michelle Schultz founded Baby Steps, which will be&nbsp;a home for pregnant college women. (Contributed by Michelle Schultz)</p>

Michelle Schultz founded Baby Steps, which will be a home for pregnant college women. (Contributed by Michelle Schultz)

With the success of an auction a year ago, Baby Steps is set to host the charity auction Thrive for the Auburn community to aid in its mission to be a resource for student mothers.

Baby Steps opened up its house about a year and a half ago, and since then, it has been working to empower women who become pregnant in college and show them that they don’t have to sacrifice their education or their child. Sarah Hirschfeldt, the live-in support for Baby Steps, said the organization sets out to empower women, and the auction will help in doing so.

This year, the auction will be held on Friday, April 5 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Southerly Warehouse. The attire is causal cocktail, and there will be heavy hors d’oeuvres, desserts, beer and wine served. Tickets are $50 for a single or $90 for a pair and can be purchased on its website or by check made out to Baby Steps and sent through mail. 

There are a variety of items that will be available to bid on, including handcrafted jewelry, an Auburn workout variety package, art pieces, vocal lessons, wedding packages and even a puppy. 

“Simply put, we cannot fulfill a need if those in need don’t know we exist,” Hirschfeldt said. “We have to become a common name that comes to mind for anyone who is or is associated with someone who becomes pregnant in college."

Hirschfeldt said the proceeds from the auction will go toward funding new resources for student mothers, such as books, partial-tuition assistance and counseling services. They are also hoping to use some of the money to help promote the name of their organization. 

“Baby Steps desires so badly to alleviate some of the weight of the trials that inevitably come from being student moms so that they can thrive, not just survive,” Hirschfeldt said. 

Hirschfeldt said the idea for the auction came about last year when Michelle Schultz, the founder of Baby Steps, decided that an auction would be a good way to raise money because not a lot of organizations went that route. 

“We knew we needed to start having an annual fundraising event, so Michelle thought that whatever we did, it was important to have something different — something that people would find intriguing and fun,” Hirschfeldt said. “We decided to do an auction again this year because last year’s was such a big success.“


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