By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, City Clerk Patricia C. Horvath and West Haven Child Development Center Executive Director Patrice Farquharson revealed West Haven’s new centennial diaper bags at City Hall on June 23.
The city clerk’s office started distributing the yellow-and-brown diaper bags the next day to the first 100 West Haven babies born on or after June 24, said Beth A. Sabo, the chairwoman of the City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee, who attended the unveiling along with Farquharson’s 22-year-old daughter, Julia.
Sabo said the distribution coincided with the centennial kickoff ceremony in Old Grove Park on June 24 — 100 years to the day of West Haven’s incorporation by the General Assembly as Connecticut’s youngest town.
The diaper bags were made possible by the Child Development Center and the West Haven Community House through a donation from the Eder family, said Sabo, the city’s commissioner of human resources.
The bags are emblazoned with the centennial’s dark blue “100” logo with “Celebrating Our Past” and “Inspiring Our Future” in dark blue lettering.
Each bag of donated supplies was assembled by Julia Farquharson and contains essential provisions for parents of newborns, including a centennial bib from the Community House, a children’s book from Read to Grow, a dental kit from the state Husky Health program and a first haircut gift card from Teddi and Archell, as well as a history of West Haven from the West Haven Historical Society.
Each bag also includes a Connecticut Early Learning and Development Standards Action Guide, an infant mental health development wheel, a United Way pen and an informational flyer on child care centers, along with diapers from The Diaper Bank of Connecticut.
For information on the diaper bags, call the city clerk’s office, located on the first floor of City Hall at 355 Main St., at 203-937-3535.