Nonprofit brightens day for mothers-to-be at Scott AFB Published Oct. 16, 2013 By Airman Megan Friedl 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Forty women from Scott Air Force Base were treated to a baby shower Oct. 8, where they received more than $500 worth of gifts thanks to a nonprofit organization whose mission is "to honor and show love" to military families. This was the 40th baby shower hosted by the group, Operation Shower, which worked with the Airman and Family Readiness Center's Mark Blice-Baum to identify spouses of deployed members, wounded warriors, or other special circumstances. LeAnn Morrissey, the founder of Operation Shower, said their mission is to provide baby showers for military families to help ease the stress of deployment, and for Heather Knight, they've done just that. Knight's husband recently deployed and won't be back until a few months after the birth of their baby. "It's very hard without our husbands, but it's really a comfort to know someone is thinking about us," she said. The shower was baseball themed and included games and crafts. In addition to receiving a box full of baby clothes and milk formula, every mother received jewelry, bouncer seats, and a stroller. A photographer also took pictures of each new mom with her baby and each mom-to-be. Airman 1st Class Nicole Smurro, a single mother-to-be, said, "I wouldn't be able to buy things like this, because I don't have the money for it. It's nice to be able to have help like this for the baby." In addition to the gifts, there was a note of encouragement signed by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden. Part of the note read, "We hope you take pride in the spirit of service they will learn from you and your husband. The courage you display every day will inspire your children to pursue their dreams." Morrissey said she puts together these showers as a way to say thank you and because she feels the moms deserved to be recognized. She said it all started in 2007 when she was asked to just send some cards to women who were expecting babies while their husbands were deployed, and she decided she wanted to do much more than that. Her first base-wide shower was held at Fort Bragg, N.C., and they've been going strong ever since. She created the nonprofit and they've been able to provide showers for more than 1,600 women and families. "We know that moms connected to the military hold it all together on the homefront, and I think they deserve a party!" she said. Col. Kyle Kremer, 375th Air Mobility Wing commander, and his wife, Deb, attended the event to show their support to Scott families as well. While Deb got to share in baby-holding duties, the commander expressed his thanks to the organization and all the volunteers who made this possible for the Scott AFB family. "This has been a terrific event for our moms, and you can see how much they appreciate it by the smiles on their faces," he said. "I applaud these moms for their positive attitudes and hard work. They understand the sacrifices required of them as they or their military spouse spends time away in service to our nation. We're so fortunate to have caring, wonderful people like LeAnn and her team who helped to brighten the day and lighten the load for our new moms and moms-to-be."