Project Moses baskets provide a safe sleeping environment for babies who otherwise don’t have access to a proper sleep surface. With sleep-related deaths increasing in the region, consider making a donation to the Coalition’s WeGive.org campaign for the project: Project Moses on WeGive.org.

Babies under the age of one should be placed alone, on their back, in a crib for optimal safety. Sleep-related deaths are a leading cause of infant mortality and often occur when a baby is on its stomach, sharing a sleep surface or suffocated by items in the crib or bed.

After declining for several years, these deaths are on the rise again. Twenty-six babies died in Northeast Florida in 2013 from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and suffocation and strangulation both in the bed and in other locations. Sudden Unexplained Infant Deaths (SUIDs), which include SIDS, accounted for 18.4 percent of infant deaths in 2013.

Project Moses baskets cost approximately $25 per basket. Funding will provide Project Moses baskets for 50 babies. Church and community-based volunteers will construct the bassinets, providing a service but also learning about safe sleep guidelines in the process. The completed cribs will be distributed to at-risk clients in the Healthy Start program and other social services agencies in Northeast Florida.