Boston Bruins Wives Host Annual Military Baby Shower for Expecting Moms

Fifty military mothers-to-be stationed in New England walked into what they expected to be a modest lunch and left with more than $50,000 worth of baby supplies, courtesy of the Boston Bruins and their partners at the March of Dimes.

The event, now in its fourth year under the Mission Healthy Baby name, brought together wives and girlfriends of Bruins players and coaches to host a surprise baby shower for expecting military families. Julie Cassidy, wife of Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy, described the design of the surprise: "I think they think that they're coming in, that they're going to receive a basket, have a little bit of a lunch, just have a nice day where they're actually pampered, but instead they'll walk out with things that they'll actually need."

The gifts included books, diapers, baby monitors and deluxe travel strollers from Boston-based UPPAbaby. Lauren Monahan, founder of UPPAbaby, spoke to the motivation behind the company's involvement. "Families in need and families who make special sacrifices, like the military families, we're just really happy to support however we can," Monahan said. Philips and the March of Dimes also contributed supplies, with March of Dimes providing pregnancy and newborn health information through its Mission: Healthy Baby program.

For at least one recipient, the event carried personal weight that went well beyond the gifts. "It means a lot to me," said Kathryn Spade, a military member and mom-to-be. "I'm not around any family and I don't have a lot of friends up where I'm at because we're stationed a little secure from everybody else, so this is nice to have a baby shower."

The shower's roots trace back to at least November 5, 2018, when Bruins wives and girlfriends staged a super-secret luncheon at the University of Massachusetts Club for 50 expecting mothers connected to military service. That in-person gathering featured Naomi Krejci, Steph Bergeron, Kelly Backes, Petra Halak, Melanie Krug and several other Bruins partners, alongside team mascot Blades. The event has since expanded its format, with one iteration announced as a virtual Zoom shower on November 17 at 11:00 a.m., during which UPPAbaby founder Lauren Monahan planned to surprise each family with a brand-new G-LUXE stroller and Bruins wives raffled off handmade gift baskets.

The program sits within a broader landscape of nonprofit support for military families. Operation Shower, a separate organization dedicated to celebrating military moms-to-be, has hosted more than 6,800 baby showers for military mothers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and National Guard since its founding in 2007. The Bruins' annual commitment reflects that same impulse: connecting a professional sports organization's reach to families navigating pregnancy far from home.