University of North Alabama to host free community baby shower April 18

Expecting parents at the University of North Alabama’s community baby shower will get more than cake and decorations. The free Tiny Cubs Community Baby Shower and Sibling Class is set for Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Guillot University Center Banquet Halls at 131 Shelby Way in Florence, and UNA says the goal is to pair education with practical help for families getting ready for a baby.

That practical angle is the point. UNA says attendees will receive education and goodies to help them get started, and they will also have chances to win larger items such as car seats and pack ’n plays. Those are not luxury extras for a newborn household; they are the kinds of expensive basics that can strain a family budget before the baby even arrives.

The Tiny Cubs program comes out of the UNA Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions, where faculty created the project as a community-facing extension of nursing education. UNA’s nursing college says it has been a leader in nursing education since 1973, and Tiny Cubs has become one of the clearest examples of how that academic base is being turned outward into local family support.

The program’s earlier events show how wide that support has become. A UNA history page says the fall 2021 Tiny Cubs event gave expectant mothers basic prenatal and baby-care information from senior nursing students, clinical supervisors and faculty, while also handing out gift bags and offering drawings for car seats, pack-n-plays and breast pumps. A 2022 UNA press release said the third Tiny Cubs baby shower included a sibling boot camp, and a 2023 UNA feature said the Nov. 18 event that year marked the fifth Tiny Cubs Community Baby Shower at UNA. That same feature said Tiny Cubs had already been consulted twice to help create similar events in other states.

The effort has also expanded beyond a single day. In February 2025, UNA said Tiny Cubs grew into a boutique with Women of Influence to provide maternity clothing to UNA students who are expecting a baby. UNA’s Women of Influence page says Tiny Cubs serves low-income mothers, new expecting parents and soon-to-be siblings, which makes the April 18 event look less like a one-off giveaway and more like a campus-backed support system. UNA says local businesses can also take part by sponsoring the event or staffing booths, another sign that the program is built to connect families with both supplies and community help.