Another class of Baby University graduates receive their diplomas and lifelong connections

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - It’s a time for celebration as another group of parents graduate from Toledo’s Baby Univeristy.

Monday’s graduating group completed a 10-week class according to one of the Baby U founders, but the point of the program is to help give parents the tools and resources they need to achieve their goals and then the founders, teachers, and resources of Baby U stay in families’ lives until the children graduate college.

“Parents are the most influential people in their kid’s lives and it’s not an easy job,” said Baby U founder Kelly Kaiser.

The program continues to prove successful with an over 50 percent increase in family income and over 30 percent increase in family functioning after class completion.

Brittany Fonseca says she’s living proof of that success. “I was a single mom with one kid, I didn’t have my own place, I was living with somebody else, no car, I was bouncing back and forth from job to job.”

Now, she says her life’s completely changed since being with Baby U for close to a decade.

“I have my own home, I work, I have four kids, I have a husband. Things that I would have never imagined 10 years ago before I started this class,” said Fonseca.

This entire idea of baby college comes from Monday’s commencement speaker, Geoffrey Canada.

“He’s about 15 years ahead of us,” said Kaiser.

“Toledo has the makings of being able to successfully pull off this cradle-to-career work and help in generational poverty here in Toledo, Ohio,” Canada said.

He recently picked four cities to invest his full support in, Toledo is one of them.

“It means that my kids get a better chance at life. It means they are going to have the communication skills, they’re going to have that support system, and they’re going to know how important it is to do things like read and be able to communicate,” said Fonseca.

According to Kaiser, it costs about $1,000 for a family to go through Baby University, but a donor sponsors many families.

If you’re interested in learning more about the program, click here.

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