Our Initiatives

A baby’s first birthday is a joyful milestone every child deserves - a single lit candle, a frosting-covered smile, and a future full of possibility. CelebrateOne works to make that moment possible for every family in Columbus. We walk beside families, strengthen the systems that serve them, and unite partners across the city to help every baby reach their first birthday.

Explore below to see how each initiative moves our mission forward.

Systems Change: Reshaping Systems to Help Every Baby Thrive

CelebrateOne Director, Danielle Tong, holds a computer in front of a group of people. "Data Committee Meeting" is on the tv screen behind her head

Reducing infant mortality requires more than individual programs – it demands collective action and lasting systems change.

We bring together healthcare providers, community organizations, public agencies, and families to align efforts, share data, and focus on solutions that improve outcomes for babies and birthing people.

Through a collective impact approach, partners work toward shared goals, coordinate strategies, and address the root causes of infant mortality, including access to care, housing stability, structural racism, and economic opportunity.

By strengthening systems – not just services – we create conditions where every baby has the chance to thrive.

Circular diagram illustrating the principles of collective impact, with segments labeled people support, continuous communication, mutually reinforcing activities, shared measurement, common agenda, and backbone support, centered around the concept of collective impact.
A woman with long braids wearing a colorful dress and black blazer speaks into a microphone on a stage at a formal event, with an audience seated in front of her.

How We Drive Systems Change

We focus on improving the systems that shape early life by:

  • Aligning partners around a shared vision and measurable goals

  • Using data to guide decisions and track progress

  • Removing barriers to timely, equitable care

  • Centering the voices and experiences of families most impacted

  • Advocating for policies and practices that support healthy pregnancies and safe infant care

This coordinated approach helps ensure efforts are sustainable, equitable, and impactful.

Connectors: Trusted Support for Every Step of Pregnancy and Early Parenthood

Three women sitting at a table inside a room with large windows, smiling at the camera. One woman is on the left with a gray shirt and colorful pants, the second woman is in the middle with a black shirt and a cap, and the third woman is standing behind them wearing a light blue hoodie.

CelebrateOne Connectors are trusted community health workers rooted in the neighborhoods they serve. They walk alongside families from pregnancy through a baby's first year, meeting families where they are - at home, in the community, or wherever support is needed.

Connectors provide culturally responsive, affirming, and practical support rooted in lived experience. They help families navigate complex systems, troubleshoot barriers, and access essential services and supports that make early parenthood safer, healthier, and less overwhelming.

Their hands-on work includes linking families to prenatal and postpartum care, community resources, housing, mental health resources, and more. They distribute essentials like pack-and-plays, car seats, diapers, wipes, and connect families to hundreds of partner organizations across Columbus. In every interaction, Connectors ensure families are supported, empowered, and never have to navigate early parenthood alone.

Get referred to a Connector
Man smiling and giving a thumbs up in a room with a table covered with health-related flyers and supplies. Shelves with trophies and framed awards are on the wall behind him.
Two women smiling at an outdoor health awareness event. One woman is pregnant, wearing a pink and white outfit, holding a flyer about a health program. The other woman is wearing sunglasses and a cap with colorful writing, and a black T-shirt. They are standing under a blue canopy, with a table displaying pamphlets and brochures, and a baseball field in the background.

Perinatal Support Services: Strengthening Care Before, During, and After Birth

Three photos of a woman in a hospital setting. The first shows her lying on a bed, assisted by two caregivers. The second shows her sitting in a hospital bed with her family around her, smiling, surrounded by hospital equipment. The third is a close-up of her wearing a surgical mask, holding a newborn baby wrapped in a blanket, both looking at the camera.

CelebrateOne’s Perinatal Support Services ensure families receive compassionate, culturally responsive support throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.

Our work increases access to high-quality care, uplifts the perinatal workforce, and strengthens the systems that surround families during one of the most vulnerable times of life.

Together, these initiatives create a stronger, more connected perinatal care network for families across Columbus.

Pregnant woman sitting on a gray sofa, holding her belly, while talking to another woman who is showing her a calendar and pointing to a date marked with a pink heart, in a bright living room with a large window and a green plant.

Through our Doula Gap initiative, CelebrateOne connects families with free, trained, and certified doulas who provide emotional, physical, and informational support during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. These services are offered to birthing people at increased risk of poor outcomes — including women of color, immigrant families, low-income families, those living in CelebrateOne’s priority neighborhoods, and parents who have experienced chronic disease or prior loss.

Each family receives at least three prenatal and postpartum visits, along with continuous labor support. By closing the doula access gap, we help improve birth experiences, strengthen maternal well-being, and reduce disparities in infant and maternal mortality.

The Doula Workforce Development Advisory Group is a collaborative network convened by CelebrateOne to uplift and sustain the doulas who serve our community.

This group centers doula voices, nurtures professional growth, builds peer connection, and helps shape the future of perinatal support across Franklin County.

A woman holding a baby and waving hello to a delivery person at the front door of a house.

The Franklin County Home Visiting Collective is a countywide network of home visiting agencies working together to strengthen and align the support offered to families from pregnancy through early childhood.

As the backbone agency, CelebrateOne brings these partners together to identify shared challenges, drive actionable recommendations, and advance the system-level changes needed to support a strong, stable home visiting workforce.

For more information about this pillar of work, contact Kadijah Torian.

Reproductive Well-Being: Education, Access & Empowerment

Picture of two hands holding a positive pregnancy test

In the Know is CelebrateOne’s pregnancy test initiative, launched in 2023 through a partnership with the Columbus Metropolitan Library to expand early, barrier-free access to reproductive health resources. Free pregnancy tests are available at every library branch - no questions asked and no personal information required.

Libraries are trusted pillars in our neighborhoods, and placing tests in these community spaces reduces barriers that often delay care, especially for women of color, low-income families, and those facing stigma.

In the Know ensures people can get answers quickly, privately, and with dignity, empowering them to make informed decisions and connect to care sooner. Since its start, the program has provided more than 8,500 tests across Columbus.

Students in a classroom with one student raising his hand, facing a teacher at the front of the room, with others sitting at desks.

CelebrateOne’s Teen Reproductive Health Program equips middle and high school students with the knowledge, confidence, and support they need to make informed decisions about their bodies and futures.

In partnership with Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, this initiative brings honest, age-appropriate reproductive health education directly into schools and community spaces.

Through a powerful Peer Education model, trained teen leaders guide their peers in conversations about sexual health, consent, healthy relationships, and mental well-being — helping to break down stigma and build connection.

By reaching youth early, this program plays a crucial role in reducing the risks associated with teen pregnancy, addressing infant mortality, and creating healthier pathways for the next generation of parents.

Infant Vitality: Creating Safer Beginnings for Every Baby in Columbus

CelebrateOne employee in front of a TV screen that says "Infant Safety." She is speaking to a crowd.

CelebrateOne’s infant vitality work gives families the immediate, practical tools and support they need to keep their babies safe in the earliest months of life. We know that every parent wants to bring their baby home safely, and CelebrateOne helps make that possible.

We provide safe sleep resources, including pack-and-plays, through our partnership with Cribs for Kids and Columbus Public Health. We also work alongside birthing hospitals to ensure families who need a safe way to bring their newborn home are connected with an emergency car seat.

CelebrateOne employee leans into back car door looking down on a baby in a car seat.
A woman in a red shirt holds a CPR Dummy Baby with her hand on the dummy's chest.
Woman with hair in a bun looks off while holding her small child. They are sitting at a table listening.

During the winter months, our partnership with the Ohio Better Birth Outcomes Collaborative and the Central Ohio Hospital Council provides sleep sacks to birthing hospitals across Central Ohio, giving newborns a warm, safe alternative to blankets. More than 40,000 sleep sacks have been shared with families through this partnership.

Our infant vitality work also includes practical, accessible education for families and community organizations through CelebrateOne’s infant safety workshops.

These sessions cover safe sleep, car seat basics, drowning prevention, smoking cessation, home babyproofing, and other essential safety topics. Families leave with a babyproofing kit and the confidence to keep their babies safe from day one.

For more information, contact Tiffany Groce at or check out our upcoming Infant Vitality Trainings.