Our Mission / History
Mission Statement
Safe Haven Baby Boxes mission is to prevent illegal abandonment of newborns by raising awareness, offering a 24-hour hotline for mothers in crisis and offering a last resort option for women.
Brief History
Founder, Monica Kelsey, started Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Inc. after learning she was abandoned as an infant and after seeing a "baby box" in operation at a church, in Cape Town, South Africa. She has made it her personal mission to educate others on the Safe Haven Law and to do whatever it takes to save the lives of innocent babies from being abandoned. The Safe Haven Baby Box takes the face to face interaction out of the surrender and protects the mother from being seen.
The Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization's primary goal is to raise awareness of the Safe Haven Law. Women in crisis can call the 24 hour hotline and can receive counseling and assistance. To date, the hotline has received close to 4,000 calls from every state in the United States. Safe Haven Baby Boxes has referred over 500 women to crisis pregnancy centers, assisted in 6 adoption referrals, and have had 70 legal Safe Haven surrenders. Three babies have been surrendered in the box in Michigan City and one in Hammond, Indiana in the past 18 months. Three babies were surrendered to firefighters at Safe Haven Baby Box locations. Since April 2016, when the first box was installed, there have been no dead abandoned infants in the state of Indiana.
Our Services
School Assembly
Raising awareness of the Safe Haven Law is vital and educating our youth is one of our primary goals. Safe Haven Baby Boxes representatives have spoken to students in hundreds of schools and universities in the past five years. Our representatives are available to speak to any size group - individual classes or an assembly with all students. Please contact us if you are interested in having someone speak at your local school. *Include quotes for recommendations. Might need to get approval before using names.
Training First Responders
Safe Haven Baby Boxes travels to fire stations and hospitals to train first responders on the Safe Haven Law. We find that many of our first responders are familiar with the law, but need more training on how to handle safe surrenders and their response to mothers-in-crisis. Please contact us for more information or to schedule training.
Billboards
Billboards are an effective method for raising awareness of the Safe Haven Law, increasing our reach to potential mothers-in-crisis. To date, there are 21 billboards in Indiana and Ohio and one in Arkansas. Funds are used from grants and donations for billboards in these areas. Our hope is to have billboards in or around communities where Safe Haven Baby Boxes are available.
Our Team
Monica Kelsey
Founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Monica Kelsey, knew she was adopted at birth and raised by a Christian family in Paulding, Ohio. It wasn't until the age of 37 that Monica discovered the shocking circumstances of her conception and subsequent birth. She learned that her birth mother had been brutally raped and left to die and that she had abandoned Monica just a few hours after giving birth.
After some soul searching, she stopped wrestling with the "why" and instead decided to focus on the "how." She did this by asking herself one question: "How can I take this gift of life that I've been given and make a difference?"
The answer turned out to be simpler than Monica could ever have imagined: follow God's plan for her life, believe her life has purpose, and embrace the realization that she is on this earth--that her life was saved to fulfill that purpose. Her journey to Cape Town, South Africa and her discovery of a “baby box” in operation there lead her to the beginning of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, the only safe haven organization that is saving abandoned babies through electronically monitored boxes installed in fire stations and hospitals in the United States.
Monica is also a retired firefighter and medic, living in Indiana. Her mission to protect all human life from conception to natural death is personal. She has been sharing her pro-life views with millions of people since February 2011 and works diligently to support pro-life legislators who take a stand to defend the lives of the innocent.
Chanel Cunningham
- Chanel Cunningham was first introduced to Monica Kelsey and Safe Haven Baby Boxes in 2014 by her husband Scott, who was the State Deputy for the Indiana Knights of Columbus. Chanel and Scott assisted with raising Safe Haven Law awareness and promoted Safe Haven Baby Boxes throughout the state of Indiana at Knights of Columbus events. They also helped with coordinating fundraising events and promoting the installation of baby boxes in local communities.
- Chanel's involvement grew when she started a position on the Board of Directors in September 2018. She officially joined the staff in January 2019 as Director of Programs and Administration, bringing her operational expertise to the organization. She has had a chance to promote and assist community members from the beginning of the process of inquiry all the way to installation of a baby box. Chanel also works diligently on researching and writing grants, assisting with fundraising events, and managing the promotions for Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
- "I firmly believe in the mission of Safe Haven Baby Boxes and am thrilled to have this opportunity to take a part in saving the lives of infants."
- Chanel graduated from Purdue University and spent the last 18 years handling operations for the International Rights Licensing Group at Pearson prior to joining Safe Haven Baby Boxes. She is an active member at St. Elizabeth Seton Church and volunteers as a Kindergarten catechist, helps with money counting, participates in the rosary ministry, assists with Knights of Columbus family activities, and supports other pro-life activities. During her spare time, she loves to travel, read, and spend time with her husband and three children.
Priscilla Pruitt
Mrs. International 2016
- Priscilla has had the joy of sharing the past 12 years with her husband Sean Pruitt. In marrying Sean, she gained a beautiful daughter. Together they've had three amazing children, and they’ve adopted two gorgeous girls-proudly making them a family of EIGHT! She considers it a privileged to have been born in this amazing country. Being a first generation American is a gift that she does not take for granted. It is that gift, plus her love for her relatives in Cuba, along with her passion for children-that inspired Priscilla and her husband to build three orphanages in Honduras.
- Priscilla is an ordained minister, and public speaker. In 2012, Priscilla and her family chose to move to Wyoming, leaving their friends and family behind, in hopes to change the suicide rate in the-then suicide capital of the US. They started an outreach for their local kids, giving them an opportunity to have a safe and nurturing environment. Their group, of over a hundred kids, met on a weekly basis. Priscilla and Sean fed, mentored, and entertained the youth, personally covering one-hundred percent of the cost. This opened doors for them to mentor youth dealing with bullying, depression and suicide across the US.
- In 2016, after winning the title of Mrs. Wyoming, Priscilla began working with Safe Haven Baby Boxes as their International spokesperson-fulfilling a lifelong dream to bring baby boxes to countries around the world.
- In 2016, Priscilla went on to win the title of Mrs. International, opening doors for her to speak to young women across the US about Safe Haven Laws and presenting opportunities for baby boxes in other countries. Through her partnerships with Impact Ministries International and Safe Haven Baby boxes, Priscilla works to expand her education efforts into international borders. Having been blessed to be bi-lingual, Priscilla is able to speak to those in the Spanish community, as well as Latin countries.
- For the last year, Priscilla has been the co-host of the Christian TV show called God's View-airing in over a dozen countries and across the United States.
- Priscilla and Sean enjoy spending their time serving their local community and others globally. They feel that experiencing life first-hand is the best way for their children to learn.
- “The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”
Ataya Kaser Memorial Scholarship Launches New Scholarship
Ataya Kaser Memorial Scholarship
Ataya Kaser was 14 years old when she was tragically killed in a car accident on October 7, 2018. Ataya was beautiful, full of life and loved her family and friends beyond measure. Ataya was a freshman at Leo JR/SR High School in Leo, Indiana and carried a 4.0 GPA, and was in the process of signing up for some college classes on line. Education was a top priority for Ataya.
Ataya was a huge supporter of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, attending events with her mother who is a SHBB volunteer. She was most fascinated by our purse bingo fundraisers and wanted to start volunteering to help with them when she turned 18.
The Ataya Kaser Memorial Scholarship Fund monies will go directly to scholarship winners determined by Safe Haven Baby Boxes Scholarship Committee. Every year Safe Haven Baby Boxes will put out scholarship details on Feb 1st to continue the importance of education that Ataya loved so much.
July 16, 2004 - October 7, 2018
If you would like more information about the Ataya Kaser Scholarship sent a message to
Attn: Corie Walls
Safe Haven Baby Boxes
Ataya Kaser Memorial Scholarship
PO Box 185
Woodburn, IN 46797
Corie@safehavenbabyboxes.com