Our Mission / History
Mission Statement
Mission Statement
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
Mission Statement
Mission Statement
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 bei
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 over 8,000 calls from every state in the United States. Safe Haven Baby Boxes has referred over 500 women to crisis pregnancy centers, assisted in 7 adoption referrals, and have had over 100 legal Safe Haven surrenders. 14 babies have been surrendered in one of our baby boxes. 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.
Annual Report
Mission Statement
Annual Report
2020 Annual Report is now available. See below.
Our Services
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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.
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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.
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Billboards
Billboards are an effective method for raising awareness of the Safe Haven Law, increasing our reach to potential mothers-in-crisis. Today, multiple billboards are up 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
Isabella Mei Lamkin
Priscilla Pruitt
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 ha
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.
Priscilla Pruitt
Isabella Mei Lamkin
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 thi
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.”
Isabella Mei Lamkin
Isabella Mei Lamkin
Isabella Mei Lamkin
Isabella Mei Lamkin is a 16 year old living in Louisville, Kentucky with her mother, father, and three siblings. Isabella was born in Shandong Province, China, and at two days old she was abandoned at the gates of a local orphanage. She lived there for almost seven years before she was adopted. She is currently homeschooled as well as bei
Isabella Mei Lamkin is a 16 year old living in Louisville, Kentucky with her mother, father, and three siblings. Isabella was born in Shandong Province, China, and at two days old she was abandoned at the gates of a local orphanage. She lived there for almost seven years before she was adopted. She is currently homeschooled as well as being very active in her community. In addition to her advocacy for Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Isabella is involved in Boy Scouts of America, the Norton Children’s Hospital teen board, pageants, modeling, and her local church. Isabella is working towards a career in the ministry. We are proud to have her as our Safe Haven Baby Boxes Teen Spokesperson.
Help us to Bring a Baby Box To New Mexico
On January 7, 2022 an eighteen year old teen dumped her newborn baby in a dumpster in Hobbs, New Mexico. Thankfully this baby was found alive, but the outcome could have been worse! State advocates, along with our organization, are on a mission to bring a Baby Box to New Mexico in order to give mothers in crisis a safe and 100% anonymous option.