Thanks to senior social work majors, babies in Erie will have a safe sleeping environment for at least a year’s time.

As their senior project, the group selected a spaghetti dinner to raise funds for the Children’s Miracle Network, which will then give them to the Cribs and Kids agency. This agency provides cribs or pack’n’plays to babies in order for them to have a safe place to sleep and prevent sudden infant syndrome.

Each year, the seniors are to choose a subject for their project that advocates awareness in some way. This year, they chose to make the community aware of sudden infant syndrome and created a fundraiser to help prevent it.

The idea developed from senior Natalie Magoc.

“At Saint Vincent I heard from my supervisor that they give pack n’ plays, but needed funding to supply them to Hamot and Millcreek hospitals,” Magoc said.

Saint Vincent Health Center has a fund through the Children’s Miracle Network, but does not always have enough funding for the demand of cribs needed in the area.

The fundraiser of a spaghetti dinner was chosen as a doable option to raise as much money as possible.

The dinner was Saturday, April 13, at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church on Old French Road.

Expectations were high for the support, but the students had no idea how good it would be.

“We were hoping for a good turn out and thought we would have a good amount of people, but we had no idea that we would have so many,” Magoc said.

More than $2,000 was raised, along with $300 more that will be given from Mercyhurst Student Activities Council. These funds will provide enough for about 46 cribs that will help infants in Erie for a year’s time.

Senior Emily Iabone also saw the event went well.

“The dinner was such a success based on the support from our friends, family and the community,” said Iabone. “The community donated all of our supplies for the dinner.”

Aside from dinner sales, money was also raised in a 50/50 and Chinese auction. Donations were given from several companies that include Romolo, Vicious Rumors and Avon.