Video Description: A St. Louis-based hospital is expanding its new ‘baby cuddlers’ program as the need for support for drug-exposed babies grows. SSM St. Mary’s Hospital already has a unique program that helps pregnant women who’ve taken drugs. That relationship means many of those women deliver their babies at St. Mary’s. Growing research supports greater human touch rather than drugs to help drug-exposed babies. Volunteer baby cuddlers go through training and then help as a back-up for parents, nurses and other medical providers.

• Use the video in conjunction with an activity that has students creating their own “Making a Difference” projects in the community. What do they learn from the project highlighted in the video that they could incorporate into their own projects?
• Use the video in conjunction with an activity that has students create their own video highlighting a “Making a Difference” project in your community. Use the video as an example of what they could create.
• Use this video and other “Making a Difference” video on the website as part of a jigsaw activity with different groups of students watching different videos. What characteristics of positive character do they see in the video? What do they believe they can take away from the video and use in their own lives as they think about how they interact with their peers and others in their community? Have each group create a presentation and share with the class.