April Smith As a nurse and mother, April Smith understands TLC and what it can mean in a stressful life. She discovered a specific path to her own mission when her newborn daughter was hospitalized in NICU Center (Neonatal- Intensive- Care- Unit), at Palmetto Health Baptist Medical Center a year ago.

"Our baby girl needed special medical care for a while and with two other children at home we were stretched out physically and emotionally. I simply could not believe the attentions that came our way: calls, offers to baby- sit, offers to drive us to and from the hospital, and an unending supply of casseroles to fill a mealtime need. When you have been attending a sick child all day at a hospital, the last thing you feel up to doing is planning and preparing a meal at home that evening.

"Those casseroles just led me to a new mission, which has turned out to be very rewarding."

Her idea for maintaining a supply of Caring Casseroles for the mothers of NICU patients required a lot of careful planning. She presented her plan to Ron Carroll, vice president at Palmetto Health Baptist, and several levels of approval were needed before it got a green light.

"We wanted to keep frozen casseroles on hand so that each departing family would have one. We thought a second- hand freezer would be adequate, but L.D. Hardwick at Columbia Appliance offered us a brand- new one with free delivery. He wanted to be part of this project."

Another volunteer, Jonathan Vaught, offered to design a Web site for Caring Casseroles. From there, word of mouth has spread, and April Smith has spoken about this project to groups such as Ruritan, the Lexington Medical Center Women's Auxiliary, and other women's groups.

Smith estimated that about 25 to 30 babies and their families are discharged from NICU each month. The freezer has kept up with demand. "I wish we could make it possible to do this for every family with a new baby leaving the hospital," she dreams. "So far, the response has been wonderful."

The casseroles may be homemade or bought from markets. Three local stores are signed up to participate: The Other Store, Lillian's, and Dream Dinners at the Piggly Wiggly. Anyone who wants to donate a casserole can call one of them and place an order. April will come by and pick it up for storage at Baptist.

"We ask that the ingredients be listed," she mentions. "Possible allergies or different likes and dislikes need to be considered." Some donors attach a note, verse, or prayer for the recipient. One new parent expressed her thanks, with the comment, "It's one less stresser."

CaringCasseroles.org.