LUMBERTON — Proud parents now have the opportunity to show off their little ones while supporting a good cause as the annual Beautiful Baby Contest makes its return.
Beginning Monday, registration for the contest will be available through The Robesonian’s website at www.robesonian.com/contests. Complete the entry information and upload your favorite candid photo. The entry fee is $20 and proceeds benefit the Robeson County Partnership for Children.
The competition is open to children ages 5 and younger. Parents, grandparents or guardians must be residents of Robeson County.
Money raised during the contest will benefit Exploration Station, an interactive learning museum in downtown Lumberton located on North Chestnut Street.
This year’s batch of beautiful babies can be viewed at robesonian.com after registration ends on May 11. Photos of the contestants will be published in the newspaper on May 13, which is Mother’s Day.
Voting begins May 14 and runs through June 8. Each vote costs $1 and can be cast at the Robeson County Partnership for Children office in Lumberton by cash, check, debit or credit card. Voters also can pay online at robesonpartnership.org, or mail their payment to the office at 210 E. Second St. in Lumberton.
Two first-place winners, a boy and a girl, will each receive $100, a parade magnet, a trophy and a crown or tiara. Second- through sixth-place winners also will receive trophies. The top 12 babies will be featured in the partnership’s 2017 calender, which will be released during the fall.
Two first-place winners will be announced in The Robesonian on June 17, which is Father’s Day.
Established in 1993, Robeson County Partnership for Children oversees early childhood development programs in the area. On Jan. 1, 2014, it took control of Exploration Station
For more than a decade, the facility was run by the Children’s Place. Facing mounting debt and decreased funding for operational expenses, the Children’s Place dissolved its nonprofit status and approached the partnership, a larger nonprofit, about taking over in November 2013.
The partnership has added a number of interactive exhibits to Exploration Station since taking over, and more are on the way.
For more information, contact Tim Little at 910-738-6767 or funddevdir@rcpartnership4children.org.
