Teenage parents in Beaufort County received a boost of support Thursday night.

Higher Heights Human Services Inc. held its sixth-annual Adopt-A-Teen event, in which 15 sponsors from around the community purchased gifts for 22 teens and their babies.

Higher Heights is an organization dedicated to keeping teen parents in school and preventing second pregnancies. The Adopt-A-Teen event is meant to show support for these teens and help them out with needed expenses.

At the event, guests enjoyed a breakfast-for-dinner meal catered by Brothers in the Field at First Baptist Church in Washington, took pictures with Santa and heard stories from two girls who were a part of the Higher Heights program in high school.

“The idea is to help these teen moms realize that, ‘OK, I am a teen mom, but I can still live and have a great future,’” said Theresa Worsley, Higher Heights program coordinator.

Adopt-A-Teen is one of Higher Heights’ biggest events of the year, and Worsley said there was a good response from people who wanted to sponsor a teen. Many of the sponsors wanted to sponsor multiple teens.

Emily Beddard, a senior at Southside High School, is one of Higher Heights’ success stories. She spoke to the crowd about the struggle surrounding her pregnancy with daughter Emma Mae, now 1 year old.

Beddard said the Higher Heights program pushed her to stay in school, and last year’s Adopt-A-Teen helped her give her daughter a good Christmas.

“I think it’s amazing that people do this for us,” she said.

Beddard said she now has plans to study nursing at Pitt Community College, and it’s all thanks to Worsley and former program coordinator Janae Johnson.

“I can’t give up on this no matter how many nights I have to stay up,” she recalled thinking. “But you know what — keep your head up.”

“The encouraging part is to let the teen moms know that there are people that support and care about them,” Worsley said. “Also, it is to help. I mean we all need a helping hand some time or other in our life.”

“That’s what these sponsors are doing,” she added.