Over the last eight years, the Birth Center of St. Pete has helped countless families with prenatal care. Midwife and birth center founder Jessica Willoughby is a birthing community staple, and the midwives that have come through the birth center, and its current staff—Aliaja, and Laura—have given so much that they’ve redefined care. The Birth Center will have its final birth and close its doors in December. Midwifery work can be daunting, thankless, underpaid, and demanding. Willoughby is focusing on catching up on almost a decade of deserved sleep. Things won’t be quite the same without her or the birth center’s dedication to the most sacred of life’s moments. bcofstpete.com

St. Pete Beach’s Betty Shop is named for owner Liz Calver’s grandmother Betty, a beach lover and outdoor adventurer. The waterside shop is filled with beachy, comfortable Florida-living clothes and gear. Calver dedicates a portion of all sales to marine conservation and education. She’s out with a bucket every few weeks cleaning up the beach and getting others to do the same. Clean Coast Initiative, her nonprofit, was recently created to do educational-based beach cleanups, workshops, talks, and community projects. Betty Shop is on a mission to protect paradise. shopbettyshop.com

Breathing Through Life’s Alyssa Bedard is a doula, birth educator, lactation consultant, all-around baby guru and nonstop advocate for birthing. A mother herself, Bedard’s knowledge knows no bounds as she works to help birthing people before, during, and after pregnancy. Our community is lucky to have someone with her wealth of experience—especially when it comes to the ever important pre-labor hip-openers!