LUMBERTON — Saturday marks the first day of registration for the Robeson County Partnership for Children’s “Beautiful Baby Contest,” sponsored by The Robesonian.

The contest, a fundraiser for the agency, invites parents, grandparents or guardians to register their “baby” by uploading a candid photograph and completing the form on The Robesonian website at http://tinyurl.com/xtswb7zz. The adult completing the registration must be a resident of Robeson County and the child must be 5 years old or younger.

Registration will run through 5 p.m. May 5. Entry photos will be featured in the Mother’s Day edition of the paper on May 10, at which time voting begins. Each vote will cost $1 and votes may be placed online by credit card at robesonpartnership.org or at the partnership office located at 210 E. Second St. in Lumberton using cash, check, debit or credit card.

Votes may be placed through 4:30 p.m. June 4. The first-place Princess and Prince will each receive a crown or tiara, parade magnets, trophy and $100. Second- through fourth-place winners will each receive a trophy, and the top 12 “babies” will be professionally photographed and featured in the Robeson County Partnership for Children’s 2022 calendar to be released in the fall.

Winners will be announced in the Father’s Day edition of The Robesonian on June 19.

The Beautiful Baby Contest began in 2010 and is a fundraiser to support the work of the Robeson County Partnership for Children. The partnership strives to make a compelling impact on Robeson County families by collaborating with early childhood agencies to support programs that measurably develop young children and their caregivers for success.