Four-year-old Denise Lopez doesn't know anything about poverty, teen pregnancy rates or nonprofit organizations. Come Christmas morning, all she'll know is that there is such a thing as Santa, and that her "mami" worked very hard all year to buy her the My Little Pony set, books and clothes she'll tear into.

Denise is Jennifer Reyes' only daughter, and Reyes is one of about 300 young women at New Moms Inc., a Humboldt Park social service agency. The nonprofit awards teen mothers points for doing grownup things like planning their education, taking computer classes and keeping their kids' doctor's appointments. The moms can use the points to buy necessities and even Christmas presents.

"You can earn up to 60 points for each of your kids and can shop for toys, books, clothes and blankets," said Reyes, 21, who has been receiving support from New Moms since she sought out the group three years ago.

"I don't have that much money to spend, though I live with my grandma. And it would have made me feel bad not to provide Christmas."

After hearing about New Moms from friends, Reyes looked up the group so she could find a high school. With New Moms' help, Reyes went on to get a nurse's assistant certificate and is now working full time in home health care and taking night classes toward a bachelor's in nursing.

"When they come in here, they're afraid: 'Am I gonna be a good mom? What will I do?'" said Shawanda Higgins, the Christmas store manager and a teen parent supervisor. "They're overwhelmed, but we assess their strengths and use that as a foundation."

After a decade of declines, the National Center for Health Statistics recently reported that births to 15- to 19- year-olds rose by 3 percent in 2006, with the greatest increase among African Americans.

New Moms, founded almost 25 years ago, serves mostly Hispanic and African-American women -- all living in poverty. Eighty percent had dropped out of school, and 98 percent come from families who have been on welfare for generations.

With its program of earning points for setting up household budgets and "shopping" for necessities, New Moms boasts a mere 4 percent repeat pregnancy rate among moms it serves.

"We enable women to become self-sufficient," Higgins said.