For many of us, Christmas is a season of joy and hope. We gather with family, sing familiar carols, and celebrate the birth of our Savior who came to bring light into the darkness.
But for a young woman facing an unexpected pregnancy, this season can feel very different. Instead of joy, she may feel fear. Instead of hope, she may feel shame. And while the world around her is celebrating, she may feel completely alone.
That is exactly how one young woman felt when she walked through our doors earlier this year.
Riley* was only a teenager when she came to our center. She was so nervous she could barely make eye contact. She had already faced more loss and disappointment than many people experience in a lifetime. Now she was pregnant.
She didn’t want to be “that girl.” She was afraid to tell anyone close to her, sure they would look down on her. She already had an appointment at an abortion clinic, and she told our team she just wanted to get it over with. So early in pregnancy, she believed her baby wasn’t really anything yet.
Our patient advocate listened without judgment. She encouraged Riley to look past this one frightening moment, and she gently shared her own story of faith. But Riley was so overwhelmed that she left before her ultrasound.
Our staff didn’t give up. They prayed that God would bring her clarity and peace, and that she would return. They encouraged her to reschedule her ultrasound.
And Riley did come back.
At her early pregnancy care appointment, she saw her baby on the ultrasound screen, and everything changed. She told our staff she had decided to cancel her abortion. Our team walked alongside her as she made an adoption plan, and we remain a steady source of support for her today.
Riley’s baby has a future because friends like you made sure someone was there when a scared young mom felt completely alone.
That’s the heart of everything we do. No woman should have to face an unexpected pregnancy by herself, and no woman should walk out our doors without knowing she is seen, valued, and loved. When you stand with us, you become part of that story.
This Christmas, generous friends have given a $350,000 Christmas Challenge Grant to help us reach more young women like Riley. They’re inviting everyone who stands together for life to join them, so every woman who walks through our doors this coming year finds the same hope Riley did.
Your partnership helps us:
- Provide life-saving ultrasounds to more than 1,500 local women each year.
- Motivate 125 abortion-vulnerable women each week to contact us for life-affirming support.
- Expand early pregnancy care for underserved women who might otherwise choose abortion.
- Reach more than 100 new fathers each month, so that when she makes an appointment, we see him, too.
- Share the hope of Jesus with everyone God brings through our doors, every day.
This Christmas, you can give the gift of life. Please send your gift by December 31 and join the friends behind our $350,000 Christmas Challenge Grant. Together, we can help young women like Riley know they are not alone.
Thank you for making stories like Riley’s possible. Your partnership is saving lives and transforming futures, one mother and baby at a time.
Changing lives together,
Rich Bennett
*Name changed to protect her privacy.