Gentle Voice for Life Vol. 20 Issue 3 Sept 2008 A quarterly newsletter from Pregnancy Resource Center of Fort Bend, a non-profit organization helping women with the choice for life. Pregnancy Resource Resource Center Center: Pregnancy “Speaking the Truth with Love” Inside this issue: How We Help 2 Learn Earn Plan Report on Client Services Volunteer Page 3 New Client Services Director Peer Counselor Training Volunteers Save the Date Back Page Mission Statement Financial Report Clothing Boxes Thank You! 4 Fort Bend County Fair September 26th - October 4th Baby Quilt Sale It is that time of year again for the Fort Bend County Fair! Once again Pregnancy Resource Center of Fort Bend County (PRC) will have a booth at the fairgrounds. It was a popular event last year and we hope to see our friends again this year. Our quilt contest has been in full swing and the winners will be announced soon! All of the quilts entered in the contest are donated to the center and displayed and sold at the fair to support the ministry. This year’s contest features a Grand Prize of a Janome Heart Truth 2008 sewing machine, donated by Quilter’s Emporium of Sugar Land. First Prize is a $100 Gift Certificate to Little Stitches Sewing Center in Missouri City. Quilter’s Cottage in Richmond is also a sponsor and will be donating a gift certificate and fat quarters for second prize. Please stop by our booth and say hi, ask questions and view the award winning quilts from our contest. Along with Above, Executive Director, Dorris Irving and Marie McCoy admire one of the prizewinning quilts (by Jane Plisga) from last year's contest the quilts, we will have baby blankets and other items available for purchase. Some of our baby blankets have been donated to mission projects, sister pregnancy centers and other friends. All the proceeds from our sales support the work that we do for our clients at the center. Thank you to those who donated handmade baby quilts for the contest. If you are interested in sponsoring baby blankets, please contact us at PRC for more information.a Below are some samples of the baby blankets we will be selling at the Fair. Page 2 Gentle Voice for Life How We Help... Quarterly Report: Clients Served May - July 08 Senior Girl Scout Chooses Learn Earn Plan Program for Gold Award Project Ros / SL Total Clients The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award that a Girl Scout age 14-18 may earn. Someone once described the Girl Scout Gold Award as being "what you really want to be remembered for" in Girl Scouting. For many, the leadership skills, organizational skills, and sense of community and commitment that come from "going for the Gold" set the foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship. 378 / 35 (Includes LEP) Preg. Tests 175 / 33 Neg. Tests 94 / 14 Already planned to carry 69 / 16 Did not change abortion view 6/2 Unknown 1/1 Changed abortion view 4/0 Senior Girl Scout, Caroline Suter, chose the Learn Earn Plan (LEP) program for her Gold Award Project. She began by hosting a workshop for the LEP group. Caroline provided the supplies and instruction for a Simple Craft for Baby. It was great for mothers to spend time making a door sign and picture frame for their babies. Loryss Portillo, LEP Coordinator said, “the ladies really enjoyed the time and effort that Caroline put into making the LEP class fun and productive!” With the help of the community, Caroline will finish her project with the painting of three rooms at the Rosenberg center, the completion of a diaper drive and the making of 25 diaper bags and 75 pair of baby booties! Pregnancy Resource Center of Fort Bend is so grateful for Caroline and her efforts. She is worthy of the Gold Award in our eyes!!! LEP Clients enjoy making the crafts provided by Senior Girl Scout Caroline Suter Pregnancy Resource Center Services – What We Offer ∗ Free pregnancy test (never any charge for ANY service) ∗ Trained volunteers who listen and care with acceptance and confidentiality ∗ Information on fetal development, abortion techniques and risks, maternity homes, adoption and other alternative solutions to problems ∗ Learn/ Earn/ Plan program to learn about parenting and earn baby items ∗ Trained volunteers to help with healing from post-abortion syndrome Vol. 20 Issue Sept 2008 Page 3 Volunteer Page Be a part of the Peer Counselor Team Would you like to make a difference in women's lives? Women who are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy may be scared, confused and pressured from inner conflicts and from society to end the life of their child before it is born. We at the Pregnancy Resource Center of Fort Bend County (PRC) are here for those women and any woman who needs a pregnancy test or a friend. We offer information, emotional support, spiritual encouragement and practical help that will empower women to choose life for their children and sexual integrity for themselves. PRC is looking for volunteers interested in counseling women with various needs. A new six week training session will begin on Tuesday evenings, from 6:00 to 9:00, September 16th at the PRC Sugar Land location (3425 Hwy 6). If you would like to be a part of our Peer Counselor team contact the center at 281-325.0203, 281.232.2375 or email [email protected]. We have two exciting events coming up to celebrate our volunteers! On November 21st, we will have our annual volunteer banquet. Our volunteer Christmas party and quarterly meeting is December 13th. Volunteers Hope to see you there! New Client Services Director Dionne Adamitis resigned as Client Services Director. She did a wonderful job in this position and will be greatly missed. We thank her for the hard work, time and effort she spent and for the heart and spirit she put into her work at PRC. Our new Client Services Director is Meggi Stewart. Meggi previously held this position at PRC for a period of one year from 2006 to 2007. Meggi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Christianity and Psychology from Houston Baptist University and had been recently volunteering in our Sugar Land office as a PTPC counselor prior to this offer. Meggi also volunteered as a presenter during our last PTPC six week training. Welcome Meggi! “… I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me.” Matthew 25:40 Volunteers are always needed as: 1 Office Volunteers – Training is provided to listen and talk to clients, either in conjunction with pregnancy tests or in a mentoring situation. This is the heart of what we do. 2 LEP volunteers – sort donations, organize store items, help with educational materials. 3 Other helpers – help with bulk mailings, place our business cards in the community. Help with fundraisers or to take a turn at weekly cleaning chores. 4 Board members – to participate in planning and policy decisions. Published by: Pregnancy Resource Center of Fort Bend County 4203 Ave H Suite 16 Rosenberg, TX 77471 (281) 232-2375 Got a vehicle to donate? Call Volunteers of America at 800-862-4483. Tell them it is for PRC and we will receive half the auction proceeds! M - F 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Thurs. eve 7 - 9 p.m. (Staff present M - F, 9 - 5) Our purpose is to prevent abortion by offering women the information, emotional support, spiritual encouragement and practical help that will empower them to choose life for their children and sexual integrity for themselves. Our Motto: PRC Sugar Land 3425 Highway 6 Ste 103 Sugar Land, TX 77478 (281) 325-0203 Speaking the Truth With Love M W F Sat 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Tues eve. 7 - 9 p.m. (Staff present MWF 9 - 3) www.prcfortbend.org www.fortbendpregnancy.com Buy batteries online for all those Christmas toys! Go to ibsa.com for any kind of battery you need, and use “PRCBend” as the coupon code to send 30% of your purchase price to PRC! Our Mission Statement: Executive Director: Dorris Irving After hours callers are referred to the Option Line for help 24/7 at 1-800-395-HELP. We are affiliated with Heartbeat International. We are non-denominational and not politically active. Quarterly Report: May - July ‘08 $64,749 Expenses: $114,397 Income: Contributions (Churches, Organizations, Individuals & Corporations) 18,468 1,974 Fundraisers (Banquet, BBB, sales) 35,810 765 Grants 60,000 Postage and printing 2,041 Interest Income 119 Conf., training, ins, vol apprec. 5,337 Travel, payroll services, credit card fees, depreciation, misc. 1,515 Payroll, taxes 29,126 Rent, utilities, phone, supplies, repairs and equipment 23,991 Direct Program Exp: Adver., Preg tests, edu mat, baby items Fundraising and Promotions THANKS for donating the meals for the September Volunteer Retreat! SUBWAY 19972 Southwest Fwy Sugar Land Nina Lassien, General Manager Mary Soza, Manager SALTGRASS STEAK HOUSE 19720 Southwest Fwy Sugar Land Beverly Daigle, Manager McALISTER’S DELI 24200 Southwest Fwy Rosenberg Samatha Alanis, Manager Soyla Chavez, Manager Jerry and Angie Borges Thank you to all who contributed! Clothing Donations Drop Box The following are locations around the city of Houston where clothing donation drop boxes are placed on behalf of PRC. Any time that you are cleaning out closets and discarding clothes items, you are encouraged to utilized the clothing boxes to drop off those unwanted items; it will yield a donation to our center. Pregnancy Resource Center Drop Box Locations (1) Citgo - 306 FM 359 @ I10 Brookshire (2) Dollar General - 5001 Front St, Brookshire (3) 99 Cent Only - 14130 Westheimer@ Briargreen Dr. (4) Ella Quick Mart - 1811 SH 249 @ Ella Blv (5) Zippo Food Mart - 9702 Vets Memorial @ Blue Bell (6) LA Fitness - 11320 Westheimer @ Hayes