PO Box 592, 126 Kentucky Avenue Irvine, KY 40336 Spring 2015 Happy Spring! Is anyone else out there as happy as I am to see the beautiful Spring weather we’ve been having? After a long, cold, snowy winter, it makes me happy to see baby toes and flip-flops, Easter flowers (butter cups), and buds beginning to burst open on the trees! Spring is a busy, important time for the Center. We are having a “Pastor’s Breakfast” on April 11 for local ministry leaders, their spouses and/or church baby bottle contacts. We think this is a super way to jump-start the Baby Bottle Blessings campaign for 2015. Baby Bottle Blessings May 10 - June 21 The baby bottles have been one of our most successful fundraisers to date, and are a very important part of our budget for the next year. If your church is not a participant and you would like to help make that happen, get in touch with us here at the Center - 723-0184 or email at: [email protected]. The Center continues to grow in numbers of clients. The need for added days and hours, space, supplies, etc. all grow as well. We need Mentors and other volunteers desperately! I believe God is calling people to this ministry even as this letter goes out. Please pray about what your role may be: donor; volunteer; Mentor; church contact??? You can find more info elsewhere in the newsletter relating to each of these roles. “I love this place and really am enjoying my experience with them so far! Definitely a place I will recommend to any soon- to-be mothers I know!” Needs List Members of Irvine-Ravenna Woman’s Club assist with our Spring clothing switch diapers - sizes 4&5 12/18/24 mos. boys’ summer clothing 0-3 mos. girls’ clothes boys’ shoes 2-8 hooded towels baby lotion More scenes from the Spring clothing switch with the Irvine-Ravenna Woman’s Club Spring has arrived at ECCPP! Spring and Fall always bring a major project to be undertaken at the Center for Pregnancy & Parenting. Late in March and September each year, staff and volunteers face the enormous task of switching out all of the seasonal clothing in the boutique and other areas of the Center. On March 24th, the Irvine-Ravenna Woman’s Club showed up in force and tackled this season’s switch-out head on! Under the direction of Karen Burford, Client Services Director at ECCPP, they packed up snowsuits, corduroys and long sleeved outfits. In the place of those, out came flip-flops, shorts and light weight clothing for Spring and Summer. Clients enrolled in the “Earn While You Learn” curriculum earn shopping privileges in the Baby Boutique for clothing and other items for their babies and toddlers. Thank you ladies for all of your help - many hands make light work! ECCPP Events April 11 - Baby Bottle Kick-off Breakfast April 25-26 - Mountain Mushroom Festival Booth May 10-June 21 - Baby Kroger Community Rewards can now be directly connected to your Kroger Card. Each time you shop, the Center receives a percentage of cash back from your purchases. If you already have a Kroger account online, simply sign in and look for Community Rewards. Have your Kroger card ready to enter your number. If not enter: Bottle Blessings Campaign krogercommunityrewards.com May/June - Volunteer Drive Once you have an account set up look for: Please call the Center at 7230184 for more info or to volunteer. tion number which is Estill County Center for Pregnancy & Parenting or enter the organiza- 95548 . It costs you nothing! ECCPP received our first quarterly check for $85.00 recently! “What’s going on at the Center ”... Family Life Resources and ECCPP grew out of the ‘crisis pregnancy/pro-life movement’. Growing numbers of pregnancy resource centers across the U.S., and even the world, have been consulted in millions of crisis pregnancies. Over the years since abortion on demand became legal, many centers have gone medical, adding ultrasound services, STD testing, maternity housing and some even offer complete pre-natal and maternity services. The more these faith-based Centers can offer, the more babies who can be saved and the more families who can be spared the heartbreak of abortion. Our purpose in the community is multi-faceted. For now, our services here are limited to selfadministered pregnancy tests, peer counseling and a wonderful parenting program. But, that doesn't mean that we don’t see women (and men) in crisis. Far too often, the pregnancy is only one layer of the larger mix that makes up their troubled lives. Poverty, addiction, homelessness, job loss, lack of family support... these issues and more add to the pile of ‘stuff’ that weigh down so many of the clients served here. The one thing that hurts my heart the most, I suppose, is seeing a second or third generation woman whose mother is not around (physically or emotionally) to help and support her daughter. Some of their mothers have died of alcohol or drug-related causes. Others just are not ‘mothers’ in the true sense of the word. Many are too focused on themselves and their own lives to deal with their daughter (or son) and grandchild. I fear the Biblical prophecy of mothers being without natural affection is being lived out before our eyes. Of course we know mothers aren’t the only ones missing in the lives of their children. Historically, fathers are absent far more. Research is revealing more and more how the absence of fathers in the home is negatively affecting our children and society as a whole. At the Center, we have couples, and even a few single male clients who have chosen to take advantage of our services, all because they want to be better parents. Studies have shown that positive fatherinvolvement in early childhood has life-long effects on children’s learning abilities, behavior and social skills. As of this writing, we are seeing primarily clients who have chosen to parent their babies. Pre-natal, birth and early infancy/childhood are the focus of much of the Earn While You Learn parenting classes our clients go through. Learning I can’t even begin to imagine havparenting skills, life skills and daying gone through my two pregnanto-day practical living can only help cies without my Mom. Nor can I in meeting their needs. ECCPP is fathom not having supported my growing, parents are learning and own daughter when she faced a cribabies and children are being sis pregnancy as a teen. There are blessed as we help to “build families just certain times in our lives when for a better Estill County”. each of us needs a “Mommy”. Sandra Wilds, Director Center Stats December January February March Client Visits 27 32 29 37 Volunteer Hours 98 107 75 143 Births 0 1 0 2 Days Open 6 (Holidays) 8 6(2 snow days) 8(1 snow day) What’s your passion??? Few things in life are more rewarding than doing volunteer work. People volunteer for different reasons. Some are required to do community service for school, work or to receive benefits. Others have a strong passion for the cause they are supporting, giving of their time and resources to further the cause. It may be a cause they feel strongly about because of experiences in their own life, or the life of someone they love. Whatever the reason, I would encourage anyone to look into doing some type of volunteer work in your lifetime. Many organizations could not exist without volunteers, including the Center for Pregnancy & Parenting. The Center has one paid employee. On average, volunteers put in about 100 hours per month, and still there is always work to do in many areas. Have you, or someone you care deeply about, faced challenges in pregnancy and/or parenting? Whether an unplanned pregnancy that ended in an abortion or as a difficult parenting journey, these are some of the issues we address at ECCPP. Those who have found help and healing through the love of Jesus are called to help others. Does this describe you? If so, the Center may very well be a place where you will thrive. ECCPP is diligently seeking new volunteers over the next two months. If you feel passionate about helping those struggling with pregnancy and/or parenting, give us a call. There are lots of ways to minister, some face-to -face and many others behind the scenes. All are rewarding and all are grounded in the spirit of Christian love. Contact Us Give us a call for more information about our services, to volunteer your time or donate. Family Life Resources, Inc. PO Box 592, Irvine, KY 40336 DBA: Estill County Center for Pregnancy & Parenting 126 Kentucky Ave. Irvine, KY (606)723-0184 email: familyliferesources40336@ gmail.com Visit us on the web at: http:// familyliferesource.wix.com/ donate-to-eccpp Volunteer Opportunities @ ECCPP Administrative Receptionist*: Greet clients and donors, give each appropriate paperwork, answer phone, schedule appointments, office support, help with mailings, make copies, sort donations, etc. - requires 8 hours training Media Manager: Experienced person needed to manage online media site usage for the Center. Must be familiar with social media use including facebook, website management, online data storage, etc. Client Mentor*: Work with new and established ‘Earn While You Learn’ clients, helping with their lessons and parenting classes. Requires 24 hours training and periodic refresher courses. Also may lead to becoming a Peer Counselor*, seeing pregnancy test clients. Housekeeping Helpers*: Cleaning, organizing storage areas, removing overstock and other unusable items. Requires 2 hours training. Contact Sandra or Karen at the Center 723-0184 ECCPP is a Christian ministry, and as such we believe that all of our volunteers should be followers of Jesus Christ, rooted and grounded in the WORD and active in a local church. * Background checks are required for all on-site volunteers. “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him.” Psalm 127:3 ECCPP - “Building families for a better Estill County”
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