MADISON — Pregnancy Helpline volunteers and staff find joy in creating new possibilities for people.
Through telephone counseling and face to face interactions, volunteers engage in bringing a joyful message of hope and love to people during stressful pregnancies, childbirth, or family situations. These interactions frequently lead to the gift of life for a newborn child.To support these efforts, a fundraising dinner will be held on Thursday, May 6 (see box for details).
Dinner supports Pregnancy Helpline“Life Happens Here! Celebrate the Journey!” fundraising dinner: Thursday, May 6, 5:30 p.m. at Candlewood Suites, Madison To reserve tickets before April 24, call 608-271-5405, e-mail [email protected] or send a check payable to Pregnancy Helpline to P.O. Box 5261, Madison, WI. Tickets are $35 (partly tax-deductible). After April 25, tickets are $40. Sponsorship tables are available for $500. If you cannot attend, tax-deductible contributions can be sent to the address above. |
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Valuable training
One Pregnancy Helpline volunteer found out while she was at work how valuable her training was.
Two women came into the reception area at her office. One went on to conduct some business while the other young woman remained seated in the reception room. Soon after, she burst into tears.
The volunteer went to see if she could help. In trying to comfort her, all she could understand from this Spanish-speaking woman was that she kept pointing to her abdomen and repeating, “bebe,” Spanish for “baby.”
Sizing up the situation, but unable to speak to her in Spanish, the Pregnancy Helpline-trained volunteer was able to put the woman in contact with another volunteer who spoke Spanish.
Happy ending
Soon it was learned that this young woman had been brought to Madison by a social worker for an abortion she did not want. Pregnancy Helpline was able to direct her to other agencies to address her true needs for understanding, compassion, and material goods.
Her baby was born and joyfully welcomed.The story had a happy ending, as do many when caring people reach out to others.
Young volunteer
Pregnancy Helpline volunteers are as varied as our community. One volunteer began while she was still in junior high school to fulfill a service requirement. Her volunteer efforts began by folding baby clothes, sorting maternity clothes, bundling diapers, and helping run the Sharing Center.
When she reached high school, she wanted to continue her relationship with the clients at the Sharing Center, even though service hours were no longer needed.
Through the years she learned about the all-around support system Pregnancy Helpline offers: clothes for mother and children (including toddlers), bassinets, breast-feeding help, cribs, and referral to other agencies.
She said, “My favorite part of volunteering is the babies and little kids. I love holding the newborn babies and their siblings always have interesting things to say about them.”
Helping women, children
But on a more serious note, this teen learned that “It is easy to say that you are pro-life, pro-woman, and that abortion should be illegal, but if this is so, it is vital that society have the resources, support, and, most important, the compassion to help these women and their children, and overall, it does not. I am proud to be able to say that I work with an organization that strives to provide all three of these things.”
Pregnancy Helpline volunteers have been helping families in the greater Madison area and beyond for nearly 30 years. Volunteers are trained to help answer questions, allay fears, and bring hope. They engage the callers in finding solutions and offer realistic help.
No federal, state, or other government funds are used to provide these services. Pregnancy Helpline is entirely community supported.
To continue the legacy of Pregnancy Helpline, the community is invited to offer support by attending the “Life Happens Here! Celebrate the Journey!” fundraising dinner. A highlight of the silent auction is a VIP Brewers package.
If you are pro-life and pro-woman, Pregnancy Helpline welcomes your support.