On November 29th of 2011 our Knights of Columbus group (chapter 3002 of Sidney) was asked to help prevent abortions. The Sunrise Resource Pregnancy Center (SRPC) had been recently started in our city, and they wanted the KCs to buy them an ultrasound machine. It was hoped that having an ultrasound would help undecided pregnant women make “life-affirming” choices.
There have been over 55 million abortions performed in the United States since 1973. Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs) attempt to deal with this problem in a positive way. There are currently over 4000 PRCs in our country. The goal of these centers is to provide Christian-based educational services. These clinics provide free pregnancy tests, assistance with newborn care, adoption referrals, and miscellaneous services. Some of these PRCs also qualify as Medical Clinics, and provide ultrasound exams. Studies have shown that pregnant women who show up at a PRC choose life 85% of the time when they see their baby on ultrasound – compared to 25% of the time when no ultrasound exam is done.
The international KC organization (“Supreme”) provides matching funds for local KC groups who want to purchase ultrasound machines. Our initial goal was to raise $15,000. Our small local KC group was worried that that was “a lot of money,” but we nonetheless decided to accept the fund-raising challenge. Under the direction of our worthy grand knight, Con Donvan, we scurried around looking for donations. Neighboring KC groups were asked to contribute – and responded with incredible generosity. Local individuals, businesses, and churches also made incredibly generous contributions.
We once thought our goal was a nearly “impossible mission.” With God’s help, however, we were able to turn this into a “mission accomplished.” We were, in fact, able to raise over 36 thousand dollars! The international KC organization (“Supreme”) has just written a check for $26,045 to pay for half of a state-of-art ultrasound machine. Our excess funds will be used for SPRC general operating expenses.
Because of oil development in our part of the state, the population in our region is rapidly increasing. Fifteen women from Richland County had an abortion in 2010, compared to an average of 8 women per year that had abortions between 2004 and 2008. Our local pregnancy resource center is a Christian community-wide effort to deal with this problem. The Knights of Columbus have successfully helped support this cause. Thanks to all of you who made contributions. And spread the word that abortion is a preventable problem – something that can be approached with Christian goodwill, education, and counseling.
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