This Christmas season, pro-life pregnancy centers are helping women and families across the country who are in need.
These facilities are giving women surprises that make many cry and a Christmas they won’t soon forget through a variety of humanitarian endeavors.
The Christmas Blessings program, run by the ABC Pregnancy Resource Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana, according to Becky Girola, director of the facility, allows expectant mothers who participate in the center’s parenting classes to receive gifts for their entire family from kind donors who “adopt” them.
Many of parents struggle to meet their infants’ basic necessities, let alone buy them Christmas presents and toys, according to Girola.
She stated that ABC’s goal is to spread the gospel and provide alternatives to abortion. The facility provides free ultrasounds, pregnancy testing, assistance with Medicaid and community college enrollment, parenting seminars, Bible studies, and more.
“We want to stand up for our mothers. That is what we consistently state. We want to support them in any way we can by saying things like, “You’re doing a wonderful job, you got this.” Christmas is a particularly lovely time to do that, she continued.
This year, the Christmas Blessings program is helping 42 expectant mothers, according to her.
More than 90% of the women the pregnancy center treats are Medicaid participants, according to Girola. Anonymous contributors are helping a variety of families, from those with first-time mothers to those with expecting mothers and six children, as part of the center’s Christmas campaign.
The employees at the center prayed that “the Lord will provide,” and within a few days, he did, according to Girola, who admitted that she was a little anxious about finding donors to support each of the 42 families that the center had committed to supporting throughout the Christmas season.
Because there are so many presents here, “this week we’re saying, ‘We’re buried in the Christmas blessings,’” she remarked.
“Our mothers visit us every week to get baby items. Their cars are packed to the gills with bicycles, gifts, clothes, pajamas, and everything else as they arrive to buy baby items, she said.
In order for the moms to “take it immediately and put it right under their tree and be able to spend Christmas with their families,” the contributors wrap every gift and tag each one with their name.
There are “plenty and lots of tears” shed as the expecting mothers see the gifts that are waiting for them; goods that they would not otherwise be able to buy. Just happy tears, that’s all.
With “a rubbish bag full of presents,” moms leave.
According to Tamra Axworthy, CEO of A Caring Pregnancy Center, her facility in Pueblo, Colorado, also provides a “Angel Tree” where donors can provide gifts for Christmas to a mother and her family.
According to Axworthy, the donor families will go shopping and effectively furnish Christmas for the entire family after receiving gift suggestions from mom and dad or whatever our client is.
The goal of A Caring Pregnancy Center is to provide women and families with the tools they need to make the pro-life decision. The facility provides free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, birthing education, adoption referrals, information on STDs, and a number of other services.
According to Axworthy, the expectant mothers frequently have one or two donated things in mind when they visit the center to pick up their gifts.
However, she added, “when they leave with something like a garbage bag full of gifts, they’re just blown away and are extremely thankful. They are astounded,
The ability to bless them and then share that blessing with the givers is nice. To show the donor family the effect they’ve had, we will take images of those who consent and share them with them.
Additionally, the facility offers a “gift tree” where parents and families in need are welcome to stop by and pick up free items like coats or holiday decorations.
Given Pueblo’s high poverty rate, according to Axworthy, there is a pressing need to offer these Christmas services to low-income expectant mothers.
“Seeing others who are struggling and don’t even have boots for their kids or winter clothes for their babies crushes our hearts. And that’s something we can give someone as a blessing,” she remarked.
And the fact that we can do it as well is a blessing. We are aware of the need, and it is fantastic that we can meet it for so many people in our community.
The “real meaning of Christmas” is explained at a free Christmas store.
Since 2015, a different facility, the Lockport Care Net Pregnancy Center in Lockport, New York, has provided women and families with services through its free Christmas store.
The center’s executive director, Cindra Enzinna, told CNA that every year the store in the basement is set up with a variety of toys, Bibles, plush animals, and other items that parents or guardians can come and take without charge.
According to her, the center’s basement is decorated for Christmas with lights, ornaments, and music. All of the gifts were donated by neighborhood residents or churches.
“We saw that there was a tremendous demand when we first launched it in 2015,” she stated.
Enzinna stated that the center’s staff strives to “fill the gap in their community,” adding that her clients were in need of Christmas presents due to their financial struggles. Medicaid beneficiaries make up the majority of the center’s clientele, she said.
According to her, the aim of the Lockport Care Net Pregnancy Center is to “affirm the dignity of life by giving kind peer counseling, accurate resources, helpful support, and the hope of Christ to people confronting pregnancy-related decisions.”
Free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, recommendations for adoption, peer counseling, material assistance, and a number of other services are all offered by the center.
The world is free. Enzinna stated, “We don’t charge for any of our services.
By December 13th, the center had assisted 77 families and distributed 816 gratis Christmas presents. Ten other families are anticipated to visit the center to pick up donations, she noted.
We simply pray with those who cry and those who choose not to. It’s the best season, in my opinion. They’re so grateful and leave with their arms laden with goods, simply so we can bless them, she said.
The birth of Jesus Christ, according to Enzinna, is the “real meaning of Christmas,” which is written on the wall of the Christmas store.
She claimed that the Christmas store contained the actual message of Christmas in its entirety.
»This Christmas, pro-life pregnancy centers help families to have memorable season«