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Remember, Being a Savage Republican is not where you are from, but what you believe.
Editorial: Alpha Women's Center Needs Volunteers
By Kay Thibodeaux
Saturday, August 7, 2004
Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life is? Have you ever been floundering to find your “passion” – something that you could really sink your teeth into? Perhaps it was your education…perhaps your career…or perhaps it’s a volunteer opportunity that is staring you right in the face.
We here in Savage are fortunate enough to have many community volunteer opportunities. You can help with Dan Patch Days, read to children at the library, become a Big Brother or Big Sister, and so on. However, when something truly moves you to volunteer, you want to shout it from the rooftops and let everyone know the wonderful organization you’re trying to help – not for your own glory, but to let others know the opportunity is available.
I have recently been blessed with finding such a passion. The Alpha Women’s Center right here in Savage is in need of volunteers. I called to talk with them about the organization, and after spending a few moments on the phone, I had goose bumps. I set an appointment to talk with the executive director, and after speaking with her, I knew that this is where I want to volunteer my time.
The Alpha Women’s Center actually has two components. The first (in the bottom level of the house on Hwy. 13) is a Crisis Pregnancy Center. A “crisis pregnancy” is one that is unplanned. Notice I did not say “unwanted,” simply “unplanned.” During 2003, the Center provided services to 926 women in an 11-month timeframe. They provide counseling, free pregnancy tests and free ultrasounds. A doctor donates 5-6 hours of his time each week to provide services to pregnant women. All of these women are served for less than $200 per person! Volunteers help keep that cost low.
The second component to the Alpha Women’s Center is the maternity home, located on the second level of the house. The maternity home can house up to five expectant women until the birth of their child. The house mother is a retired nurse and is absolutely wonderful – and filled with tremendous compassion! It is the Center’s goal to be sure that each woman who leaves the maternity home can be a viable part of the community. That means that woman needs to be trained in basic life skills – cooking, cleaning, budgeting – as well as job skills such as resume-writing, interviewing, computers, etc.
Why do I want to volunteer my time at such an organization? First and foremost, the Center focuses on saving the lives of unborn children. They make every effort to be sure that a woman with an unplanned pregnancy knows all of her options. They counsel the woman, in a non-threatening manner, to think of the ramifications that would occur if she were to end that child’s life before it was born.
Secondly, I have a lot of skills that I can offer – skills that I often take for granted. I love public speaking, and they are looking for volunteers to share their message in local churches. I’m pretty good at computers and some of the volunteers do not have computer skills. So, I can share my knowledge with the volunteers. I also have a lot of life and job skills that I can share with the women in the maternity home – budgeting, interviewing, writing. I’ll wager that many of you have skills such as these that can be shared.
The Alpha Women’s Center is in desperate need of volunteers. The Center has gone through some reorganization in the past few months, and is poised to reopen its doors around August 13. The Crisis Pregnancy Center will be open 9-5 weekdays and 9-noon on Saturdays. Plus, the maternity home has a waiting list of four mothers. Wouldn’t it be great if YOU could share your talents and skills with these women – skills that you take for granted every day? Please join me in volunteering at the Center!
For more information about Alpha Women’s Center, please contact Allison Curtis, Executive Director, at (952) 440-1400.
(Kay Thibodeaux is one of about a dozen people in the Savage community who write for Community Voices. This column features a different writer each week and is one of several opinion and commentary pieces appearing regularly in this newspaper.)
Reprinted with permission of the Savage Pacer
http://www.savagepacer.com