The Impact of Choose to Wait

Yesterday was our last day in the classroom presenting Choose to Wait for the 2009-2010 school year. We are blessed by the many lives we were able to impact through our message of truth, encouragement and empowerment. Here are a just a few of the comments students made on their anonymous feedback forms after the presentations.

"Seeing this tells me that I am showing love the right way and becoming more of a man of God." 'I feel like I am more strong in staying abstinent." -16 yr old male

"It was very helpful. I have totally changed my mind about everything. I'll never watch porn again because it was that informing to me." -16 yr old male

"It opened my eyes to wanna' wait 'til I'm married." -16 yr old, male

"I told my friend about your talk. She stopped having sex with her boyfriend and they broke up. She says it's her best choice ever." -16 yr old, female

"I never though of believing that I'm worth it. I've never thought of myself or others that way." -16 yr old, female

" Thank you for opening my eyes" -15 yr old, female

"I had been thinking that this couldn't happen to me, [pregnancy and STD's] but I know the truth now. Thank you." -unidentified student

"My boyfriend and I have been talking about it [having sex] but he said I must get on the pill, I said it wasn't worth it. Thanks" -15 yr old, female

"I feel like I'm worth actually waiting for everything." -16 yr old, female

"Thanks for changing my life." -16 yr old, male

Privacy of Clients of Utmost Importance

We at the Bartholomew County Center are most appreciative to Ray Turner and his son, Richard, who recently installed a door between the waiting room and client service area at the Center. Ray is our volunteer handyman who comes in each week to do various jobs that help with the upkeep of the center.

Prior to the installation of the door, there was no barrier between the waiting room to the client services area where the counseling rooms, ultrasound room and office areas are located. Often, our receptionists’ jobs take them away from the window which overlooks the waiting room. Receptionists are not always able to intervene at times when parents or boyfriends would walk from the waiting room to look for the client in the counseling room. This diminishes the privacy and confidentiality of our clients. Now, those in the waiting room will not be able to enter the client services area or office areas unless the door is opened and they are invited to come by PCC staff or volunteers.

Many thanks to Ray and Richard for donating their time and expertise to install the door!

Judy Snow, Bartholomew County Center Director

Coming to a Yard Sale Near You!

There are so many yard sales in the community right now and some of our volunteers have been attending to pick up clothing in the sizes we are in desperate need of here at the center. Upon leaving the sale, they hand the owner of the sale our business card, inviting them to bring anything they don't sell to the center.

Not only are we getting many donated items, but more people are finding out about the Pregnancy Care Center and what we do!

Marge Miller, Jackson County Center Director

United States Abortion Facts

Abortion in the U.S.
• About half of American women have experienced an unintended pregnancy.[1]
o 69% of pregnancies among black women were unintended
o 54% of pregnancies among hispanic women were unintended
o 40% of pregnancies among white women were unintended
• Of these unintended pregnancies, 40% are aborted. [1]
• About 1/3 of American women will have an abortion by age 45. [1]
• 90% of all abortions occur during the first trimester. [3]
• In 2005, Medical, non-surgical abortions (using drugs such as Mifepristone, also known as RU-486 or the abortion pill) accounted for 13% of all abortions, and 22% of abortions before nine weeks’ gestation. [1]
• 1.21 million abortions occurred in 2005. From 1973 when abortion was legalized through 2005, more than 45 million abortions have occurred in the U.S.[1]

Who is having abortions?
Age of women in the U.S. who are having abortions: [1]
• 0.4% are under the age of 15
• 6% are 15-17 years old
• 11% are 18-19 years old
• 33% are 20–24 years old
• 24% are 25-29 years old

Nationality of women in the U.S. who are having abortions: [1]
• 30% are black women
• 36% are white women
• 25% are hispanic women
• 9% are of other nationalities

Religion of women in the U.S. who are having abortions: [1]
• 37% identify themselves as Protestant
• 28% identity themselves as Catholic

For women who have abortions, about 61% have one or more children [3] (including 34% who have had two or more children [2]), 67% had never married [3], 57% are economically disadvantaged[3] and 88% live in metropolitan areas[3].

Why U.S. women have abortions[1]
• 75% say they cannot afford to have a child.
• 75% say having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities.
• 50% say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.

Adolescents and Sexual/Reproductive Trends[4]
• 15-24 year olds in America acquire nearly ½ of all new Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Infections, even though they only represent 25% of the sexually active population.
• 9.1 million of new Sexually Transmitted Disease/Infection cases each year are acquired by 15-24 year olds.
• In 2006, 27% of pregnancies among 15-19 year olds ended in an abortion.

_______________________________________________________________
[1] “Facts on Induced Abortion in America,” Guttmacher Institute http://www.alanguttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html, May 2010.

[2] “Characteristics of U.S. Abortion Patients, 2008,” Guttmacher Institute
http://www.alanguttmacher.org/pubs/US-Abortion-Patients.pdf, May 2010.

[3] “An Overview of Abortion in the United States,” Guttmacher Institute http://www.alanguttmacher.org/media/presskits/2005/06/28/abortionoverview.html, January 2008.

[4] “Facts on American Teens’ Sexual and Reproductive Health, “Guttmacher Institute
http://www.alanguttmacher.org/pubs/FB-ATSRH.html, January 2010.

Happy H'ers Make PCC Smile

Recently, 21 students and parents from the Happy H'ers 4-H Club came to the Administrative Office and Bartholomew County Center to clean and do some much needed yardwork. Each year the club picks an organization to do a service project for and this year they chose the Pregnancy Care Center.


The families who participated include:

• Scott, Laura, Jacque, Jessie, Joy, Julia, Jen and Jaden Decker
• Deb, Nate and Emily Walker
• Allie and Nate Shoop
• Angie, Ashley and Anna Miller
• Stephanie Fuller
• Christen Bosley
• Hannah, Rachel and Samantha Klein

Thank you for your hard work in making our centers clean and inviting. We so appreciate your service!

Care-a-thon is Coming!

On Friday, the Pregnancy Care Center will be partnering with WYGS for our 5th Annual Care-a-thon.

The radio-a-thon will provide us the opportunity to be on the air the entire day to educate the WYGS listening audience about the depth of the ministry.

In addition, the Care-a-thon gives listeners the opportunity to call in to the station and make a financial gift to the ministry.

Be sure to tune in as you’ll have the opportunity to hear from staff members, board members and volunteers from all areas of the ministry.

We’ll be on the air from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. WYGS can be found on the F.M. stations: 88.1 (Versailles), 89.1 (Greensburg), 94.5 (Salem), 91.1 (Columbus), and 97.5 (Batesville). You can also listen online at http://www.wygs.org/.

Baby Bottles Galore

Did you know in 2009, the Pregnancy Care Center's Heart for Change Baby Bottle Campaign raised $71,000 for our prevention, intervention and healing services in south central Indiana?

Our goal is to raise another $64,000 in 2010 through this fundraiser. Recently, our Administrative Assistant and Baby Bottle Coordinator, Abby Glasser, answered the door to receive a palate of more than 2,000 new baby bottles. She has them ready to be sent out to area churches.

If you're not sure what the Heart for Change campaign is or how it works, here are the basics:

1. Pregnancy Care Center supplies your church with all the baby bottles you need. (Average is one per adult). You can pick them up at one of our centers or we can deliver them to your church. The members of your congregation then take between 3-6 weeks to fill their baby bottle with spare change, cash and/or checks. At the conclusion of the campaign, the PCC will pick up the bottles, empty the change and communicate how much was collected back to your church.

2. Each bottle contains an insert that explains the purpose of the bottles and how the money raised will benefit the Pregnancy Care Center ministry. It also contains the due date of when the bottles should be returned to the church. In addition, we have bulletin inserts and announcements we can email to your church secretary to help with your promotion efforts.

3. Pregnancy Care Center staff members are always available to come to your church to share about the ministry whether in Sunday School classes or during a church service. Please call Teresa Russell toll free at 866-510-5067 to schedule a speaker.

The Heart for Change Baby Bottle Campaign is a great way to involve your church in supporting local missions. It's easy to do and anyone of any age can participate. To sign up for a baby bottle campaign at your church or for more information, give Abby a call (toll free) at 866-510-5067. We have lots of bottles ready and waiting to go to your church. Call today!

Abortion Recovery for Men

The Pregnancy Care Center is now offering an abortion recovery program for men. Abortion inflicts pain on men as well as women. Men are referred to as the "silent warriors" because often times they are silent about their pain, fear, anxiety, guilt, grief, depression and anger.

Abortion affects a man’s life, oftentimes causing problems in relationships; relationships with his girlfriend or wife, children, and often times with God. We know too that sometimes he may not think about the abortion until years later, but the secret is always there.

With the Pregnancy Care Center’s abortion recovery program, the post abortive man is walked thru the stages of post abortion stress helping him move out of denial about the past into acceptance and forgiveness. Men will learn how their "father-hearts" can heal.

The study will be starting in the near future, lasts for 11 weeks, and is completely confidential. For more information, please contact Morris Nading at 812-378-6068 or via email at morrisn@pregcarecenter.org.

Turning "Stuff" Into Eternal Capital

Did you know that 91 percent of the world’s wealth is tied up in our “stuff?” Most of our wealth is in the things we own, not in our cash!

We can now help you give from your non-cash wealth.

For just a minute, think creatively. What do you have that is sitting useless… not really benefiting you, or anyone else? What if you could easily turn that “stuff” into capital for His Kingdom - treasures that will last forever?

Learn more about how to donate your stuff at our new giving website.

Need a VBS Mission?

Pregnancy Care Center is a great choice for those looking for a mission support project for Vacation Bible School. By choosing PCC, your students can learn about the value of life and that they can do something, even at their age, to protect it.

Here are just a few ways your VBS participants could support PCC:

1.Baby Item Collection Drive
Encourage your students to donate items such as baby clothes, diapers, baby bath wash, pacifiers and blankets for our clients.

2.Baby Bottle Campaign
PCC will provide baby bottles for you to distribute (one per child) so they can fill with spare change to benefit the PCC ministry

3.Special Offering Collection for PCC

In addition, Pregnancy Care Center representatives are available to speak to your group for a few minutes and explain how PCC is serving the community and the difference their involvement makes.

For more information, contact Teresa Russell today!