March 27th was our 30th Anniversary Fundraising Banquet. We had such a wonderful evening celebrating what God has done over the last 30 years. We honored Margy Richardson, who opened the first pregnancy center in Ft. Lauderdale in 1987, and Dottie Wobb, the Executive Director of the second Broward center that opened in Davie in 1991. In 1994, the two ministries merged to create a united effort to protect life in Broward County.
Nancy McDonald, President & CEO of Hope Women’s Centers, talked about the past and the ways God has blessed Hope over the years, and also highlighted some exciting new initiatives for the future (vide0 above: beginning 9:45):
1. Re-Introduce Men of Hope This program operated between 2003 and 2008 and was primarily focused on men’s post-abortion healing. This new Men of Hope Program will focus on counseling the partners of our female clients, specifically regarding the unplanned pregnancy. Research tells us the most influential person on a woman’s decision to carry or abort is the baby’s father, so it is crucial to involve him in the decision-making process.
2. Open a NEW Center in SW Broward We plan to open a new center in southwestern Broward, somewhere in the Pembroke Pines or Miramar area. There is no pro-life presence between our Davie Center and the Heartbeat Center in Hialeah, 32 miles away. There are thousands of women living in these growing western suburbs who are at-risk for choosing abortion. We need to be there for them. We hope to open this new center in October, so we will need trained volunteers, new staff members, and resources ready to serve this huge community of new patients.
3. Expansion of Medical Services Through a partnership with the State of Florida and the Department of Health, we are expanding our medical services to include STI testing and treatment for all pregnancy test patients. Sexually transmitted infections are at an all time, and Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are at all-time highs for our target age group of patients. This is a valuable service for our patients and the Department of Health will cover the costs of the lab tests!
We can also offer Well-Woman Referrals to any uninsured woman who is over 18 and has not had a physical for at least one year. The referral will be made to one of our pro-life physicians, and the State of Florida will pay for the initial visit, lab work, and up to two follow-up visits for the patient, all at absolutely no charge. The beauty of this program is that it gives us an opportunity to increase the scope of our target audience beyond the woman who thinks she may be pregnant. We are honored to be one of just 5 organizations in Florida that has been invited to pilot this program. We just started advertising these service expansions, and I look forward to telling you success stories in the weeks ahead as we get it up and running.
We enjoyed having keynote speaker, Roland Warren, CEO of Care Net, the nation’s largest pro-life pregnancy center network and the national organization that Hope is affiliated with. He highlighted some powerful truths and ways of re-thinking our views and approaches to working with those in unplanned pregnancies.
We are excited for what 2017/2018 will bring and the many more women and men that will have an opportunity to come to one of our medical centers and receive life-giving resources and services.
Every year the banquet serves as our largest fundraiser, bringing in 30% of our annual budget. A successful banquet helps to lay a healthy foundation for the year. We are currently hard at work counting and entering the money from the banquet. If you were not able to give at the banquet or did not attend the banquet, we want to extend another invitation for you to give.
You can give online or by texting @HOPE and a dollar amount to 52014.
We thank all of those who worked so hard to make our 30th anniversary party such a beautiful event! Our dedicated staff led the way, and approximately 100 volunteers joined in and worked all day to prepare for the party! We are blessed! Stay tuned for a financial report in a few days, once all of the gifts are counted!
Visit and Like our Partner Facebook page to see banquet photo-booth photos!
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