One of our favorite things to do at this time of year is to look back at our calendar and see the many ways that God answered prayers and provided for the needs of our organization and for the women and men that we serve. Fasten your seatbelts…a LOT of blessing happened in 2016!
January – Many churches distributed our Sanctity of Life bulletin inserts during the month of January, and two churches hosted special events focused on Hope Women’s Centers. Community Christian Church held Thrive! and donated proceeds of over $1,000 to Hope, and the First Baptist Church at Weston ladies prepared 131 “love bags” for our clients!
February – In February, we were contacted by Mr. Harvey Johnson of Master Craft Flooring Distributors and they donated over $6,000 in materials and labor to install beautiful wood flooring in our Davie location. February also blessed us with professional photographers to take photos and videos of our patients in preparation for our March banquet! Many thanks to Asley and Philip Colhouer, Marie Connolly, and Diane Schaefer. Local artist Joie Ruel spent a day in the park with patients’ children to create some great art pieces for our banquet auction! We were also invited to participate in a mission fair at Christ the Rock Community Church.
March – This was a busy month as we prepared for our banquet. New Presbyterian Church women’s group hosted a gift card shower for our new moms, and we were invited to make a presentation at North Creek Presbyterian Church.
April – More help from our photographer friends, John Cote and David Shing, who came to the banquet and snapped candid shots of our guests. FBC Weston ladies and Hollywood Community Church ladies came to the Signature Grand to pray and help set up for our banquet. Rio Vista Community Church hosted our April 23 Volunteer Orientation.
May – Mother’s Day initiated our 2016 Baby Bottle Campaign with 17 churches participating, and raising a total of more than $6,500!
June – Churches continue to bless us as Worldwide Christian Center ladies host an event to learn more about Hope; West Pines Community Church youth spend a day cleaning out and organizing our Davie storage facility, and the Children’s Aid Club donates $1,200 in gift cards to bless our patients.
July – Founding board member Bill Perry shares the vision of Hope with the congregation at Hollywood Bible Chapel, one of Hope’s initial supporting churches.
August – Faith Center International held an outreach celebration for Hope patients and Lady Carol Fernandez gave an inspiring message to honor and bless these new moms.
September – As we promote our October 1 Walk For Life, presentations are made at First Baptist Church at Weston, Rio Vista Community Church, Cooper City Church of God, Riverside Church, and Worldwide Christian Center.
October – Hope’s first Walk and ColorFunRun is held at Westminster Academy’s West Athletic Field, with 48 churches represented. Many thanks to all walkers, all sponsors, and the great youth groups who came and helped! In October, we also were blessed to have Pastor Brian Brookins speak at our Pastor Appreciation Breakfast at the Signature Grand.
November – As thoughts turn to giving thanks, Covenant Village residents bless our patients with beautiful handmade baby items, and the Coral Ridge Keenagers host their second annual gift card shower.
December – Even in the busy month of December, we are receiving invitations to share the good news about Hope with our community. We are participants in the annual Teen Summit at Broward College on December 10th, and will be an exhibitor at the Arts Park in Hollywood for the annual Christmas Near the Beach Event. Our staff and volunteers will gather for a holiday celebration with local comedienne, DeDe Lomenick on December 9th – and we will be counting YOU among our blessings of 2016!
Exciting opportunity to impact thousands: It has long been our desire to open a new location in southwestern Broward County. There is no pro-life resource available for women between our Davie Center and the Heartbeat International Center in Hialeah. This leaves thousands of women who are at-risk for abortion with no one to offer hope, share truth, and protect the lives of the unborn children they carry. We want to be there for them. Hope has been granted a $50,000 Matching Grant towards this new medical center and we have already raised $30,000 leaving us until the end of December to raise $20,000 more. As you plan your end-of-year giving, I hope you will be inspired by the fact that your gift will count twice as much as ever before!
Sincerely,
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