Zenith Shrestha photo Lauren Hales, (left) a sophomore rehabilitation major from Prattville, and Brittney Rowe, a senior social work major from Birmingham, Sav-A-Life’s table at the Campus Health Fair on Monday, March 4, in the Trojan Center Ballrooms.Anushka K.C. Sav-a-Life Troy Inc. is hosting its annual dinner and auction event at Park Memorial United Methodist Church in Troy to raise money for the pregnancy resource center on March 22, 2019. “The auction is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” said Jane Ward, executive director of Save-a-Life Troy. “It is a low country boil with shrimp, and this time we have gone all out with the auction items. We are also giving away a lot of door prizes, so we encourage people who are buying tickets to please come. If you are not able to come, give the ticket to someone else.” Auction items include a hunting trip worth more than $1,500, a trip to Costa Rica worth over $2,000, a romantic getaway with a wine tasting, a stay at a bed and breakfast, and even random valuable items like a set of tires. “You can purchase these items through the auction that you need,” said Sirran Wilkes, community marketing director. “But at the same time you are also helping our center.” Wilkes said the theme for 2019 is “Discover Hope.” “It was inspired by just the fact that I wanted to encourage people that were faced with trying circumstances to believe that there is hope,” Wilkes said. “Hope by definition is trusting in something you do not see. Hope and faith go hand in hand a lot of times, so with that being said, that is how the “Discover Hope” theme came to be. I am really looking forward to this event.” The non-profit corporation has been serving five counties and Troy since 1986. Their main focus is providing services related to pregnancy. “All our services are free,” Ward said. “We do pregnancy testing and advocate clients depending on their responses because in many cases it is an unplanned pregnancy.” When a woman receives a positive pregnancy test at the center, they give her a packet of information including prenatal vitamins, free of charge. “We have a Limited Obstetric Ultrasound service which shows the heartbeat and movement of the baby,” Ward said. “This way we have been helping women who have concerns about the pregnancy or women who have not connected with a doctor yet. It is good that we are able to show a picture of their baby and show that the baby looks healthy and at the same time reemphasize the importance of them getting medical care.” For women who are not pregnant there is also a packet that includes information about sexually transmitted diseases. “Believe it or not, it is easier to get an STD than to get pregnant,” Ward added. Wilkes says their services go beyond these immediate concerns. They are not merely pro-birth, but pro-life to a fuller extent. “We also provide parenting classes and do counseling for post-abortions and post-miscarriage families,” Wilkes said. “All of these services are free to our clients.” With the parenting classes, they offer an Earn While You Learn program, where mothers can earn items likes diapers, baby clothing, car seats, and more for the classes they take. The annual fundraiser contributes to almost all of the expenses required to sustain the center and the services provided.
Staff Writer
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