GODFREY - Vitality Women’s Clinic aims to raise thousands of dollars for their Baby Bottle Campaign.
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The faith-based, pro-life pregnancy center offers resources to expectant and new parents, but does not provide or refer for abortions. Their Baby Bottle Campaign encourages people to donate to the clinic by filling empty baby bottles with spare change or loose dollars. Executive Director Jackie Duty and Board Secretary Cindy Parish hope many people make the decision to donate.
“Every week, I have more conversations and I hear more stories. It just makes everything so real,” Duty said. “When you really get to have those conversations and just see how this whole organization is impacting so many lives, it’s exciting.”
The organization has distributed 3,000 bottles to churches and organizations throughout the Riverbend community. You can also donate online. Duty and Parish expressed their appreciation for everyone who has donated so far, including students at St. Francis Holy Ghost School who collected over $21,500.
As a child, Parish volunteered at the organization with her mother and was impressed by Vitality’s mission to “help women in the community and help to save lives.” She was encouraged to join the board six years ago, prayed, and ultimately agreed.
Parish shared that she had several friends in college who had abortions. She appreciates that Vitality is “intentional” in its messaging about the choices that pregnant individuals can make.
“If their circumstances had been different or if they had had help, would they have done something different?” she said. “That is a critical piece of helping young ladies see that there is some other choice out here that is more life-giving, not only for the child, but for you, too.”
Parish encourages other people to “advocate” for Vitality. They’re always looking for community members who can donate financially or volunteer time, but Parish and Duty emphasized the importance of supporting Vitality’s work in other ways, too. They believe that by talking about Vitality, more people who can benefit from their services will find them.
Vitality offers free STI and pregnancy testing and ultrasounds. They also host regular parenting classes and have a resource shop for those who attend their classes. They’re open about their goal to encourage people to “choose life.”
The Baby Bottle Campaign runs through Father’s Day. Duty and Parish urge people to donate and visit their official website for more information about their work, how to support them, or how to receive services.
“[We’re] trying to get people to see that the service that we provide is critical to their community,” Parish added. “What they find when they come to Vitality is not just help, but hope as well.”
This Featured Article is sponsored by Vitality Women’s Clinic. To get your business or organization featured on www.Riverbender.com, contact us at sales@riverbender.com.
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