1,837: A Charity of the Quarter Update

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1,837 has special significance because it was the number of clients that The Resource Center helped last year.

For over 35 years, The Resource Center, formally known as The Pregnancy Resource Center, invests in and educates women of our community in pregnancy and sexual health. Starting in a small upstairs office in downtown Greeley, 35 years later, they are literally helping thousands of women.

Our last article gave a brief description of our Charity of the Quarter, The Resource Center. Today, we wanted to share specifically how they helped 1,837 individuals last year.

Gail Holmes, the director of The Resource Center, described the center’s service as “compassionately counseling individuals with academic and medical information.” In no way do they condemn any girl who walks through their doors. They love and educate women and men about pregnancy, sexual, and parenting health.

One of the main services The Resource Center offers new clients are free pregnancy tests. Girls from middle school age to over 35 years old often come in desperate, frightened, and worried they are pregnant.

When a girl is pregnant, they educate her on all her options. In their 35 years, they have seen every fear and worry a girl may have when learning they are pregnant. They have developed several educational services in response.

Sometimes girls feel pressure from boyfriends or parents to not keep the baby. The Resource center provides referrals to free legal counsel to any women who feels this pressure. Knowing their legal rights helps girls stand up against these pressures and greatly reduces the risk of the termination of the baby.

If a girl decides she cannot keep the baby, the center’s value for life drives them to advise the girl toward adoption for the baby. Thankfully, gone are the days of non-transparent adoption agencies. Today, girls are able to choose a family they think would be the best fit for their baby. They can see a family’s profile and learn about their interests and beliefs enabling the girl to feel comfortable with the decision of adoption.

Gail stated, though, nearly half of the clients who come in actually have a negative pregnancy test. Although the girl is relieved, The Resource Center sees it as an opportunity to educate the girls on abstinence principles. Gail says they are still shocked with the number of girls that don’t think abstinence is an option for them. Unfortunately, with our culture’s TV, advertisements, music, and social media, most girls believe they won’t ever be loved by a guy unless they are intimate with them.

The Resource Center’s pregnancy support includes a complimentary limited sonogram often saving the client $300 to $500. Last year, they performed 227 Sonograms enabling parents to see this amazing miracle of new life in the womb.

But the Resource Center doesn’t merely stop their education at pregnancy confirmation. Many individuals take advantage of their ‘Earn While You Learn’ parenting courses. There are times when a girl who already has several children feels she cannot handle another little one in the house. The Resource Center provides parenting classes to show these mothers they can manage a family.

Unfortunately, in our community, many girls end up choosing to terminate the life of the baby inside them. The Resource Center steps up to provide life-affirming advising for them. The statistics are very sad for women who’ve had abortions. Post-abortion women have higher rates of death from all causes. When you learn the amount of women driven to drugs and alcohol to deal with depression after an abortion, you learn there is a real need to help these women. Unfortunately, the average time a women waits to get support and counseling after having an abortion is 15 years.

These services only merely scratch the surface of what The Resource Center does in our community. But without it, where would 1,837 women go when they need support and help with an unplanned pregnancy? Our government-funded centers do not have parenting classes or health education despite what they claim. Thank you Resource Center for all you do and for trying to save every life you can.