As we wind down the year 2021, it seems appropriate to reflect on all God has accomplished through True Care this year thanks to our wonderful supporters.
Helping Women in Their Time of Need
More than 270 women walked through True Care’s doors thus far this year. The majority, 53 percent, were assessed as abortion-minded or abortion-determined, those who either experienced circumstances to make them consider abortion or professed that decision as their intention. Eighty-six percent of the abortion-minded women planned to parent at last follow-up, and 22 percent of the harder cases, the abortion-determined, decided to parent. We praise God for each of these life decisions, which resulted in more than 190 unborn lives saved from abortion thus far this year!
Our in-house programs, Baby and Me and Fathering in Fifteen, continue to impact women and men in positive ways, preparing them to parent, and providing resources to live a more successful life. From better job and housing opportunities to stop smoking and addiction recovery programs, our Resource Coordinator has assisted numerous women with community referrals. Each positive step our patients and the fathers of their children make creates a better life for the children they are expecting.
Outreach with Organizations
We again partnered with Love in Action locally to make the holiday season brighter for several of our patients, and for the first time in the two years we’ve known about a national program called Let Them Live, True Care partnered with this organization to help an abortion-determined woman choose life for her unborn! The organization’s mission is to financially assist women who view abortion as their only option because finances are their major concern. In this case, our patient, who had not had a baby in more than a decade, saw her high insurance deductible as a major obstacle to continuing her pregnancy. Because of Let Them Live, True Care, and our donors, that woman’s insurance deductible and doctor visits are being met, and she is expecting her new baby mid-2022.
We also partnered with a program called NeighborShare, helping several of our patients with rent, utilities, and other bills. Each time we had a patient in need and sent out a notice via NeighborShare, people stepped up within hours, easing that financial burden for a patient. We can show the love of Christ in tangible ways to help these patients who struggle due to lack of income.
Three Embrace Grace programs took place in churches in our community in 2021; Paradise Valley Christian Church recently concluded their fall session. Cornerstone Church and Grace Reformed Church plan their Embrace Grace programs for the new year in early 2022. We are grateful to these churches and their leadership teams for mentoring our young patients and further showcasing the love and grace of Jesus.
Looking Toward 2022
As we approach a new year, we anticipate a variety of new beginnings at True Care, including the welcoming of a new CEO/President. Terry Winship will retire in mid-2022, and Jessica Baxter, who has worked with the Boys and Girls Club for more than 10 years, will assume True Care’s leadership position. Gayle Irwin, Patient Resources Director, plans to retire in late 2022 to pursue more time with her husband and elderly parents, as well as devote more time to her writing career. Rebecca Tharp, our Program Coordinator, will finish her doctorate degree in nursing and open a medical practice, balancing her job at True Care while partnering with mid-wife and women’s health care provider, Amber Zimmer, to meet the great medical need for family medicine in our community. True Care patients can be referred to these wonderful health care providers, helping them access much-needed early prenatal care.
We are also training a new nurse in limited obstetrical ultrasound. Erin Wesnitzer, who has served as a volunteer nurse and advocate for the past few years, joined the True Care team as a paid staff nurse a few months ago. Her passion for life and for women’s health is clear, and she has served with Samaritan’s Purse on medical missions in the past. Our Nurse Manager, Sally Heyer, oversees Erin’s ultrasound training. True Care nurses are compassionate, professional women who showcase the love of God in the work they do.
Grateful Hearts
As Christmas draws near, we are grateful to God for the gift of His Son – and the gift of our wonderful donors, volunteers, supporters, and friends. With your gifts of time, talent, and treasure, True Care diligently works to advance our mission to erase the perceived need for abortion, one woman, one couple, at a time. Your partnership with us in this goal is critical … and it positively impacts lives. And we are grateful!
We wish each one of you and your families and friends a blessed Christmas and a joy-filled New Year.