{"id":214111,"date":"2019-11-20T15:45:48","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T21:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=214111"},"modified":"2019-11-19T20:57:13","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T02:57:13","slug":"pregnancy-help-appreciation-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/pregnancy-help-appreciation-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-life leaders celebrate volunteers during Pregnancy Help Appreciation Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Pregnancy Help News<\/a>) – Pro-life leaders nationwide have come together to recognize the great work of pregnancy help organizations\u00a0by sharing their admiration for them during\u00a0Pregnancy Help Appreciation Week<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Designed by\u00a0Heartbeat International<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to honor those working within the pregnancy help movement, the week celebrates those working within the organizations to ensure that women and men receive the compassionate support they need when facing a life-changing decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so excited,\u201d said Heartbeat International President Jor-El Godsey. \u201cIt\u2019s not the first, it\u2019s not the second, it\u2019s actually the sixth annual Pregnancy Help Appreciation Week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the week Heartbeat offers words of encouragement for the 11,000-plus staff and volunteers working within the movement at Heartbeat\u2019s more than 2,700 pregnancy help locations worldwide, along with special deals for centers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"pregnancy<\/p>\n

Heartbeat\u2019s many affiliates consist of pregnancy resource centers, medical clinics, maternity homes and non-profit adoption agencies.<\/p>\n

These communications are shared on social media using the hashtag #ThankAPregnancyCenter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re celebrating you and we thank you for your commitment, your leadership, and your service to God,\u201d said Cindi Boston, Heartbeat International vice president.<\/p>\n

Appreciation for those serving in the pregnancy help community poured in to Heartbeat from across the pro-life movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that [pregnancy help organizations] are on the front lines when it comes to building a culture of life,\u201d Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, said via\u00a0video<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cWe know that you provide all sorts of free resources for women and families facing unexpected pregnancies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also know that when someone faces and unexpected pregnancy, what they need more than anything is support and to be told that someone is going to be there for them,\u201d Mancini added, \u201cand that\u2019s what you all do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to work alongside hundreds of pregnancy ministries,\u201d said David Bereit, co-founder of 40 Days for Life. \u201cAnd in that experience, I got to see the selflessness, the dedication, the hard work and the desire to love and to serve mothers and through them, being able to save their children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am in awe of the work that you do,\u201d Bereit said.<\/p>\n

U.S. pregnancy help centers served nearly 2 million people with free services in 2017,\u00a0according<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, saving communities at least $161 million.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Five reasons why everyone should love pregnancy resource centers<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A vast majority of those savings came from the 400,100 ultrasounds performed at the centers.\u00a0In addition to ultrasounds, centers provide material resources such as diapers and clothing, free pregnancy tests, parenting classes, and abortion recovery groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s at that [pregnancy] center where I learned that I didn\u2019t have to be angry about abortion, that I could do something about abortion,\u201d said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America. \u201cI could love her more, and show her that we can and support her more. And you all are doing that every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other pro-life supporters shared messages of hope as well<\/p>\n

\u201cI have spent the last year and a half traveling, not only the U.S., but the world,\u201d said Ashley Bratcher, star of Unplanned. \u201cAnd I have seen what everyone is doing in this movement to help women. To help families. To create a culture of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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