#GivingTuesday is November 30!
Your gift provides the health services and programs a mom needs to choose Life. By partnering with Morning Star on #GivingTuesday, you can help us reach our goal of $13,424.70 to support 30 of the 224 new moms we anticipate seeing this holiday season!
What better gift is there this holiday season than the Gift of Life? #GiveHope.
The stories below show how YOU help Morning Star support the moms who come through our doors. So they are not overwhelmed. So they do not feel alone. So they know there are resources and services to help them find a way to have their babies… to make a choice for Life.
“Natalie” is pregnant. She is dealing with severe anxiety and panic attacks. She is in a domestic-violence situation with the father of her baby. She is dependent on her boyfriend because she can’t hold onto a steady job due to other mental illnesses.
Natalie feels alone. She sees no way out of her situation and feels she cannot have her baby.
Natalie came to Morning Star and received a confidential counseling appointment. Our patient advocate immediately identified and discussed the obstacles Natalie faced that prevented her from having her baby. Our counselor was able to provide referrals for both domestic violence and mental health counseling, alternative housing options, and techniques to help with her anxiety.
The counselor discussed the development of her baby as her pregnancy progressed and the option of adoption, as well as parenting. Morning Star counselors continued to check in with Natalie to make sure she was safe and to provide additional counseling. After several weeks of talking with our counselors, Natalie took advantage of the additional community resources she needed to help with the mental challenges she faced and her abusive living situation.
Finding the help she needed, Natalie felt she was #NotAlone…and chose Life for her baby.
Together, we can make sure moms like Natalie are not alone. Your gift will provide her with the health services and programs she needs to choose Life.
“Rene” is in her twenties. She has two young children from two previous relationships. Both fathers are in jail. She has minimal family support. Rene is now facing another unplanned pregnancy with a different man. Rene is strongly considering abortion. Her relationship with the father of the baby is non-existent. She feels she can’t parent three young children by herself. She doesn’t think she can afford three kids.
Rene is overwhelmed and she feels alone.
After discussing her situation with a Morning Star counselor, Rene was taken into the ultrasound and examination room. As she lay quietly on the table and looked at the image of her baby on the screen, our sonographer explained the development that had already taken place. Rene was 12 weeks pregnant and her baby’s fingerprints had begun to form, the baby was “practicing” breathing and facial expressions, and he was able to swallow and feel and respond to skin stimulation.
Rene returned to the counseling room and told her counselor that seeing her baby “completely changed her mind 100%.” Rene was #NotAlone…and she chose Life!
Your support provides the ultrasounds that change the minds and save the hearts of so many moms like Rene.
“Missy” faces an unplanned pregnancy as a teenager. Her parents kicked her out of their house and she is living with a friend. Even if she keeps her baby, she has no idea how to care for one. She feels her best option is to have an abortion.
Missy feels alone.
Missy came to Morning Star for a medical pregnancy services appointment. Morning Star confirmed her pregnancy, gave her an STI test, and provided her with an ultrasound. Missy expressed her fears that she had no idea how to care for a baby. Morning Star counselors educated Missy on her pregnancy and offered parenting education classes.
Missy attended our Safe Sleep Class to learn how to safely put her baby to sleep. During the class, another mom shared that she had lost a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). She urged all of the moms to listen and learn from the class. Missy was grateful for the education and received a brand new Pack ‘n Play so she had a safe place for her baby to sleep. The class also gave her an opportunity to bond with the other moms as they shared stories of parenting.
Missy was supported throughout her pregnancy with the education she desperately needed. Missy felt she was #NotAlone and could parent her baby…and Missy chose Life!
Your gift ensures moms like Missy are #NotAlone.
“Trish” has a two-year-old. She has no family to speak of. She is living with the father of the baby. It is an abusive relationship. She worries that she won’t be able to clothe and feed her child if she leaves.
Trish feels scared and alone.
Trish first came to Morning Star because she faced an unplanned pregnancy and was considering abortion. She received Morning Star’s medical and counseling services at that time, and ultimately chose Life for her baby.
During those appointments, Trish received agency referrals for domestic abuse situations. She also learned that Morning Star provided materials assistance to parents in need, including baby clothing, blankets, and supplies like formula, diapers, shampoo and baby wash. When Trish decided to take the next step and remove herself and her baby from the abusive situation, she knew which agencies to reach out to.
And, even though it was over two years since she had been to Morning Star, Trish knew she could come for the baby clothing and supplies she would desperately need. Trish felt she was #NotAlone. She and her child would be OK.
Trish chose Life with your support. And with your help again, Trish and her baby were supported with materials assistance as she moved forward to create a better life for herself and her baby.
“Dana” just began her career. She’s been dating “Alex” for a little over a year. They live separately and they both have big career dreams. Dana is pregnant and the only thing Alex will tell her is, “I support you in whatever you decide.”
Dana thinks she can’t have this baby on her own and she will have to sacrifice her career dreams.
Dana feels alone.
Dana and Alex came to Morning Star for a medical pregnancy services appointment. While Dana was speaking with a counselor, Steve, Morning Star’s Nurse Clinic Manager and head of the Fatherhood Program, sat down separately to talk with Alex.
They discussed Alex’s career and his goals in life, finances, how a baby would impact those things, and his relationship with Dana. As the discussion progressed, Alex said he would rather Dana have the baby, but he didn’t know what to do for her and ultimately it was her choice. Steve explained how crucial it was for Dana to know Alex supports her in having their child. He gave Alex specific strategies on how to support Dana both physically and emotionally, and encouraged Alex to talk with Dana so she wouldn’t feel alone in this decision.
After speaking with Steve, Alex sat with Dana and told her that he would support her in having their baby—she didn’t have to do it by herself, they would figure it out together. Dana felt relieved and felt she was #NotAlone. Dana chose Life for their baby!
Your support provides the programs Dana and Alex need to empower them to choose Life.
