Showers of Generosity!

Wow! Where do I even begin? The Community Baby Shower was a great success! As most of you know, things move pretty quickly when it comes to the Families Against Planned Parenthood campaign so, when a friend of mine from church suggested this idea to me, I quickly passed it on. By the time we got the final “thumbs up” we had only 4 days to make this idea a reality. Yes, you read right, 4 days! But, as we know, with God all things are possible. Several women from our Mom’s Group at Holy Angels quickly volunteered their time and talents and, within 48 hours, we not only connected with the organizations who we planned on benefiting but we also had done a PR “blitz” to the local faith community and parish schools. So, this morning as we set up empty playpens adorned with pink and blue balloons, we had no idea what kind of response we would receive. Would anyone respond to our call to help women and families in need? How many playpens would we fill? We quickly found out that the answers were YES and MANY! Here’s what the generous and caring people of our community donated with only a few days notice – 120 packs of diapers, 56 boxes of wipes, 30 baby blankets, 70 baby toiletry items, 70 outfits and onesies, 48 items of baby food and formula, 62 baby care items including bottles, pacifiers, feeding supplies, etc., as well as a crib mattress and bedding set, baby monitor, floor gym, and a $50 gift card for a local maternity clothing store! I can not tell you the gratitude of the women who were there working on behalf of the 3 organizations who will benefit from these donations. Which, by the way, are Project Gabriel, the Pregnancy Information Center , and Catholic Charities. What a blessing these items will be to so many mothers and babies! One particularly touching moment today was when a woman who stopped by to drop off her donation said to us that she was once in need of this type of help and people reached out to her and now she wanted to donate and give back so others could be helped in the same way. You see, unlike the option of abortion, the choice of reaching out in love simply lends itself to an increase in love. It comes back around. And, unlike PP, these organizations don’t just provide a one time service and then wave you out the door. They are here to help for as long as they are needed and to provide pregnant women and new mothers with not only material assistance but with counseling support and spiritual encouragement. God bless these great people who work tirelessly to help women say “yes” to life under difficult circumstances. So, I humbly say THANK YOU to all who gave so generously on such short notice. Today was proof that when we, those who value the sanctity of ALL human life, combine our prayers with action great things can, and do, happen. I also want to say thank you to the following people for making this baby shower possible… Rita from Project Gabriel, Kathy from the Pregnancy Information Center in Aurora , and Kelly/Terry from Catholic Charities. My baby shower team – Claire, Tara, Andrea, Debbie, Dan, Jane M, Karen, Jane F, and Teri. (Thank you Tara for the balloons!) Dominicks for the use of some of their parking spaces and their cooperation. And finally, to Eric and the whole FAPP crew (too many to name!) – your dedication and passion are inspiring – thank you! In His Service, Dawn