A disgusting misuse of crafters' big hearts for volunteering.

I was browsing a website I'd seen in a magazine that describes the activities and products of crafter organizations--people who knit, sew or craft materials that can benefit the less fortunate. I was shocked to see that one group was "helping" out the local Planned Parenthood agency--with heating pads for cramping from a chemical abortion. Wow. They just destroyed a human life so let's donate heating pads. Also little bags for personal items (probably need a lot of sanitary napkins for bleeding) and free birth control pills to take home for 14 year olds. It's the worst imitation of what churches and pregnancy centers do to help teen girls and young women get through some tough times, which includes counseling, clothing, household articles and presenting the gospel in a safe environment. 

The devil in drag pretending to be something else.

Pregnancy Decision Health Centers

http://pdhc.org/

Pregnancy Decision Health Center is where I’ve been a volunteer for the last 5 or 6 years (don’t remember when I started but there was a big ice storm and I had to cancel my first day).  It provides women with pregnancy tests and ultrasounds (all free, no government money). It also provides counseling, material aid, educational materials, parenting classes, maternity clothes, layettes of beautiful new clothes and hand made things by church ladies.  It educates the community and has teams that go into the high schools to talk about being sexually responsible.  PDHC also has a fatherhood project to promote two parent families and the benefits of monogamy. There is also an emergency hot line.  All this was started about 40 years ago by one woman who began with a hotline in her home after the Roe v. Wade court case.

There are four locations in central Ohio, all with a nurse-director, para-professionals, interns, volunteer counselors most with degrees, and greeters, which was my position. We do the clerical stuff, entering records on the computer (when I began the files were paper and in a file cabinet) and greet the people with a clip board and instructions, like you would see at a doctor’s office. I also search the internet for any recalls on baby equipment that is donated like strollers, bouncers, bathtubs, write thank you notes for donations, insert educational material into packages which are given to each woman. I unpack and sort baby clothing donations, some of which has to be washed, and some of which comes from Catholic ladies who buy or make them, and pack.  I think that organization is about 100 years old.

Our clinic on West Broad Street has a pleasant lobby with comfortable chairs,  two counseling rooms nicely furnished, an education room with tables, chairs, video, etc.  A “store” with maternity clothes, free children’s clothes for older children in the family, diapers, books, etc., and an ultrasound room, plus 2 restrooms. A certain amount in the store is free, others can be earned by attending classes. Some of the locations, like on the OSU campus, offer STD testing, but we don’t. All the ultra-sounds are read by doctors who volunteer their time.

I’m a greeter, but have been on the prayer team for 18 years. Each week or so we get an e-mail list (without names because God knows) of about 10 requests for prayer as these women make the decision to either parent or abort.  I think I’ve only seen adoption a few times in all those years, although that may be because the decision has been made.  Not every woman is seeking an abortion; some need the documentation to qualify for government benefits. But our staff provides follow up anyway, and at the end of their pregnancy they can still have a layette.  Also if there is a miscarriage, grief counseling.  Some don’t have a doctor and need a referral.

Private contributions are 65% of PDHC’s support, grants 18%, churches direct contributions 12% and investments 4%. There is no government funding.  The current budgeted income is about $1.4 million. In 1981 309 clients were served; in 2017 the number served was 4411. 71% of those who seek help have incomes of less than $15,000.

One surprise for me was the list of local resources we compile and hand out—local, state, federal, non-profit, church, etc. It’s extensive and very specialized, like beds, or scholarships, or free clinics, or low cost housing, or food pantries. The bed ministry is from churches—ours has one.  It’s surprising (to me) how many families don’t have beds, or the women have fled abuse with no furniture, or the house was treated for bed bugs, and all the mattresses were thrown out. For a child to have his own bed is something really special. 

The fun Christmas party for PDHC

Last night we attended a Christmas party for the volunteers of the pregnancy center. We save lives--one womb at a time. Saw a few friends I know from church, and some I've met volunteering. I was on a great gift wrapping team (but we could only use one hand) as a game. But what really warmed my heart (more than the delicious food that Abigail Colon's husband made) was the number of young women either volunteering or on staff. Wow. I'm so used to hanging out with retirees and senior citizens and imagining that it's all on our shoulders, it's so nice to know there are young people out there wanting to save babies and mentor women in crisis situations.

An oxymoron--paid volunteers

A better deal than Americorps! That only pays a stipend and qualifies you to be a "public servant" to repay your college debt. Charity for Debt might pay off your college loans at up to $20 an hour for your "volunteering." Plus, if you join Americorps to pay off your college loans you might get stuck recruiting people for food stamps.

We need a new name for this feel good enterprise (Charity for Debt is a "non-profit," but I don't know if it receives government grants for its own staffing and programs). Look. It's not charity if you're working off your debt. In the 17th century we settled a lot of the east coast with people working off debt--it was called indentured servitude. Some people worked off their trans-Atlantic passage. And you're not volunteering if you get your debt reduced for each hour you work. Oh, and it's tax free pay so an hour of work may go 30% further in "volunteering."

I can't balance my check book, but I know that much about how the non-profits (and the government) spin. I've also been a volunteer.

Saving the world, one cat at a time

Bandit
I often quote my mother who said, "I can't save the whole world, but I can save four acres." And she did, and she shared those acres with others by turning her family home into a peaceful, attractive retreat center. There are people in Powell, Ohio (northwest Columbus) who are saving the world one cat at a time at the Cozy Cat Cottage. What can you do to help. Of course, there's always money, but if you'd like a more fuzzy, hands on position, there are also volunteer jobs. I spend a lot of time on the internet so I might look into that good search click thing which provides CCC with benefits.

Mission Statement: Cozy Cat Cottage Adoption Center is a non-profit organization that provides refuge; aid and care for abandoned, injured, abused or lost cats and kittens. We refuse to euthanize cats or kittens simply because they are unwanted.

We are committed to the keep and care for these unwanted animals of all ages while attempting to find permanent, responsible, loving homes for each and every one of them.

We are dedicated to promoting respect and compassion for all animals through humane education and vigorously promoting spay and neutering to reduce, and eventually to eliminate the animal over population.

Right now this no kill facility can't accept any new residents, but if you are looking for a nice pet, perhaps one that's had a rough start in life, why not stop in at 62 Village Pointe Drive, Powell, Ohio 43065.

A high tech net for volunteers

I hope everyone contributing to buy nets and t-shirts noticed the article about malaria in today's Wall St. Journal. It's about high tech epidemiology and volunteers who help with malaria vaccine modeling. The simulations could take months or years as millions die or become disabled by a disease that about 30 years ago had practically been conquered. That is until Rachel Carson told about her vision of a silent spring, and DDT as a killer of mosquitoes that spread the disease was essentially taken off the market. In its place we have bed nets and local spraying, and do-gooders buying orange t-shirts and having basketball games and bake sales to feel like they're doing something. Meanwhile, millions of children, mostly black and brown, mostly poor, mostly not using bed-nets because they aren't accessible, are dying.

So while they slice and dice the genes of the female mosquito becoming famous for writing articles in peer review journals, they can only hope for that enzyme that will cure the disease. But doesn't volunteering just feel so good? Isn't that what counts? The feeling, not the results?

Want to volunteer?

Serve dot gov will direct you to ACORN. Isn't that a sweet connection--and with our tax money too.

Read it here.

Blue skies and sunshine in Columbus

My husband is creeping along on Rt. 4 about 10 miles an hour. Says it is very slick and icy (called to let me know where he is). He's returning from Lakeside and four hours of leaf raking, a fall routine he's had for 10 years--although most of our neighbors there close up on Labor Day and reopen in April or May, and don't worry about leaf pick up schedule.

Gorgeous fashions! I was watching El Gordo y La Flaca last evening and their guest/side kick Steve(?) had a clip of a fashion show interview he'd done. Oh my! Clothes so feminine and graceful and fabrics so lush they recalled old 30s movies, or trimmer times of the 1950s. I certainly hope that trend will spread. Not that I could afford them or have a place to wear dressy clothes, but there is a trickle down effect. I don't know enough Spanish to catch the event or the designer, but let's hope it catches on. So tired of sloppy and casual. I left the room for a few minutes and when I came back the news was on. Those info-babes on Spanish language TV certainly dress differently than ours. Eye popping, if you get my drift. The man, however, was completely covered.

Also flipping through the channels I got the last few minutes of the Republican Governors Conference last week on c-span. They do seem excited about Bobby Jindal, and were praising him for the Gustav response. We keep passing out my homemade Palin-Jindal 2012 pins.

Feels like I might be coming down with a cold. I'm overdue. Haven't had one since September 2007. So I've been trying Zicam--a friend swears by it. If I could get 1 week colds like other people, I'd be happy. Mine usually last 3 or more weeks.

I had a long chat with one of my uncles last night and caught up on the family news. I think he's closer to my age than my father's--maybe 10 years older than me. He mentioned some grandchildren I didn't know about and a change of address for one of my aunts in California, so I suggested he write down the children's names and birth dates and mail them to me. I seem to be the only person in the family that does much with genealogy. Doesn't make much sense to know who was where in the 17th century if you don't know where the 21st century cousins are. I don't care much for my new version of Family Tree Maker 2008. I don't seem to be able to do the old functions I knew under the 7.0 version.

I volunteered at the Senior Center lunch room yesterday. They really have nice lunches--we served choices of hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken salad, an Italian soup, broccoli soup, creamed chicken on toast, applesauce and usually someone brings in cookies or cake for a dessert to share. Although I have a regular service day, I've subbed a number of times, so don't seem to have a regular partner yet. Harold, my Tuesday partner, says I'm good. I think it's my experience at Zickuhr's Drug Store counter when I was in high school and college coming back to me. I have worked a few times with a woman who has a disabled daughter, and hope to help her out a bit so she can get out of the house more. On both Thursday and Friday there is line dancing right before lunch, and I enjoy watching them. I'm not going to figure this out, since even the medical journals can't, but I notice all the dancers are trim. Now are they trim because they exercise, or do they exercise because they're trim? One woman is 92 and seems to be having a lot of fun.

Advent's just around the corner, so I'll be helping on Wednesdays at church with lunch and communion. You don't ever want me in charge of the kitchen, but I can set a table and stir the soup.

Note: Here's an interesting Google trick. If you type "Zickuhr drug store" into Google and click on images, the first batch of photos that come up are all from my blogs, although I think only one is a photo of the drug store. I guess the other photos are on the same page as an entry about Zickuhr's.