Ann Coulter stated that “Americans have waited too long for the right to vote on abortion, and the United States Supreme Court continues to drag its feet on the issue,” and “We may have already won the majority’s hearts and minds about abortion, but we don’t know because we are not allowed to vote on it.” Listening to Ann empowered many of the audience to take a stand—to stand up for truth, to stand up for life.
Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell closed the evening with three amazing words, “Be not afraid,” and received a standing ovation. One of our organization’s core values is courage: The willingness to risk and make productive mistakes, and a willingness to challenge thinking and why things are the way they are. Courage is needed everyday to be a voice for the voiceless.
It was exciting, energizing, educational, and inspiring. Many came in imagining—what if every life is accepted, respected and protected…and left believing!
GIFTS OF HOPE SPREADS CHEER TO MORE FAMILIES
The third annual GIFTS OF HOPE Christmas giving program was a huge success and helped 65 families (138 individuals) this year. This represented a 30% increase over last year and we want to thank everyone who helped make this project happen. 17-year old, Jordan Fletcher of Englewood, spent countless hours coordinating this project for his Eagle Scout award. He was able to rally his youth group to wrap over 500 gifts. He worked diligently to get items donated such as wrapping paper, pizza (for the hungry volunteers, and was able to solicit help from area churches to purchase the gifts for the families in need. He created a database to track the history of the program so that families can be easily matched in subsequent years.
A HUGE “thank you” to the entire Fletcher family! Many of you may know Kimberly from her organization, Homemakers For America. She kept Jordan on track and she and her husband transported 2 car loads full of presents to the wrapping site and delivered them back to our location in their shiny packages. Some gifts were also delivered directly to the client’s home by the Fletcher family. Our job was also made easier from the huge contribution from Hannah’s Treasure Chest, a non-profit organization in Centerville that provides clothing and toys to needy children. Angela Addington helped match 12 of our clients with her contacts. And finally, as the deadline to Christmas drew near, we were still trying to place two families, and the UBS organization in Downtown Dayton stepped forward to purchase and wrap gifts for two large families. This organization took their job seriously and provided some wonderful gifts that were sure to please these families on Christmas Day. The many thank you notes from these families expressed much gratitude for making their Christmas truly blessed. |
