(This appeal is from Sam Lee of Missouri Campaign Life)
Dear Pro-Life Friends,
Pro-lifers everywhere and anywhere in the country can help pregnant women in need and moms with newborns in the Joplin, Missouri, area ravaged by the tornado on Sunday, May 22.
LifeChoices Medical Clinic & Resource Center, a pro-life pregnancy care center in Joplin, is hard at work visiting these moms in shelters and in damaged homes and apartments across the city.
I have known the folks at LifeChoices for many years, and they do excellent work caring for pregnant moms and mothers with newborns and their families. LifeChoices staff and volunteers have saved many lives from abortion over the years.
During this time of great trial, LifeChoices and the moms and families they serve deserve our help. Imagine being nine months pregnant or caring for a newborn child – and your husband or another family member was suddenly injured or killed, your home and possessions destroyed, no electricity, little means of communication and a very, very uncertain future. Or, imagine being the person expected to take care of this scared mom with her young children – in warzone-like conditions.
That is what it is like in Joplin right now for LifeChoices and the clients they serve.
The LifeChoices offices, just blocks from the ravages of the tornado’s path, was spared, but some LifeChoices staff and volunteers lost their homes and vehicles. Thankfully, none of the staff or volunteers was seriously injured. (As of Monday afternoon, May 23, 116 people were confirmed dead in Joplin, with the number expected to rise.)
Although LifeChoices offices are open, they are quickly running out of supplies. Items needed include diapers, wipes, pre-mixed formula and newborn clothing. You can follow LifeChoices on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/home.
Monetary donations can be sent to LifeChoices by going to the LifeVoices home page – the E-Voice of LifeChoices, at: www.lifevoices.org. Click on the “DONATE” icon on the upper right.
Donate can also be mailed to:
LifeChoices
531 E. 7th St.
Joplin, MO 64801
All donations are eligible for a federal tax deduction. Missouri residents and corporations can also take an additional 50% state income tax credit for donations of $100.00 or more made to LifeChoices. (For every $100.00 donated, individual and corporate income taxpayers in Missouri can get $50.00 back from the state next year.) Details on Missouri’s Pregnancy Resource Center Tax Credit can be found here: https://www.dss.mo.gov/dfas/
I know that agencies like LifeChoices and the other 52 pregnancy resource centers and 13 maternity homes in Missouri will be needing much financial support in the foreseeable future. After a major disaster like this, donations tend to go up for well-known disaster relief agencies like the Red Cross, but donations go down for the lesser-known agencies. This was certainly true after 9/11, when many pro-life pregnancy care centers throughout the country saw a dramatic drop in financial support.
Pro-life pregnancy care centers in other parts of Missouri are stepping up to the plate and are collecting items for LifeChoices to distribute to Joplin moms and babies. Again, items needed include diapers, wipes, pre-mixed formula and newborn clothing.
There are six drop-off spots to leave items that will then be taken directly to LifeChoices – at some point in the future. At the moment, however, no one except emergency personnel are allowed to enter Joplin. The drop-off locations are:
St. Louis – Frank Block at Love Basket – email: frankb@lovebasket.org or call 636-797-4100
Springfield – Cindi Boston at Pregnancy Care Center – email: director@pccchoices.org or call 417-877-0800
Branson – Jeanie Williams at Options Clinic – email: optionspc@centurytel.net or call 417-336-5483
Kansas City – Marsha Middleton of the Alliance for Life - Missouri in Lee’s Summit – email: allianceforlife.mo@gmail.com or call 417-598-1040
Lake of the Ozarks – Patricia Dascher at Pregnancy Help Center – email: pdascher@pregnancyhelpcenters.
Macon – Michele Jorgenson at Ray of Hope – call 660-651-2652
May the Lord bless you for your kindness in helping the many young moms and their families in Joplin during their great time of distress.
Samuel Lee
Campaign Life Missouri
P.O. Box 142585
St. Louis, MO 63114-0585
(314) 368-4242
samuelhlee@mindspring.com