IRTHRIGHTPregnancy Aid Center of Harford County, Inc.
Winter 2014Our Mission: To assist women in a crisis pregnancy to carry their baby to term.
Contact Information38 East Gordon StreetBel Air, Maryland 21014
410-838-04431-800-550-4900Fax: 410-838-0446
Office HoursMonday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Tuesday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Wednesday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Thursday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Friday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
DirectorsCarol Maglov, Executive Director
Elyse Colao, Admin. Assistant
Board of DirectorsJames R. DeCapite, C.P.A.
President
Jon J. Bellantoni, MDVice President
Carol M. Murrow,Treasurer
Laura L. Henninger, Esq.Secretary
Carol A. MaglovExecutive Director
Bernadette M. WendelMember
Christopher J. Yeung, PhDMember
Who is the Face of Birthright?January marked the 41st ‘anniversary’ of the Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion in the United States of America. It also marked 41 years since Birthright of Bel Air opened up our doors to serve the women of Harford County. Over the years thousands of women have passed through our doors looking for someone who will listen when no one else can or will. Someone who will not judge them, but love them no matter what their final decision.
After all these years people still have questions about what we do and whom we serve. Who really is the face of Birthright? After giving it some thought it occurred to me that the answer to that question gets right to the heart of what we do. Who is the face of Birthright.... It’s the teenage girl who comes in for a pregnancy test and gets compassion and love no matter the result.... It’s the teen who leaves her parent’s home because she’s pregnant and her parents want her to have an abortion but she needs support and someone to listen to how she feels....it’s the twenty-something that’s in college, finds out she’s pregnant and is uncertain about her future or how a baby fits into that future...it’s the single mom who needs clothes and diapers to tide her over a few days - so she comes in for assistance but stays ‘just a little longer’ because she feels safe and loved...it’s the single 40 year old who finds she’s pregnant and this may be her last chance to be a mom....it’s the woman who chooses life for her unborn child but knows she cannot give that child a secure home so she comes to Birthright to speak with a volunteer that can put her in touch with adoption agencies...its the woman who had come in to Birthright years before when she was in crisis, and whom over the years has lifted herself and her child out of poverty and now wants to ‘give back’ to Birthright to thank us for helping her when she was in need....it’s the volunteer for Birthright that opens the front door and then opens up her heart to the woman on the other side....it’s the generous people in our community, the churches, and the schools that donate to us year round so we can continue to keep our doors open.
So next time someone asks you about Birthright of Bel Air think of those faces and those lives that we touch 6 days a week 52 weeks a year.IRTHRIGHT Pregnancy Aid Center of Harford County, Inc.
38 East Gordon Street • Bel Air, MD 21014
NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE PAID
BEL AIR, MDPERMIT NO. 1029
Birthright has ministered to the people of Harford and the surrounding communities for over 30 years. All Birthright services are free and confidential. Birthright is supported solely by individuals and a few local churches. We receive no State or Federal money. Birthright never has and never will sell, lend, or give your name or address to any other organization. You have our word!
Yes, I wish to help BIRTHRIGHT of Harford County to assist anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy. To realize and to choosean alternative to abortion that saves the baby’s life and gives the mother a life worth living.
I would like to contribute: ❑ $5 ❑ $10 ❑ $20 ❑ $50 ❑ $100 ❑ $1000 ❑ other
❑ Yes, I am able to make available your literature at a location open to the public.
❑ I wish to receive information about volunteering with Birthright.
❑ Please add/do not add my name to your mailing list. (circle one)
Suggestions or Comments:_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
ALL CONTRIBUTIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE
Name: ________________________________________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________________________________
Email: ________________________________________________________________________________________(Please supply your email address if you would like to receive the Birthright newsletter quarterly through email.)
Free Service’s OfferedPregnancy Test
Community Resource Center
Prepare to Parent Program
One on one lay counseling
Post-partum support
Maternity clothes
Layettes, diapers, and baby clothes
Post abortion support
Referral to Trusted Sources:
Pre-Natal Medical Care
Adoption
Housing
Professional Counseling
Legal Advice
Substances Abuse Centers
Low or No Cost Baby Furniture
Our Organization is:Confidential
Nonpolitical
Nonjudgmental
Interdenominational
Volunteers
Tax Exempt
Birthright has helped thousands
of people in Harford, Cecil,
Baltimore, & York Counties for
the past forty-one years. We
are committed to helping those
in need, regardless of their age,
race, religion, or marital status.
If you would like to receive our quarterly newsletter by email, visit our website www.birthrightofbelair.org and sign up. Please call or drop us a note if you want to be removed from our paper mailing list. This is not done automatically when you sign up for the email.
Thanks
We are unable to give out baby furniture from our office. St. Mark’s church in Fallston will store baby furniture and pass them on to Birthright clients free of charge. If you have baby furniture to donate, please contact St. Mark’s at 410-879-9110.
Wonderful VolunteersGoing back over forty years, we have served thousands of women who were pregnant or thought they were pregnant. We have helped our clients administer pregnancy tests and spent hours talking through their situation and offering support without judgment. We have a large ministry of helping with maternity clothes, baby clothes, diapers, baby food, and other needed items. We have a growing education and mentoring ministry. We make referrals for adoption, medical, legal, housing, abuse, post abortion healing, and professional counseling. We serve women and families in crisis, and work with residents of Harford, Baltimore, Cecil County, and Southern Pennsylvania. All our services are free and confidential.
Birthright of Bel Air has over 45 dedicated volunteers who keep unfailingly to their schedules here on East Gordon Street. They guarantee that we are open and ready to help anyone who come to see us. The phone is always answered and our door is open. The volunteers are currently working with 327 open client cases.
Often when a woman who come to Birthright she sees no other choice but abortion. With a great deal of love and patience our devoted volunteer walks her through the decision, keeping in mind that we can only care for the mother as she is the only one who can care for her baby. In the end the choice is hers to make. We do not take lightly the struggles that she goes through. We do not judge her for feeling the obstacles are too high. What we strive to do is remove some of those obstacles, and if we do, there is a good chance she will carry her baby.
Every child born is celebrated in our office. Our mother’s thank us over and over again when they bring their new baby in for a visit. Many times when we meet a newborn, we am reminded that Mother was planning an abortion before coming to Birthright. This brings us back to our volunteers. The Birthright volunteers give all they have to the client. When a client calls or comes to the office all the focus goes to her. The volunteer is there for no other reason than to minister to this person, regardless of what the need is. We have several new volunteers and others who have been with us for 20 years and more. They are from different backgrounds and each has their special gift. All are unselfish and totally devoted to Birthright. As we could not exist without our generous donors, we could not further the work of Birthright without the unwavering and loyal support of our volunteers.
Pictured is Dawn Miller and Brianna Brinkley with some of the
15 quilts they made.
Brianna BrinkleyWe knew early on that Brianna Brinkley was a special young woman. Brianna chose Birthright for her Girl Scout Gold Award Project and decided on quilts for our new mom’s. Brianna contacted Dawn Miller and The Blockheads from Flying Geese Quilt Guild, to help her. What they brought us was more than blankets; they are beautiful works of art. It is their way to give honor and celebrate the birth of a child.
While Brianna was making quilts she was also making a short film on abstinence entitled, It’s My Own Affair. She brought together students from different schools, age, and ethnicity to speak on the culture of sex, advertising, social media, and peer pressure. Brianna speaks of the consequences of sex and the reality of the crisis that is involved. She talks about her being adopted and what a positive solution this is to a difficult problem. She closes with an endorsement for Birthright as an avenue to help for someone in need.
Brianna has also agreed to be an advocate for Adoption with Birthright. Often when talking with a client about adoption the client will make the comment, “How will I know if my baby is happy? What if my baby hates me for giving her away?” Brianna has agreed to be a contact for this client. She is willing to talk candidly with the pregnant woman, to share her adoption story, and how she loves her birth mother for giving her a wonderful life.
God has brought another to Birthright to begin to build an Adoption Initiative. Teresa Leet is an adoption advocate with Option2adopt who will train the Birthright volunteers how to approach a client to consider adoption. Teresa noted, “Adoption is the forgotten option in a crisis pregnancy. By offering education, resources, and support, we can offer a loving and responsible pregnancy choice to our clients.”
Birthright Awarded Grant for Parent to Parent Program
We feel truly blessed that The Harford County Women’s Giving Circle has awarded Birthright of Bel Air a $4,000 grant to aid in funding our Parent to Parent Program.
We started the Parent to Parent Program 4 years ago because we were finding that many of the pregnant women coming into Birthright were receiving less and less training on pregnancy, the birthing process and parenting due to cuts in programs for low income women. Not only could they not afford to pay out of pocket for classes, but some also faced issues with transportation, scheduling and, unfortunately, the more ‘at risk’ clients were indifferent to the need for classes in general.
It was then that we realized that a void needed to be filled and so
we designed the Parent to Parent Program to educate and mentor those women pregnant for the first time. We offer the Parent to
Parent Program free of charge and we tailor the program to meet the needs of each individual client.Each session consists of the client viewing a 20-30 minute DVD followed by a one on one discussion with her Birthright volunteer. We specifically set up our sessions one on one so the client can work closely with the same volunteer and so that they are able to coordinate appointments so as not to
interfere with their work schedules and/or transportation. After the initial session on pregnancy, the client has the freedom to choose the topics that are of the most interest to them.
We had initially offered the client an incentive to complete the program but what we found is that the clients genuinely love attending the sessions. They are excited to learn the material and they appreciate the special attention they receive from their Birthright volunteer. The incentive we offer the client is a gift card to ‘Babies ‘R Us’ to assist them in the purchase of a new crib or car seat. What better way to show them that we appreciate all the time and effort they have put into preparing to parent!
The desire to expand our Parent to Parent Program stems from the growing needs in our community.We are encountering more pregnant clients who ask to participate in the program and are even askingfor additional titles. This is confirmation that the program is catching on and working! The grant money will go towards a new TV/DVD player; updating and expanding of our teaching materials; and gift card incentives for clients who sign up. Again we are so grateful to the good works done eachyear by the wonderful women who partner with the Harford County Women’s Giving Circle.
Tami Zavislan of the Harford County Community Foundation,
Carol Maglov, Executive Director of Birthright, and Laura Henninger of
the Women’s Giving Circle
Free Service’s OfferedPregnancy Test
Community Resource Center
Prepare to Parent Program
One on one lay counseling
Post-partum support
Maternity clothes
Layettes, diapers, and baby clothes
Post abortion support
Referral to Trusted Sources:
Pre-Natal Medical Care
Adoption
Housing
Professional Counseling
Legal Advice
Substances Abuse Centers
Low or No Cost Baby Furniture
Our Organization is:Confidential
Nonpolitical
Nonjudgmental
Interdenominational
Volunteers
Tax Exempt
Birthright has helped thousands
of people in Harford, Cecil,
Baltimore, & York Counties for
the past forty-one years. We
are committed to helping those
in need, regardless of their age,
race, religion, or marital status.
If you would like to receive our quarterly newsletter by email, visit our website www.birthrightofbelair.org and sign up. Please call or drop us a note if you want to be removed from our paper mailing list. This is not done automatically when you sign up for the email.
Thanks
We are unable to give out baby furniture from our office. St. Mark’s church in Fallston will store baby furniture and pass them on to Birthright clients free of charge. If you have baby furniture to donate, please contact St. Mark’s at 410-879-9110.
Wonderful VolunteersGoing back over forty years, we have served thousands of women who were pregnant or thought they were pregnant. We have helped our clients administer pregnancy tests and spent hours talking through their situation and offering support without judgment. We have a large ministry of helping with maternity clothes, baby clothes, diapers, baby food, and other needed items. We have a growing education and mentoring ministry. We make referrals for adoption, medical, legal, housing, abuse, post abortion healing, and professional counseling. We serve women and families in crisis, and work with residents of Harford, Baltimore, Cecil County, and Southern Pennsylvania. All our services are free and confidential.
Birthright of Bel Air has over 45 dedicated volunteers who keep unfailingly to their schedules here on East Gordon Street. They guarantee that we are open and ready to help anyone who come to see us. The phone is always answered and our door is open. The volunteers are currently working with 327 open client cases.
Often when a woman who come to Birthright she sees no other choice but abortion. With a great deal of love and patience our devoted volunteer walks her through the decision, keeping in mind that we can only care for the mother as she is the only one who can care for her baby. In the end the choice is hers to make. We do not take lightly the struggles that she goes through. We do not judge her for feeling the obstacles are too high. What we strive to do is remove some of those obstacles, and if we do, there is a good chance she will carry her baby.
Every child born is celebrated in our office. Our mother’s thank us over and over again when they bring their new baby in for a visit. Many times when we meet a newborn, we am reminded that Mother was planning an abortion before coming to Birthright. This brings us back to our volunteers. The Birthright volunteers give all they have to the client. When a client calls or comes to the office all the focus goes to her. The volunteer is there for no other reason than to minister to this person, regardless of what the need is. We have several new volunteers and others who have been with us for 20 years and more. They are from different backgrounds and each has their special gift. All are unselfish and totally devoted to Birthright. As we could not exist without our generous donors, we could not further the work of Birthright without the unwavering and loyal support of our volunteers.
Pictured is Dawn Miller and Brianna Brinkley with some of the
15 quilts they made.
Brianna BrinkleyWe knew early on that Brianna Brinkley was a special young woman. Brianna chose Birthright for her Girl Scout Gold Award Project and decided on quilts for our new mom’s. Brianna contacted Dawn Miller and The Blockheads from Flying Geese Quilt Guild, to help her. What they brought us was more than blankets; they are beautiful works of art. It is their way to give honor and celebrate the birth of a child.
While Brianna was making quilts she was also making a short film on abstinence entitled, It’s My Own Affair. She brought together students from different schools, age, and ethnicity to speak on the culture of sex, advertising, social media, and peer pressure. Brianna speaks of the consequences of sex and the reality of the crisis that is involved. She talks about her being adopted and what a positive solution this is to a difficult problem. She closes with an endorsement for Birthright as an avenue to help for someone in need.
Brianna has also agreed to be an advocate for Adoption with Birthright. Often when talking with a client about adoption the client will make the comment, “How will I know if my baby is happy? What if my baby hates me for giving her away?” Brianna has agreed to be a contact for this client. She is willing to talk candidly with the pregnant woman, to share her adoption story, and how she loves her birth mother for giving her a wonderful life.
God has brought another to Birthright to begin to build an Adoption Initiative. Teresa Leet is an adoption advocate with Option2adopt who will train the Birthright volunteers how to approach a client to consider adoption. Teresa noted, “Adoption is the forgotten option in a crisis pregnancy. By offering education, resources, and support, we can offer a loving and responsible pregnancy choice to our clients.”
Birthright Awarded Grant for Parent to Parent Program
We feel truly blessed that The Harford County Women’s Giving Circle has awarded Birthright of Bel Air a $4,000 grant to aid in funding our Parent to Parent Program.
We started the Parent to Parent Program 4 years ago because we were finding that many of the pregnant women coming into Birthright were receiving less and less training on pregnancy, the birthing process and parenting due to cuts in programs for low income women. Not only could they not afford to pay out of pocket for classes, but some also faced issues with transportation, scheduling and, unfortunately, the more ‘at risk’ clients were indifferent to the need for classes in general.
It was then that we realized that a void needed to be filled and so
we designed the Parent to Parent Program to educate and mentor those women pregnant for the first time. We offer the Parent to
Parent Program free of charge and we tailor the program to meet the needs of each individual client.Each session consists of the client viewing a 20-30 minute DVD followed by a one on one discussion with her Birthright volunteer. We specifically set up our sessions one on one so the client can work closely with the same volunteer and so that they are able to coordinate appointments so as not to
interfere with their work schedules and/or transportation. After the initial session on pregnancy, the client has the freedom to choose the topics that are of the most interest to them.
We had initially offered the client an incentive to complete the program but what we found is that the clients genuinely love attending the sessions. They are excited to learn the material and they appreciate the special attention they receive from their Birthright volunteer. The incentive we offer the client is a gift card to ‘Babies ‘R Us’ to assist them in the purchase of a new crib or car seat. What better way to show them that we appreciate all the time and effort they have put into preparing to parent!
The desire to expand our Parent to Parent Program stems from the growing needs in our community.We are encountering more pregnant clients who ask to participate in the program and are even askingfor additional titles. This is confirmation that the program is catching on and working! The grant money will go towards a new TV/DVD player; updating and expanding of our teaching materials; and gift card incentives for clients who sign up. Again we are so grateful to the good works done eachyear by the wonderful women who partner with the Harford County Women’s Giving Circle.
Tami Zavislan of the Harford County Community Foundation,
Carol Maglov, Executive Director of Birthright, and Laura Henninger of
the Women’s Giving Circle
IRTHRIGHTPregnancy Aid Center of Harford County, Inc.
Winter 2014Our Mission: To assist women in a crisis pregnancy to carry their baby to term.
Contact Information38 East Gordon StreetBel Air, Maryland 21014
410-838-04431-800-550-4900Fax: 410-838-0446
Office HoursMonday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Tuesday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Wednesday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Thursday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Friday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
DirectorsCarol Maglov, Executive Director
Elyse Colao, Admin. Assistant
Board of DirectorsJames R. DeCapite, C.P.A.
President
Jon J. Bellantoni, MDVice President
Carol M. Murrow,Treasurer
Laura L. Henninger, Esq.Secretary
Carol A. MaglovExecutive Director
Bernadette M. WendelMember
Christopher J. Yeung, PhDMember
Who is the Face of Birthright?January marked the 41st ‘anniversary’ of the Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion in the United States of America. It also marked 41 years since Birthright of Bel Air opened up our doors to serve the women of Harford County. Over the years thousands of women have passed through our doors looking for someone who will listen when no one else can or will. Someone who will not judge them, but love them no matter what their final decision.
After all these years people still have questions about what we do and whom we serve. Who really is the face of Birthright? After giving it some thought it occurred to me that the answer to that question gets right to the heart of what we do. Who is the face of Birthright.... It’s the teenage girl who comes in for a pregnancy test and gets compassion and love no matter the result.... It’s the teen who leaves her parent’s home because she’s pregnant and her parents want her to have an abortion but she needs support and someone to listen to how she feels....it’s the twenty-something that’s in college, finds out she’s pregnant and is uncertain about her future or how a baby fits into that future...it’s the single mom who needs clothes and diapers to tide her over a few days - so she comes in for assistance but stays ‘just a little longer’ because she feels safe and loved...it’s the single 40 year old who finds she’s pregnant and this may be her last chance to be a mom....it’s the woman who chooses life for her unborn child but knows she cannot give that child a secure home so she comes to Birthright to speak with a volunteer that can put her in touch with adoption agencies...its the woman who had come in to Birthright years before when she was in crisis, and whom over the years has lifted herself and her child out of poverty and now wants to ‘give back’ to Birthright to thank us for helping her when she was in need....it’s the volunteer for Birthright that opens the front door and then opens up her heart to the woman on the other side....it’s the generous people in our community, the churches, and the schools that donate to us year round so we can continue to keep our doors open.
So next time someone asks you about Birthright of Bel Air think of those faces and those lives that we touch 6 days a week 52 weeks a year.IRTHRIGHT Pregnancy Aid Center of Harford County, Inc.
38 East Gordon Street • Bel Air, MD 21014
Birthright has ministered to the people of Harford and the surrounding communities for over 30 years. All Birthright services are free and confidential. Birthright is supported solely by individuals and a few local churches. We receive no State or Federal money. Birthright never has and never will sell, lend, or give your name or address to any other organization. You have our word!
Yes, I wish to help BIRTHRIGHT of Harford County to assist anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy. To realize and to choose an alternative to abortion that saves the baby’s life and gives the mother a life worth living.
I would like to contribute: ❑ $5 ❑ $10 ❑ $20 ❑ $50 ❑ $100 ❑ $1000 ❑ other
❑ Yes, I am able to make available your literature at a location open to the public.
❑ I wish to receive information about volunteering with Birthright.
❑ Please add/do not add my name to your mailing list. (circle one)
Suggestions or Comments: _________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
ALL CONTRIBUTIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE
Name: ________________________________________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________________________________
Email: ________________________________________________________________________________________(Please supply your email address if you would like to receive the Birthright newsletter quarterly through email.)
