September & October News!

Lakeshore Pregnancy Center is a Christ-centered ministry responding to those in our community experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, emphasizing the eternal value of all human life, and teaching Biblical sexuality.

Dear Ones,

I have a challenge for you this month! I would like to you to find one person in your circle of influence that you think would be a great volunteer here at the pregnancy center. We are looking for not only client advocates, but also for receptionists, which is a little less intimidating it seems! Once someone comes to mind, approach them and ask if they would pray about volunteering here, AND follow up with them! There is a training coming up at the end of October and we would love to have a bunch of people who want to take the training!

The Banquet is coming up and I would love to as many of you as possible to attend! Also if you have friends who don’t know about the ministry and you think would be interested to learn more, we need to get them there! Please let me know and I will make sure they get an invitation!
LPC FUNDRAISING BANQUET WITH GARY BAUER OCTOBER 6TH the Haworth Center.

We are working on redirecting our clients to come in the front door, off of Chestnut Street, and we need to have a receptionist at that desk just waiting to make them feel welcome! She will also be taught to do data entry and help us to keep caught up on that sometimes overwhelming job! As we begin to schedule ultrasounds (NEXT MONTH!!) we will be busier and busier, and having someone to count on to catch the phones and greet clients will be a huge help!

During our staff meeting on September 2nd, we talked a lot about keeping our focus the real focus of our ministry. Meaning that there are so many needs out there, and so many ways we would like to help, but if we try to do it all, we don’t do anything well! Our Holland location is going to be only seeing clients who are pregnant or have a child under one year of age. Once the client’s child reaches one, they will be referred on to other agencies in the area. I would love to hear your feedback about this idea. How do you think we are doing serving the clients we see? Where are our strength and where are our weaknesses? Are we serving our pregnancy test clients to the best of our ability? I want to continually improve and hone our services. Your feedback is welcome and needed! Thanks!

Events on the horizon!
We will have a booth at the Allegan County Fair, Friday September 11 – Saturday September 19. We are in the Industrial Pavilion, that’s the building with the white roof and blue fabric sides! Come on over and check us out!
September 17 is the women’s gold scramble at Diamond Springs golf course.
September 18 is the 100 hole marathon also at Diamond Springs.
September 26 we will be at the Hamilton Community Picnic sponsored by Love INC.
October 3 we will be at the Respect Life Conference at St. Margaret’s in Otsego.
October 6 LPC Banquet at the Haworth Center in Holland.

With all these events in the next few weeks, this may be the last newsletter until November! But please feel free to contact me if you need anything or have any questions or concerns! You are each such a pleasure to work with…thanks for being you! Have a wonderful fall.

With Lots of Love,

Rachel

Lakeshore Pregnancy Center of Allegan
September & October 2009
Volunteer Schedule



SEPTEMBER
14 AMY 1 - 8
AM: CHRIS & JILL
PM: KAY (2-5)
EVE: DIANE (4-7)
SUZANNE 5:30 – 7:30

15 RACHEL
AM: KAY
PM: ANNE

16 RACHEL
AM: SANDY
PM: SARA

17
CLOSED TODAY
FAIR &
LADIES’ SCRAMBLE

21 AMY
AM: JILL
PM:
EVE: DIANE (4-7)
SUZANNE 5:30 – 7:30

22 BECKY
AM: KAY
PM: KAY

23 BECKY
AM: SANDY
PM: SARA

24 BECKY
AM:
PM:

28
AM: CHRIS & JILL
PM: KAY (2-5)
EVE: DIANE (4-7) AMY
SUZANNE 5:30 – 7:30

29 BECKY
AM: KAY
PM: ANNE

30 BECKY
AM: SANDY
PM: SARA

1 BECKY
AM:
PM:

OCTOBER
5 AM: CHRIS & JILL
PM:
EVE: DIANE (4-7)

6
AM: KAY
PM:

7 BECKY
AM: SANDY
PM: SARA

8 BECKY
AM:
PM:

12
AM: CHRIS & JILL
PM:
EVE: DIANE (4-7)

13
AM: KAY
PM:

14 BECKY
AM: SANDY
PM: SARA

15 BECKY
AM:
PM:

19
AM: CHRIS & JILL
PM:
EVE: DIANE (4-7)

20
AM: KAY
PM:

21 BECKY
AM: SANDY
PM: SARA

22 BECKY
AM:
PM:

26
AM: CHRIS & JILL
PM:
EVE: DIANE (4-7)

27
AM: KAY
PM:

28 BECKY
AM: SANDY
PM: SARA

29 BECKY
AM:
PM:

August Letter & Schedule

Lakeshore Pregnancy Center of Allegan
Volunteer Newsletter
August 2009

Dear Volunteer,

Have you been to the pregnancy center in the last week or so? You are in for a few surprises!!

We have an ultrasound room! A huge thanks to Gary Martin and his friend, Darrell who built and dry walled the ultrasound room, to Kim Selby for installing electric, and to Becky Selby & her kids for painting! It looks awesome! We are moving the furniture in and decorating now. We have an ultrasound machine waiting for us. We would like to be ready for our first ultrasound client by the first week of October! We are in need of a volunteer sonographer to operate the ultrasound machine. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please let me know, or give them my name and number and ask them to contact me….thanks so much!!

We have changed the center around quite a bit. We are attempting to direct clients to come in the front door. (That’s the Chestnut Street entrance.) We now have a waiting room up there that we will be putting to better use! Our DADS group has a quiet spot in the back of the building to meet, and the volunteer area has been changed and expanded. I am excited about these changes and I think they make our center run more smoothly and look more professional!

We are looking for volunteers who are willing to be receptionists. A receptionist would not need to go through the client advocate training. (Although she sure could if she wanted to!) If you know of someone who would like to help here at the center but does not necessarily want to meet directly with clients, we have a great spot for them!

Fall is coming; some would claim it is already here, by the feel of our “summer weather”! Please look at your fall schedule and see where volunteering at the center will fit in. I will be calling you this month to see if we can get you on the schedule. My goal is to have a volunteer receptionist, a volunteer client advocate and a staff person working each shift. We are getting busy enough that I feel like we need to try to have three people here all the time. Currently we are scheduling appointments about two to three weeks out, and I don’t expect that to decrease in the fall!

Our fundraising banquet is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6th at the Haworth Center in Holland. We will be featuring Gary Bauer. We would like to fill the tables with people who know little to nothing about the pregnancy center, to expand our reach! I’m sure each of you knows someone who needs to hear about the pregnancy center, so please invite them to the banquet…contact me for all the details!

A Personal Note! My husband, Bob, will be deploying to Iraq soon. He is leaving for Texas by the end of August and will probably be in Iraq by mid-October. He will probably be gone a year. He is a crew chief of a med-evac helicopter this time around and will be moving around the country quite a bit. Our kids are 13, 15 and 20. If God brings us to your mind, please pray for us all during this year!

Important Upcoming Dates:
Friday, September 11, Allegan County Fair Begins
Thursday, September 17th Ladies Golf Scramble (fundraiser for LPC)
Friday, September 18th, 100 hole golf marathon (fund raiser for LPC)
Saturday, October 3rd, Respect Life Conference at St. Margaret’s School in Otsego
Tuesday, October 6th, Banquet featuring Gary Bauer (fundraiser for LPC)
Fall Volunteer Training begins October 22nd….recruit, recruit, recruit!!!

Easy Ways To Be a Big Help To Lakeshore Pregnancy Center of Allegan:
· PRAY, for the clients, the volunteers, the staff, and the finances.
· Recruit!! Do you know a sonographer or a potential receptionist? How about a golfer?? Or maybe someone who does not know anything about Lakeshore Pregnancy Center to come to our banquet on October 6th!!
· Order gift cards from www.servenation.com/cards/3995
· Order greeting cards from www.lifecards.blogspot.com
· Meijer Rewards #249960

Lakeshore Pregnancy Center of Allegan
Volunteer Schedule
August 2009

OK so this is the weirdest calendar ever! The boxes for the days have disappeared and I don't have the time to tab these all into the correct locations!! Hope you can figure it out...if not give me a call!!

3
Amy/Rachel
am: Chris
pm: Hannah
eve: Diane
4
Becky
am: Kay
pm: Anne
5
Rachel
am: Sandy
pm: Kay
6
CLOSED

10
Amy
am: Chris
pm: Emily
eve: Diane
11
Becky
am: Kay
pm: Anne
12
Becky
am: Sandy
pm: Kay
13
CLOSED

17
Amy/Rachel
am: Chris
pm: Hannah
eve: Diane
18
Becky
am: Kay
pm: Anne
19
Rachel
am: Sandy
pm: Kay
20
CLOSED

24
Amy/Rachel
am: Chris
pm:
eve: Diane
25
Becky
am: Kay
pm: Anne
26
Rachel
am: Sandy
pm: Kay
27
CLOSED

31
Amy/Rachel
am: Chris
pm:
eve: Diane
1(September)
Becky
am: Kay
pm: Anne
2
Rachel
am: Sandy
pm: Kay
3
CLOSED

7
Labor Day
Center is Closed!!

8
OPEN 10-4:30
9
OPEN 10-4:30
10
OPEN 10-4:30

NEW SUMMER HOURS

We have new summer hours for Lakeshore Pregnancy Center of Allegan.

We will be open on Mondays from 10 am to 7 pm

and

Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 am to 4:30 pm.

We will resume regular office hours at the end of August!

Enjoy your summer!!

I will be on vacation until Monday July 6th......

Rachel.

Change of Date

Our Men's group has decided to wait a bit for an outing...as we are not sure about the weather in April in Michigan, and the park they wanted to use does not open until May! So, if you show up at the park on Saturday, April 11, you will be quite lonely. But the "Easter Outing" is now a "Mother's Day" Outing! So, save the date Saturday, May 2nd from 1 to 4 pm for fun, food and fellowship for you and your family. We will be meeting at Little John Park...Bring a dish to pass. Hot dogs and drinks will be provided! Hope to see you and your family there!

April Newsletter

Lakeshore Pregnancy Center of Allegan
Volunteer Newsletter
April 2009

Dear Ones,

March here at LPC was a roller coaster ride! We had the most client visits ever in a month, toping 175! (By the way that means we have connected with clients over 500 times so far in 2009!!) We had two clients receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior this month! That is awesome!! Praise the Lord! What a blessing to be a part of that process! One of those clients commented that life is changing! That’s great news!! We also had three clients come in seriously looking at aborting their babies. We are continuing to work with all three, but follow up, as you know, is often very difficult. Please keep these ladies in your prayers.

As we get busier and busier here at the center, it is more and more important that we do things correctly and accurately, so here are a few reminders! J
*Be sure to fill out the forms completely. I know time is tight, ask for help if you need it, that’s what we are here for!!
*Be sure to fill out an Abortion form if you feel the client could be vulnerable to abortion, even if they have a negative test. The Abortion form has a new look and a new color (pink) and there is one in your box for you to look over! Please leave these completed forms in Rachel’s office! Thanks!
*When doing your charting remember to use phrases such as “K. stated” or “J. reports” or “M. said”. Don’t include your opinions, just the facts please! Thanks!
*New pregnancy tests arrived last month. They now have two lines instead of three, and a new instruction sheet….check it out!!

S is for Spring and S is also for Surveys!! We need to give each pregnancy test client a survey to complete when she is done with her appointment. I usually give it to them at the end of our meeting, and let her fill it out alone in the room, and ask her to just leave it on the table, assuring her that it will be kept confidential. This seems to work well. There is also an EWYL survey that can be handed out as extra homework. It is #22!!

We also need to update all the purple forms. If the client has not filled out a new purple from for April 2009, please ask them to do so!

Now on to the fun stuff!!!
The men’s group is putting together an Easter outing and has invited all of us and our families to attend. We will be meeting on Saturday, April 11 from 1 to 4, at Little John Park. There will be games for the kids. Hot dogs will be served at 2. Punch will also be provided. Please bring a dish to pass. Give me a call if you plan to attend, so we know how many hot dogs to grill! Please support our men’s group by participating in this event. Thanks so much!!

Easy Fund Raising Idea! Get rid of your old stuff by donating it to LPC for a garage sale. We are thinking about Saturday, April 25th. Interested? Let me know. (And no, you don’t price ANYTHING!!)

There is a volunteer training coming up in May. Are you interested in a refresher course, or brushing up on something in particular? Give me a call and I’ll let you know the schedule. This is a great opportunity. AND as always, if you know of someone who would be interested in volunteering here, we would love the help!

Thank you for your faithfulness to this ministry.

With much love and appreciation,



Rachel

Welcome!

I'm so glad you are reading this! Partly because I love to communicate with y'all and partly because I'm shocked that I got it to post correctly! :) I am going to try to keep you updated in this new way, but please be patient with me, as I am very new to the whole blogging scene!! My plan is to use this forum to post the monthly newsletters, volunteer calendar, prayer requests, and maybe even doing a bit of chatting now and again!! I value your feedback, comments and questions. It lets me know you are out there and are checking out the blog...so leave me a brief message (or a long one is great too!) and let me know what you think. I hope to have the March info on here by the first of March....check it out!!

~Rachel