On a Tuesday night in November, a few students can be found at the pregnancy resource center tying bows on sets of diapers. They’re preparing for the center’s curbside service which aids local mothers. Next time they’re here, they may be doing this same task, or perhaps taking out the trash and vacuuming every room.
Here at Olivet, ministry teams offer unique opportunities for inner campus growth and community connection. One of our outreach connections, the Life Support Ministry, partners with community volunteers at the local pregnancy resource center to support and serve women and families in the Kankakee area.
The pregnancy resource center offers many services to the community including pregnancy testing, ultrasound scanning, parenting mentoring and programs, STI/STD information and after abortion support. Something as simple as packaging diapers is helpful because according to the article “What women seek from a pregnancy resource center” published in the journal Contraception, a study of first time visitors revealed that 87% sought the service of free diapers. Another 44% of the studied group sought baby clothes and items. These items that come through donations are essential to the PRC services.
In just the past two years, the center moved from a smaller location to a space more than double the size thanks to Riverside Hospital’s donation of the new space. Their new location features office spaces, examination rooms, a consultation room and storage of donations.
The pregnancy resource center is completely supported through donations, both monetary and material, and through volunteers from Olivet and the Community. Center director Mackenzie Cloy states,
“We always say that we are 80% run by volunteers because we have 30 volunteers that volunteer here on a consistent basis and we only have 4 staff. So most of the on the ground, day to day work is done by volunteers”
– Mackenzie Cloy, Center director
Part of the center’s supporting volunteers is the Life Support group which visits the center twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for one hour each day. The ministry is co-lead by two sophomores, Eva McGarry and Riley Miller. The two of them are actually roommates who stepped into this role together this semester. They send emails to the group and coordinate rides over to the center. When asked what they specifically do at the center, Riley Miller explained:
“We just volunteer, do whatever they need us to do. So sometimes that’s bundling diapers, setting up for events, helping with banquets. Just kind of whatever they need us to do that day, that’s what we do”
– Riley miller, Life Support ministry co-leader
An additional way that Olivet students and members of the community help is by organizing the boutique. The boutique is a small room in the center full of baby clothes ranging from newborn to two years old. These items are available to mothers going through the H.O.P.E parenting mentoring program. Though the clothes are packed full in this small room, they are only a fraction of what is donated.
The boutique coordinator, Kathleen Nelson, takes care of all the donations that come in. The basement is full of many more donated clothing items, baby food and formula, diapers, wipes, cribs and strollers. After everyone leaves, Nelson can be found in the basement folding clothing and putting outfits on hangers to bring upstairs to the boutique. The donated items are organized by volunteers after hours. Nelson comes in for an estimated 20-30 hours per week to put together outfits and stock the shelves. Her work and the work of other volunteers is vital to the center.
The Life Support Ministry works alongside community volunteers like Kathleen to support the PRC. Because the center is privately funded, they rely on volunteers and donations to support their resources. Connecting and providing for the local community is important, and the life support ministry is a connection that will continue for years to come. To see more on Olivet’s community connection with the community, check out the next article by Cassidy Freeman on the communication department’s Inspired Strategies Agency.
