Miscellaneous
Meet Our Moms 2015
Meet Our Moms - Babies Go to Congress 2015
Khalilah's Story
Khalilah and Ashton
Almost a year ago, I had my beautiful, happy, crazy, yet very high-maintenance baby boy, Ashton. Before I found out I was pregnant, I was scared. I had no idea how I was going to do this alone, with no job, and trying to finish high school. At first, I hadn’t planned on parenting Ashton, and was leaning towards adoption. Adoption seemed like the best option at the time because I didn’t feel ready to have a child, and had not even planned on having children. I wasn’t ready for the late night poopy diapers, the sleepless nights, the tears, and most of all- I wasn’t mentally or emotionally ready to be a mother. I wasn’t ready to be anyone’s source of reliability!
The September before Ashton was born, I started a program at Matrix, called Earn While You Learn. It was easy to open up to my mentor as the time went on. The more classes I took, I felt closer and closer to my Matrix family. They cared about, comforted, and informed me about so much regarding caring for my son. Through an ultrasound, they showed me that the baby growing inside of me was so much more than just a fetus or “tissue”. I learned that I have many other options besides abortion. I learned there is so much more to parenting than I thought, but that with a little help I could really do it. I eventually decided parenting was the best choice for me and Ashton.
Almost a year later, I feel like being Ashton’s mom is a job that comes so naturally now. It can be easy at times, but it can also be hard. It can actually be harder than most people think. It takes everything in me to keep up with Ashton, be emotionally and mentally prepared for the good and the bad. I think I have grown with my son so much. I’m honestly so proud of both him and myself as we have grown and continue to grow together and keep up with each other. Something about carrying Ashton for 9 months and being his mom has changed my life so much. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. With my Matrix family and the crazy amount of support I have, I can say I honestly wouldn’t have made it alone.
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Life Reach Global FAQs
Will all of my donation be sent to the international organization?
Generally all designated donations will be forwarded to the organization less any costs for transferring monies. In some cases an affiliation fee and/or an administrative fee (not exceed 3% of the gift) will be deducted. Current affiliation with Heartbeat is a minimum requirement for participation in the program and the international organization is given the option to pay directly or have affiliation fees deducted. (Currently the annual affiliation cost for an international organization is $70USD.)
In the unexpected event that an international organization is not able to receive the donation, Heartbeat reserves the right to return the gift to the donor or redirect funds to a similar international purpose.
What are “money transfer costs”?
Money transfer costs are the fees and charges associated with moving monies from our U.S. bank to the international organization. These may include currency exchange fees and electronic transfer charges.
How soon will the international organization receive donated funds?
Funds are forwarded at least quarterly after internal processing. Transfers occur once donations substantially exceed transfer costs to ensure the gift benefits the receiving organization.
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Heartbeat receipts all donations immediately when given online. Donors may unsubscribe from communications at any time. Heartbeat never sells donor information.
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Only donor contact information is shared so the organization may thank donors. Donors may choose to remain anonymous.
Can I give my donation directly to the international organization?
Yes, but such gifts may not be tax deductible. Giving through Heartbeat allows tax deductibility and ensures the organization is vetted and affiliated.
We’re a U.S. pregnancy help organization. Can we give directly?
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Organizations must complete the full application process and maintain at least 12 months of affiliation.
Does Heartbeat promote individual organizations in the program?
Heartbeat provides the platform but participating organizations are responsible for promoting their own campaign pages.
Heartbeat’s Life Reach Global is a way for our international affiliates, who meet our requirements and fulfill our approval process, to have a venue for U.S.-based donors to contribute funds to their life-affirming efforts.
If you are an international affiliate that would like to participate in Life Reach Global, download the application:
Heartbeat has long valued and encouraged starting and supporting pregnancy help efforts in communities across the globe. The U.S. has a myriad of LIFE-minded citizens who have great interest or affinity for a particular country, people group or community in other parts of the globe. Life Reach Global can be a portal to extend to our international affiliates “life-giving help in a life-saving way.”
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All financial gifts received designated for our approved “alliance” affiliates will be forwarded to them in a reasonable timeframe (usually upon exceeding $250US). Heartbeat International deducts the cost of transferring funds plus a 2% administrative fee from the transfer, to help defray internal cost for money transfers, currency conversion, clerical costs, bank fees, and any processing fees that might be charged. Should any funds be unable to be forwarded – primarily related to the recipient - they may be reallocated for similar international work.
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One in Two Million, but Never Forgotten
Morgan stood in the airport, watching the crowds of humanity bustle by.
Businessmen checking their phones for emails, travelers standing in line in the food court. Everybody seemed so occupied.
Nobody could know her inner turmoil.
Carrying a pregnancy she hadn't expected, Morgan's family was deeply divided between life and death. She was only 18 years old.
As she boarded the plane for her mother's town, Morgan felt lost and insignificant. Forgotten in a crowd.
Did anybody care?
At her mother's house in Washington state, Morgan knew she had come to the right place.
She'd become pregnant while living with her father. Morgan's father wanted her to abort her baby. The appointment was scheduled.
But Morgan never went to the clinic. Instead, her mother paid for a flight to her town.
In the meantime, her mother called Option Line. She wanted to know if there was a pregnancy help center nearby.
There was. And, as it turned out, it was the very center where Morgan and her mother had volunteered when Morgan was a young girl.
Now, Morgan is in good hands, thanks in part to the help of Option Line®, Heartbeat International's 24/7, 365-day per year pregnancy helpline.
Morgan is one of two million lives touched by Option Line since we first answered in 2003. Each day, Option Line answers 500+ calls, texts, emails, and live chats from women who, just like Morgan, are caught between a rock and a hard place--between life and death--and find life-affirming help, right when they need it most.
Even though she's one in two million, Morgan, her mother, and her child won't be forgotten in our crowd.
Thank you for your submission
Heartbeat will contact you directly to let you know if you qualify to continue the process of the scholarship application.
Please note, your survey submission does not mean you are automatically granted a scholarship and these funds would only be available to those attending the New Director Track.
More...
Heartbeat International Annual Report
Whitney Wall
When I give people my testimony I think it’s important to know my family background. I believe that how you are raised has almost everything to do with the person you will become, and the decisions you will make in your life.
I grew up in a very Christian conservative home. We went to church every Sunday, lived in the suburbs of a nice middle class neighborhood. I am one of four children and we have very supportive parents and they trusted us until we gave them a reason not to. In December of 2008, I gave them a reason when I told them I was pregnant.
When I was 19 I was taking classes and working a waitressing job in Ohio. I was young and stupid, and unfortunately, while employed there I met a guy who made me believe he was in love with me. A pretty typical story, but it’s amazing what control a man can have over a gullible girl. I ended up giving him the one thing I was saving for my now husband-my virginity.
A year later my world crashed when I found out in November of 2008 I was pregnant. I didn’t know what to do. All I could think about was not telling my family, that seemed to be the only thing that mattered. When I decided to tell my boyfriend, he informed me I needed to have an abortion. That was a hard pill to swallow, I was raised pro-life, my mother taught us to respect life in the womb, and yet now that I was in this situation it seemed okay to compromise my beliefs.
I reached out to girls I worked with, whom all seemed to tell me the same thing. “You have too much going for you”, “It’s too hard”, and “I need to take care of it”. So there I was; alone, scared, and discouraged with the abortion clinics number in my phone. I almost would rather do something that I know would emotionally scar me, than have to tell my family what I had done. I finally reached out to a girl I had grown up in the church with. I explained to her after a handful of tests it still wasn’t real to me, and I wanted someone to confirm my pregnancy. She told me to go to PDHC, and explained to me it’s free and they have more sensitive tests .I was familiar with PDHC, in fact my mother used to work the PDHC booth at our old church, but I didn’t think it was for people like myself. I agreed to go, and she made an appointment the next day in Columbus.
When I walked in to the building I immediately felt welcomed by a woman named Rita. She told me to have a seat while we waited on the pregnancy test. I was so nervous. Even though I already knew the answer, I was holding on to the small ounce of hope that the 20 other tests I took were false. I sat there, as she walked in and said in the happiest voice “congratulations mommy to be!” I immediately got on my knees and started bawling. It was real now. I couldn’t stop crying saying “no, no! What am I going to do?” she put her hand around my shoulder, helped me back up into my chair and said to me “Don’t cry, you’re going to be a mommy.” She then held up a picture from a simple brochure of what the baby would be looking like around that time of pregnancy. That was all I needed to see. It was like God was slapping me in the face. My priorities changed immediately and all the sudden I didn’t matter anymore. Here I was, so worried about ME and what IM going to do, when the fact of the matter is I have a baby growing inside me; A life, a soul. I was so concerned about facing the consequences of my actions; I lost all train of thought on what this really was: My child. Rita and I spent the rest of our time together talking about my situation, my family, my background. She let me know my options and assured me that no matter what I tell my family, they love me. My consultant gave me something I needed desperately: Encouragement and hope to start this pregnancy.
The night I told my parents was the worst night of my life. There was so much disappointment, anger, shock, sadness, disbelief. But in the end we could all only accept it and move on. What happened, happened.and Rita was right, they love me.
Those 9 months were the hardest year of my life. After tons of prayer, list after list of pros and cons, and months of counseling, I decided to place my little boy for adoption. It was a very difficult decision, and there are no words to describe how hard it is to make. Eventually it came down to something so simple: I want my son to have the life that I had. He deserves the world, and that’s exactly what I gave him. In July of 09, I finally found the perfect couple who deserved him. I would be lying if I said it’s not difficult to embrace the thought of choosing other people to be your son’s parents, but I got such an overwhelming sense of peace about Mike and Kara. I began to care for them as family, and even started to feel grateful that I got to be their birth mommy. I started to see that God was finally giving me an answer from months and months of prayer, and I felt confident in my decision.
On August 20th 2009 at 5:39 am, weighing 6lb 9oz and 21 inches long, Joshua Michael Wilson came into the world. He was more perfect than I could have ever imagined. When I first held him in my arms, I heard God say out loud “This is my son.” Finally feeling the love a parent has for their child made surrendering Josh that much easier for me. Unconditional love is a very powerful thing, and it’s amazing what you can do with it.
This is my story. My little boy is 4 years old now and not a day goes by where I ever regret the decision that I made for him, only that it took me awhile to make it. I share my testimony in hopes that maybe I can bring encouragement and empowerment to someone who may be in the same situation someday. That’s why I go to prison facilities and speak to pregnant women who are incarcerated, that’s why I volunteer to be interviewed in the dispatch, That’s why I go to any PDHC banquet I can and that’s why I take the opportunity to come to Washington DC and speak to a congress member. I know that a number of women choose abortion out of impulse because they feel scared and alone like I was. My mission is to end abortion. Not just by laws, but by educating the minds of humans. The only way we can expect change is to change minds.
Jacqueline Shifflett and Lealan
When the unplanned happened to me I felt my life was unraveling. I was dealing with a situation that no parent ever wants to encounter. Because the guy I had been dating put his hands on my 6 year old son while I was not home, I was involved in a CPS case. In order to regain custody I had to be diligent in communicating with lawyers, the court, and a guardian ad litem. The stress of this situation left me feeling like I was on the verge of a breakdown.
Then I found out I was pregnant.
I couldn’t believe that this was happening. I couldn’t believe I was in this situation! Why hadn’t I been more careful? I struggled in disillusion and confusion. I was scared, and didn’t want anyone to know, especially my parents. I was afraid of disappointing them. I thought, an abortion would make all of this go away. Besides, I knew I couldn’t keep the baby – I had too much going on. I just wasn’t capable of caring for another child at the time.
One day as I was driving in my car and I heard an ad on the radio for Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center and free pregnancy testing. It prompted me into making the decision to find out for sure if I really was pregnant. So, after dropping my son off at school, I went to the Center.
I had never been to a “pregnancy center” so I was not sure what to expect when I going in to Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center. It turned out to be super helpful. The staff was friendly, and I felt comforted and welcomed. The most impressive part of my visit was that I didn’t receive any judgment. Just that alone was relieving. But still there was more.
I got to meet with a wonderful client advocate, Paula, who took the time to simply listen and care for me and my situation. I was given a lot of information on all of my options, but did not feel pressured in any way. My time with Paula greatly impacted me. She wanted to understand who I was, and what I believed, without imposing her beliefs on me. The conversation caused me to evaluate my faith and what I believed about God, about life choices. She continued to care for me after my appointment by calling me every few weeks just to check in to see how I was doing. Knowing that there was someone out there that truly cared made the biggest difference in how I proceeded.
My visit to Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center impacted my pregnancy decision.
They provided a welcoming, professional, safe place for me to explore my options and to be heard. The care and information I received from the nurse and my client advocate helped lead me to the decision to carry my child to term and parent. Had I not gone to the Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center, I believe I would have gone through with an abortion.
But I am just one woman. There are so many others. Every day there are women
in our community facing a similar situation. I’m so thankful that the Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center is there to be a resource for women who are facing an unintended pregnancy, and who don’t know where to go or who to turn to. Because of the services, the information, the help, and the hope that they provide women can make a well informed decision about their unplanned pregnancy.
Because of my visit to Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center, I chose to carry and parent my son Lealan, now 8 months old. I can’t imagine my life without him, nor my other son’s life without his little brother. I feel that God gave me a second change to do things right, and He used Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center to help me see that. I am forever grateful to the Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center, and am so glad that they are a part of my community.