GREENSBORO — Celebrating “milestones” and “recent wins,” North Carolina Right to Life will hold its 50th Anniversary Gala Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro.
The Greensboro-based organization promotes a pro-life platform that supports the sanctity of life from conception through natural death. It advocates for pro-life legislation, hosts events for young people, provides speakers for civic and church events, and works to educate voters about pro-life issues.
The theme of this year’s gala is “Forward for Life: From Defense to Offense,” said outreach director Natalie Sonnen.
“We’re celebrating a lot of past milestones and some recent wins,” Sonnen said, noting North Carolina’s recently tightened restrictions on abortion. “Our theme reflects the fact that we have to continue reaching the hearts and minds not only of our youth and the general population, but also of our legislators. Otherwise, we will lose the gains we have made.”
Sonnen said one of the organization’s biggest victories came earlier this year when the North Carolina General Assembly passed the Care for Women, Children and Families Act.
The law bans most abortions after 12 weeks and includes funding for childcare, foster care and children’s homes, maternity and paternity leave for teachers and state employees, and programs to reduce maternal and infant mortality.
The keynote speaker at the anniversary event is Seth Dillon, CEO of the Babylon Bee, a Christian news satire site that adopts the tone of traditional news media while satirizing real-world events and public figures.
Tickets cost $89 and sponsorships are available. Go to www.ncrtl.org/gala50 for details. Discounts are available for students and for NCRTL current and past volunteers.
— Christina Lee Knauss
CHARLOTTE — Women seeking support for unplanned pregnancies have a new resource in Charlotte offering a listening ear and concrete help for anything a new mother may need. Birthright of Charlotte is set to officially open its doors with a ribbon-cutting and house blessing from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17, at 4435 Monroe Road in Charlotte.
Established in Toronto in 1968, Birthright International has more than 230 chapters worldwide offering confidential support, a free pregnancy test, personal care items, and baby and maternity clothes. The organization also provides referrals for prenatal care, medical assistance, education and housing. Services are free and available for both the mother and the father.
“We’re there in a loving, non-judgmental attempt to convey assistance,” said Hank Chardos, executive director of Birthright of Charlotte. “We let them know that we’ll walk with them through the pregnancy and beyond.”
Chardos and his wife, Sally, set out to open a chapter in Charlotte after learning of the increasingly high number of abortions in the area after the reversal of Roe v. Wade last year made North Carolina a destination for women seeking abortion. The couple opened a Birthright chapter in Columbia, S.C., in 1980, and Chardos served as the executive director for 41 years.
He encourages those interested in helping at Birthright of Charlotte to attend one of four volunteer trainings that will be offered on Dec. 4 and 7, with sessions at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Chardos said volunteers have an enormous impact on the women who come through the door.
“Whether you talk with someone over the phone or it’s somebody who came in, the ability for you to have that interaction is what’s so important,” he said. “Because without knowing that there are alternatives, an individual is going to say, ‘Well, abortion is legal, so it must be OK.’ But… the office volunteer has that loving, non-judgmental approach to let them know that life is the most precious gift that God can give us.”
For more information, go to www.birthrightofcharlotte.org or call 803-543-8144. For the 24-hour hotline, call 800-550-4900.
— Annie Ferguson