“After serving Lufkin and the surrounding East Texas communities for 30 years, The Pregnancy Help Center of Lufkin (PHCOL) is extremely excited about the opportunity to finally purchase our own building to call home.”
Paula Havard, Executive Director of PHCOL, announced plans to purchase a new building on April 1, 2015, citing inadequate facilities to accommodate the needs of the community as well as cosmetic and structural concerns with the current building as the impetus to seek a new office location.
“On the heels of a 30% increase in service requests from families in our community just in the first quarter of 2015 alone, it is evident that the current facility is no longer serving our needs effectively,” said Havard.
“While this building has served our needs for the past 17 years, we have been on the search for a new home for the past five years,” Havard continued. “In addition to outgrowing our current facility, the building itself has seen much better days and does not allow for a comfortable and welcoming environment for the families we serve.”
The new building will not only meet the needs of the center as it continues to expand with the community, Havard explained, but the larger facility makes it possible to provide a much higher and much more welcoming standard of care for the East Texas area. “This is important especially to those who are in desperate need or facing some sort of crisis when they enter our doors. A welcoming and inviting space is crucial for setting the tone for the one-on-one meeting they will have with our staff.”
The center has opted to seek grants to offset the cost of the new building as well as donations from residents, churches, and businesses in the area to raise the necessary $635,000. “Because the Pregnancy Help Center of Lufkin is a community service agency, it is important to all of us this project be a community one,” Havard said. “Several fundraisers have already been scheduled to help raise the funds.”
So far, the non-profit service has scheduled the following events:
- Belk Charity Sale – 100% of $5 ticket sales go to the PHCOL Building Fund;
- Mary Kay Make-over Party – 25% of sales will go to the PHCOL Building Fund;
- What-a-Night Fundraising dinner at Whataburger – 20% of proceeds from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. on May 19, 2015, will go toward our building campaign;
- Which Wich Fundraiser – 40% of proceeds from the lunch or dinner sales on June 15, 2015, will go toward the building purchase;
- Amazon Charity of Choice – For every purchase you make on Amazon, select Mother and Unborn Childcare of Lufkin as your charity of choice and they will donate a portion of your purchase to PHCOL;
- Baby bottle campaign – call the Center to arrange to pick up specially designed baby bottles for you to distribute to your business, friends, organization, church, etc. and encourage each person to collect change in their baby bottle. All baby bottle money received between now and July 1, 2015, will go toward the building campaign;
- Make a donation to our building campaign by visiting www.phclufkin.org/donate
“We believe that God will bless all of these efforts and, in July, we will proudly announce our location and make plans to move to our new home,” Havard said.
The center, currently located on the corner of Bynum and Ellis near CHI St. Luke;s Health, has served the community of Lufkin since 1984 by offering information and resources to women of all ages who are sexually active, pregnant, or mothering while focusing on providing education and alternative options to abortion. To learn more about the Pregnancy Help Center, including directions, services, hours and appointments, or to make a donation directly, please visit www.phclufkin.org or call 936-632-9292.
