Moose Jaw Right to Life had a “very positive year” in 2023, with supporters and volunteers ensuring the organization met its goals to help families and educate the community, the board president says.
“The community continues to donate many baby clothes and items for which we are very grateful, as this enables us to provide free items for families,” Jean Landry said during Moose Jaw Right to Life’s (MJRTL) recent banquet.
The centre — located in the basement of First Baptist Church — is open four days a month, while it responds to phone calls outside those times, she continued. Many people have said they are grateful for the centre’s services and what it provides.
“In fact, we had several teenagers coming to the centre in 2023 and it was so positive … to see that young people chose life for their babies,” Landry remarked.
MJRTL is thankful for volunteers who help sort, organize and fold clothes and who purchase items, select clients, and conduct training, while its biggest gratitude is reserved for Pastor Scott Elger and the church for providing a “wonderful space” in which to operate, she said.
“New volunteers would be very, very much appreciated as this organizing is a very big job,” Landry continued.
The charity also thanked SGI, which provided a grant that allowed the pro-life group to purchase car seats for babies, she added. Selected clients then received car-seat training from the Moose Jaw Police Service.
This past Christmas, Moose Jaw Right to Life sent money through Campaign Life Coalition to Nunavut to support mothers and babies requiring support there. Moreover, the non-profit gave gift cards and diapers to mothers in Moose Jaw.
The organization also began an educational campaign in January 2023 about sanctity-of-life issues by giving out more than 600 wallet cards to churches in the community.
Landry thanked local media for covering MJRTL’s various activities and events throughout the year, while she also highlighted how active the group’s social media page is with announcements and articles. Furthermore, the organization continually shares its messages along Thatcher Drive using three billboards that it rotates every three months.
MJRTL appreciated the Knights of Columbus men’s group from St. Joseph Parish for hosting an informative documentary called “Roe Canada: The Truth North in a Post-Roe World.” This film looks at how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn abortion at the national level could have implications — potentially positive — for Canada.
Landry turned to the future, saying the non-profit’s annual garage sale and plant sale is Friday, May 3, from 1 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Church of our Lady. She noted that residents can bring gently used items to the church on Thursday, May 2.
The organization won’t be serving food or selling baking, while the admission is $1.
Landry was particularly excited about a new pro-life project directed at students. LifeCanada has created a comic book called “Life Choices: The Gift,” which focuses on a high school couple who becomes pregnant. The comic gives three storylines of how they handle this news: abortion, adoption and parenting.
The MJRTL president added that the organization has ordered hundreds of copies that can be picked up from the centre.
