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Aim Women’s Center holds family day to celebrate life

STEUBENVILLE -- Aim Women's Center, a pregnancy care center in Steubenville, hosted a Life Celebration Family Fun Day to treat the families of patients and non-patients alike with food and activities.

The free event, which took place on the campus of Restoration Church, was held in place of Aim's annual fundraiser banquet, according to Paula LeMasters, executive director of Aim.

In place of the banquet this year, LeMasters said, "We chose to give back this year, to do something a little bit different."

Dan Hawrot, president of Aim's board of directors, said "It's a celebration of life. We wanted to have a life celebration of families and children and share the love of Jesus with everybody on a special day like today."

Attendees were treated to free food, including cotton candy, popcorn and hot dogs. Pony rides were offered, as well as a petting zoo with a sheep, goats, a pig, chickens, bunnies and a calf. Also, kids could play a handful of games or bounce on several inflatables.

LeMasters said of how the event benefits families, "A lot of the families that we do serve -- single moms -- some of their kids have never seen a goat before or never ridden a pony before, so we wanted to give them that chance, to give their kids something that they wouldn't have been able to provide."

Aim, which Hawrot said was founded in 1987, provides free services to women, including ultrasounds, pregnancy testing and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. Mothers can also receive free material resources to support their babies, including diapers, wipes, formula and baby clothes. Also, Aim provides education on various women's health topics, support groups and connection to community resources.

Jubilee Prosser attended the event with her daughters, Cora and Ellie. Jubilee Prosser said she is a two-time former patient of Aim, having confirmed both of her pregnancies there.

"They were very helpful through the first year of both of my children," Prosser said, noting that Aim provided her with diapers and formula during those times.

Prosser, a member of Restoration Church, said she has never been able to attend Aim's fundraising banquets, so this event has been great. Ellie Prosser made the most of the inflatables during her time there.

Another former Aim patient, Sara Hays, attended the event with her husband, Gerald, and two children, Jessica and Connor. Sara Hays said Aim was a big help during her first pregnancy.

"I didn't know anything about being a mom before going to Aim," Hays said.

Aim gave her resources and connected her with a support group of other moms with a similar due date, Hays said. Some of the resources included a seven-in-one crib that Hays said she still uses, a dresser, a baby mattress and a tote full of "baby essentials."

Hays said the family day is great, and she is grateful for the people at Aim who are "very helpful, very kind."

Former patient Catherine Young, who took part in a support group, said Aim "definitely taught you some stuff, being a young woman." Young attended the event with her kids Xzavyon, Zaylin, Zykai and Zyla.

Gary Lilly, pastor of Restoration Church, said he has been involved with Aim for a long time, having written devotions for patients and staff for years, as well as an original Christian drama about Aim two years ago.

"I was invited to a fundraising banquet about eight or nine years ago," Lilly said, "and I went and fell in love with (Aim) and believe in what they do."

Hawrot said he is grateful to Restoration Church for allowing them to host the event on their grounds.

Members of Family Care Ministries, which provides faith-based preventative assemblies and training in schools and for youth as well as outpatient services, attended the event to support Lilly, Restoration Church and Aim's mission.

Shari Prichard, development director for Aim, said the event hard a great turnout, estimating that between 300 and 400 people attended

After the outdoor activities concluded, a presentation by Aim staff took place inside the church. During the presentation, staff spoke on Aim's mission, provided an update on Aim's new ultrasound machine and invited a former patient to give her testimony.

First, Hawrot thanked Aim's staff, who actualize the organization's mission. Aim has been serving women for more than 35 years, Hawrot said, and it has acted as the "local pro-life response to the culture of death."

"We want Aim to be the first place a woman thinks of when she either thinks she's pregnant or has become pregnant and needs help in anyway, in any circumstance," Hawrot said.

Audrey Fitzsimmons, a former Aim patient, told the story of her experience with Aim. Fitzsimmons said she was overwhelmed with emotions when she found out she was pregnant, but she called Aim and was able to see her ultrasound through them.

"(During the ultrasound), the father was there also, and that was the moment that he fell in love," Fitzsimmons said. "Seeing (the ultrasound) does do a lot."

Fitzsimmons said she was "blessed" and "prayed for" during her time with Aim, the staff of which would often call to check up on her. Fitzsimmons is now the mother of Haven Gene Plummer and Dior Shine Plummer, who joined her on stage as she gave her story.

Following that testimony about ultrasounds, Lawrence De Rosa of the Knights of Columbus in Weirton described tp attendees the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council's Ultrasound Initiative, which he said has "placed more than 1,200 ultrasound machines in crisis pregnancy centers."

De Rosa said that, through the initiative, the supreme council paid for half of a new ultrasound machine for Aim, with the rest of the cost being fundraised by the local council in Weirton.

Lacey Kepner, clinical manager for Aim, said the new ultrasound machine drastically improved the quality of ultrasound images for mothers to see their babies.

"Seeing that little flicker on the screen gives that child personhood immediately," Kepner said. "You see it. You have to believe it."

Also, LeMasters encouraged anyone who supports Aim's mission to donate financially. She said Aim does not receive federal funding and is dependent on the financial support of local individuals and organizations.

"We see women every single week who are scared," LeMasters said. "They're not sure if they have the capacity to be a mom or to be a mom again. They're not sure what to do, and they come to us, and we love them. We don't judge them, and we let them know that they're not alone, that we will be there."