Meet Our New Development Coordinator

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

Katelyn Carpenter

Hey Care New Family – We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

As the Development Coordinator, Katelyn will juggle the logistics of our Walk4Life, Peninsula4Life Dinner, and Bottles4Life Campaigns. If January was any indication of how she’ll do at this job, the ministry and you all are in great hands!!

Katelyn joined our team in January after relocating to the area last year. Why the move? Because she got married! She tied the knot in 2022 to Pastor Matthew, the Associate Pastor at Reformation Christian Fellowship. Together they enjoy exploring new places and hiking.

So while Katelyn may be new to Care Net Peninsula, she is no stranger to pregnancy centers and ministry work. She has served in ministry for about ten years and holds a Bachelor’s in Next Generation Ministries (Children’s Ministry) from Liberty University.

An interesting fact about Katelyn that plays a role in her passion for protecting the unborn, she’s a quintuplet! Even though they knew the dangers and risks that came with the pregnancy, her parents chose life for her and her four siblings.

We know Katelyn is just as excited as we are to be part of this family, and we’re looking forward to how God will use her to serve moms and save babies in our community.

February 8, 2023

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »

Sharing the Truth: Pregnancy Center Medical Oversight & Intervention

Sharing the Truth:
Pregnancy Center Medical Oversight & Intervention

The overturning of Roe has caused new myths to pop up and old lies to resurface. Let’s examine two myths about deceptive clinic practices and eradicating critical intervention in particular circumstances.

myth #1

Pregnancy Centers operate without medical oversight.

FACT:

Care Net Peninsula provides pregnancy-related medical services through an OB/GYN and staff nurses.

Our clinic has medical oversight provided by a licensed OB/GYN who, as our Medical Director, sets clinic policies and procedures and reviews all client ultrasounds. In addition, our staff nurses all hold the RN BSN credentials, receive specialized training in performing limited ultrasounds and adhere to continuing education overseen by our Medical Director. 

myth #2

New abortion laws will keep a woman facing an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, or stillbirth from receiving the proper care she needs

FACT:

Medical services for these conditions will continue and are not a part of abortion legislation

Ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, and stillbirths (Intrauterine Fetal Demise) require different medical interventions. A woman in one of these situations will not be prohibited from receiving the critical care she needs. This is a heart-wrenching myth that is not true. 

Please take a moment to watch the video below from our Nurse Manager, Meg, and our Client Relations Manager, Sherri, as they go more in-depth about these myths.

Read More News Updates

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »

Sharing the Truth: We Care About Moms and Babies

Sharing the Truth:
We Care About Moms & Babies

We keep hearing how Pro-Life means you are only Pro-Birth – but we all know that is the furthest thing from the truth . . . especially for every member of the Care Net Family. So let’s unpack this myth a little more below:

myth #1

Pregnancy Centers don't help women after their babies are born

FACT:

Care Net Peninsula provides resources to support moms from the beginning of their pregnancies through birth and beyond.

Beginning with a positive pregnancy test, we offer services and resources to support women through their pregnancies and beyond. We are not only “pro-baby” but also “pro-woman” and set a continuum of care into motion to help women choose life.

Our clinic team will provide a woman with essential medical services during that first visit. These services include a pregnancy test, confirmation ultrasound, and, if needed, STI testing. During this visit, we can also connect each woman with a range of community partners who help meet her other needs, such as insurance (Medicaid), housing, food assistance, church connections, professional counseling, and resources for older children. We aim to ensure each woman we meet receives the proper assistance in her time of need.

Some women we serve will choose to life for their baby and later suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth. We are here to help connect each of them with local advocacy groups, ongoing support, and care – as much as they would like.

We want to ensure that each of our moms (and dads) is prepared and ready to parent, so we offer the option to enroll in our free parenting program, Learn, Equip, and Parent (LEAP). This program includes a wide array of class options and, as with all of our services, is entirely free to our clients (paid with the help of our generous donors).

After completing their classes, our moms will receive one of our Bundles4Babies – a basket or bathtub overflowing with diapers, wipes, baby clothes, toiletries, blankets, bibs, and much more (all thanks to YOU!). We even help with extra diapers and wipes for the first six months!!

We know that women facing an unplanned pregnancy often feel scared and alone. So one of our passions is to connect the women (and men) we serve to one of our local church partners.

We ask each of our clients if they would like to connect with a local mentor who can provide seasonal discipleship for a few months or even longer. We have pulled together a group of mentors (members of local churches) who are there to bring these women (and men) into the caring community of the local church. If the baby’s father is interested, we can also connect him with a mentor!

Our team cares about every woman who walks through our doors. We pray that each one will choose life, but we know some won’t. So we offer a Post-Abortion Recovery group for those who leave our clinic and choose abortion. Why? Because we still care about each of them.

Just like our donors are part of the Care Net Family, our clients are part of the Alcove Health Family. This is what a community in action looks like, and it wouldn’t be possible without each of you.

Read More News Updates

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »

Exposing the Myths of Deceptive Clinic Practices

Exposing the Myths of Deceptive Clinic Practices

It is noisy out there . . . let’s take a deeper dive together into some of the false claims going around about Pregnancy Centers, like Care Net Peninsula, to help you separate myth from fact.

myth #1

Pregnancy Centers mislead women into thinking they perform abortions but do not.

FACT:

We disclose in our online ads and telephone calls that we do not perform or refer for abortions.

Care Net Peninsula offers pregnancy-related education, including abortion consultations, but we do not perform or refer for abortions. Our online ads include this disclosure and our website, and every client is informed up-front from the very first conversation.

myth #2

Pregnancy Centers prey on vulnerable women.

FACT:

We provide women with a safe space to process and learn all of their options.

One of our guiding principles here at Care Net Peninsula is “loving-kindness” this is expressed in every conversation with every woman, no matter her situation. We realize that unplanned pregnancies are complicated, so we work hard to make a safe space for women to process their pregnancies and get the essential medical services they need.

myth #3

Pregnancy Centers receive government funding.

FACT:

Care Net Peninsula's services are funded by private sources - not through government support.

Care Net Peninsula is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that receives funding through individuals, churches, businesses, and private foundations. 

Please take a moment to watch the video below from our Clinic Director, Shantelle, and our Client Relations Manager, Sherri, as they go more in-depth about these myths. They share how we practice lovingkindness and what our clients say about our clinic.

Read More News Updates

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »

Meet Carrie Cecil

Meet Carrie Cecil
Meet Carrie Cecil

Meet Our Board of Directors

Carrie Cecil

At the beginning of the year, we welcomed Carrie Cecil to our Board of Directors.  

Born and raised on the Peninsula, Carrie met her husband while attending Thomas Nelson Community College. Together they have three small children, whom Carrie spends her days nurturing and schooling. They are members of Reformation Christian Fellowship in Newport News, where Carrie first heard of Care Net Peninsula through a Bottles4Life Campaign the church was hosting.  

God began cultivating a passion in Carrie’s heart for moms in need during her own pregnancies where she suffered from Hyperemesis Gravidarum. It was during that time she came to understand firsthand how a pregnancy, planned or unplanned, is often accompanied by fear and suffering.  

“Care Net Peninsula provides hope and help to the fearful and the suffering moms in our community and I am proud to be part of this ministry!” 

We are excited to have Carrie as part of the Care Net Family and look forward to serving alongside her in the years to come and seeing how God is going to use her within the ministry. And watch out . . . she has a blackbelt in Tae Kwan Do!!  

March 31, 2022

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »

Meet Teresa Chalsma

Teresa Chalsma
Teresa Chalsma

Meet Our Board of Directors

Teresa Chalsma

At the end of 2021, we welcomed long-time Care Net Family member, Teresa Chalsma, onto our Board of Directors.  

Teresa, alongside her husband Brian, has been a faithful supporter of the ministry since 2010. During that time, she has worn many hats in our ministry, and we have loved serving alongside her.  

As a Client Intake Volunteer (CIV), Teresa was able to see first-hand the work being done in our clinic each week. She played a vital role in aiding our clinic team during her shift and ensured clients were provided a warm and welcoming atmosphere.  

Her ability to connect with others and passion to share about the mission and work of our ministry made Teresa the first choice when setting up our Executive Leadership Team for our Peninsula4Life Dinners. In 2020 she took up the charge to chair the team and assisted us in navigating a fundraising dinner through a global pandemic.  

Aside from being “boots on the ground” within the ministry, Teresa, along with her partners at The Roofing Company, generously sponsor our events each year to help ensure all funds raised go directly back into our clinic.  

“I started volunteering and supporting Care Net Peninsula because I felt it was a positive way to serve moms and save babies. I love that all the services are free to women. The staff at the clinic is phenomenal!” 

Teresa holds a bachelor’s degree from Radford University in business and marketing – we look forward to seeing how God can use her skills and knowledge in those areas in the years to come.  

In her free time, Teresa enjoys being with her family. She has been married to her husband Brian for 31 years, and together they share 3 daughters. Teresa and Brian enjoy traveling in their RV, including a yearly trip with their entire family. The Chalsma family are members of Lifehouse Church and spend their time supporting not only local missions like Care Net, but they love to help spread the Gospel through mission trips abroad.  

We know this new season and new role within Care Net for Teresa will continue to bless our moms and babies and help to spread the message of help and hope to so many women across the community who need it.  

teresa-family.jpg

Teresa Chalsma and Family

March 14, 2022

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »

Meet Dyan Gurley

Meet Our Board of Directors

Dyan Gurley

Last year we added another wonderful community leader and long-time ministry supporter, Dyan Gurley, to our Board of Directors. God has been using her to spread his Word and stand for life on Peninsula for some time now and we are thankful to have her as part of the Care Net Family. 

Dyan is a Certified Encouragement Consultant, Licensed Minister, and founder of Alabaster Women Ministries in Newport News. She has a passion for mentoring women of all ages, showing them grace and the love of Christ. Dyan is the wife of a military veteran and a proud Mom and Grandmom, who loves spending time with her family. In her free time, she enjoys sewing, crocheting, baking, and reading. 

Already over the course of the year that Dyan has been on our Board of Directors, she has helped to bridge connections to local churches in our community that were unfamiliar with the work of Care Net Peninsula and our clinic – to spread the message of our ministry that we are here to provide the help and hope local women need to choose life for their babies. We look forward to serving alongside Dyan and are grateful for the many ways she serves our ministry and our moms and babies. 

February 17, 2022

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »

Meet Pastor Shaun Brown

2022 Board of Directors Shaun Brown

Meet Our Board of Directors

Pastor Shaun Brown

Throughout the year you get to know our team and interact with us in different ways, but a side of that team you don’t get a glimpse of very often is our Board of Directors. These are faithful men and women from our community who have given a piece of their time to the ministry to help us continue to flourish and grow.

We want to take some time this year to introduce you to each of them and say thank you for the work they’re doing behind the scenes.

Pastor Shaun Brown and his family have been a part of the Care Net Family for over a decade, and we were thrilled to have him join the Board of Directors this past year.

“I am truly humbled and excited to be a new board member of Care Net, and excited to see what God has in store for the future of this ministry.”  – Pastor Shaun

Pastor Shaun is the Senior Pastor of Coastal Church in Yorktown and has faithfully led his congregation for over 20 years now. He received his bachelor’s degree from Moody Bible Institute and his Master of Divinity from the Reformed Theological Seminary. He has a passion for serving his community and leading people to the Gospel. 

We have been blessed by Pastor Shaun and his congregation’s commitment to speak for the unborn over the years by having Coastal as one of our church partners. Through the congregation, we have built some beautiful relationships with donors, volunteers, and even staff members over the years. Coastal has even been gracious enough to host and help out with our Drive-In4Life and Pop-Up Church4Life the last two years.  

It has already been a wonderful year with Pastor Shaun on board and we can’t wait to see how God continues to use him in his new role in the ministry.   

February 3, 2022

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »

A Debut 30 Years In The Making

30 Years In The Making

A Debut 30 Years In The Making

It has been a year of growth for our ministry; we’re seeing a rise in appointment requests and an increase in abortion-minded women. We have had to grow our team to meet these new demands, and we would like to introduce you to our newest team member, Sylvia Pottle. 

We welcomed Sylvia in June when she came on board as a Client Advocate. She immediately started training and started this fall off able to counsel women on her own. It’s not an easy task, and our advocates and nurses are prepped to handle any situation they may find themselves in. We are all proud of Sylvia for what she has accomplished. 

Our team is made up of women, who like our clients, all have their own unique stories.  

Sylvia joined our team after years in the marketing world – she holds a Bachelor’s in Business with a minor in Marketing, and a Master’s in Education with a concentration in adult learning and training.  

God used a specific moment in her life to place a desire in her heart to protect the unborn and to serve women in need. That moment came 30 years ago when she found herself as a teenager sitting in a Crisis Pregnancy Center expecting her first child. Since then, Sylvia has devoted time and resources to serving local centers. Her heart is to support the women and babies that come through Crisis Pregnancy Centers, including ours.  

Sylvia and her husband John reside in Williamsburg and attend Christ Fellowship Church. Together they share three adult children and children-in-law and five grandbabies … with a sixth due very soon! When Sylvia is not at work or with her family, you can surely find her gardening, reading, or hiking.  

We are grateful that thirty years after that first visit to a pregnancy center, Sylvia has found herself yet again in one – but this time ministering to young moms like her looking for someone to listen and be there for them. She has blessed so many already and we continue to pray for her time with each and every one of the women she meets. 

Read More News Updates

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »

¡Conoce a Karla!

¡Conoce a Karla!

As the needs of the women in our community continue to grow, we must do the same. One area where that growth takes place is in our clinic team. We’re excited to finally introduce you to our newest nurse, Karla Laskowski, RN, BSN.  

Karla has been part of our team for a little over six months now, joining us as a volunteer nurse and Spanish translator, a combo we didn’t have in our clinic and one that brought great comfort to our Spanish-speaking clients. We knew immediately we needed her on our team in a more permanent role, and the feeling was mutual.  

Our nurses each bring unique skills and knowledge to our team, and Karla is no different. Her passion for helping others, mixed with military life, has allowed her to care for many across different areas of medicine. She has trained in Audiology, Communicable Diseases, has worked in areas such as Telemetry, Dialysis, Medical Surgery, Home Health, Hospice, Case Manager, Public Health, Home Health Clinics, and as a charge nurse for an Urgent Care/ED.  

We’re proud to say she just finished her extensive training in Limited Diagnostic Imaging for Obstetrics Patients in Oregon and is one step closer to seeing clients on her own. Next up, she will be working alongside our Nurse Managers and Medical Director to finish some in-house training.  

God started preparing Karla for this role early on. She was born and raised in Costa Rica, alongside her quad siblings (yes, she is a quadruplet!!) and her two younger sisters. They were raised by a single mother whom Karla credits as being one of the strongest, fiercest, and most loving people she knows. Her mother’s faith and love for God were her family’s anchors through life’s struggles growing up. We see those same qualities in Karla every day, in and outside of the ultrasound room. 

While living in Honduras, Karla volunteered as a nurse translator and a new mom’s education facilitator at a local medical clinic for the uninsured. She has served as a nurse translator for two mission teams in Nicaragua.  

Karla and her husband have been married for almost twenty years now, and together they have one child. The military brought them to the Peninsula where they have settled in and found a faith community at Manna Church. Karla loves to spend her free time with her family and friends, exploring campgrounds in their new RV, or hunting for deals at local thrift stores, antique stores, and flea markets.

I asked Karla what drew her to Care Net and her response was: “The Care Net family’s strong love for unborn babies, their moms, and families. Their kingdom focus and strong faith to reach and love new moms in our communities.” 

We’re thankful for the people God keeps bringing to us and love seeing how he uses each of their gifts to protect the unborn and to care for their families. 

Read More News Updates

Meet Our New Development Coordinator

We are excited to introduce you to our newest team member, Katelyn Carpenter. Katelyn joins us as our Development Coordinator, and she is someone you will get very used to seeing and talking to as the year goes on.

Read More »

Critical Year-End Ministry Update

Tragically, 15 children in Virginia died from Covid-19. But since March 2020, 300 times that number of babies died from abortion . . . on the Peninsula. That’s over 4,000 preborn lives taken from our community in less than 3 years. But it would have been more.

Read More »