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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. 

Amanda Franks, Marketing Director

October 14, 2021

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Local Single Mom Awarded University Scholarship

Local Single Mom Awarded University Scholarship

Newport News Resident Nominated by Care Net Peninsula

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Tiffany Cusick received a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to Regent University during an emotional awards ceremony at the Care Net National Conference in San Antonio, TX on August 26, 2021. Cusick, 22, plans to study theology and Christian Ministry, beginning in the Fall of 2022.

“When I first went to Care Net I was afraid and unsure,” Cusick remembers from her early visits to Care Net Peninsula. “I am super thankful to have found Care Net.”

Cusick expressed gratitude for the scholarship and the free pregnancy-related services she received through Care Net Peninsula, thanking the women on staff: “Their confidence in me has really given me the courage to step out in faith and pursue this and I do believe the Lord has put those women, along with this opportunity, in my life.”

Originally from Gloucester, MA, Cusick moved to Newport News as a young teen. She graduated from Woodside High School in 2016. Now a mom to a 2-month baby girl, Cusick hopes to work in ministry, serving women and children, upon completion of her college degree.

Erin Forsythe, Care Net’s Vice President of Strategic Programs, and Kathleen Patterson, Director of the Doctorate of Strategic Leadership Program at Regent University and Care Net board member, presented the scholarship to Cusick on August 26th in front of pregnancy center leaders from across North America. She is the 10th client of a Care Net affiliated pregnancy center to receive the scholarship from Regent.

Sheri Coker, Advocacy Manager with Care Net Peninsula, nominated Cusick for the scholarship, stating, “In a culture where many view themselves as victims in their circumstances, Tiffany stands out. She works hard without complaining.”

“We know that as a single mom this is a rare opportunity for her to gain the academic knowledge to succeed in both business and ministry,” Coker adds. “We also believe it would set an example for her daughter, that you can accomplish great things in life when you set your mind to it. We believe Tiffany will change the world around her.”

During Cusick’s pregnancy, she experienced compassion, help, and hope at Care Net Peninsula, where she received a free pregnancy test and ultrasound, ongoing consultations with client advocates and nurses, parenting classes, and more. “These women have become my friends,” Cusick said in her application, “They have really been just such a positive impact on me. And even now I know that if I needed something I could call and they would do everything in their power to help me.”

Since opening in 1986, Care Net Peninsula has been the first call for thousands of local women facing unplanned pregnancies. Services include options consultations, pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, parenting support, and more. Through these services and ongoing support, pregnant women receive the help and hope they need at a time when many feel scared and alone. All of Care Net Peninsula’s services are provided at no cost, thanks to the generosity of donors in the community.

Care Net Peninsula is among more than 1,200 pregnancy centers in North America that are affiliated with Care Net. Through a competitive selection process, the Regent Scholarship has been awarded to a Care Net affiliated pregnancy center client for the last eight years. Ursula Penn, the first scholarship recipient to graduate from Regent, matriculated on May 6, 2016. Another scholarship recipient, Lizzie Burton, matriculated in May 2020.

Watch Tiffany receiving her scholarship.

Anne Sych, Director of Development

August 31, 2021

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Changing The Mindset of Abortion on the Peninsula

Changing The Mindset Of Abortion On The Peninsula

Unplanned Pregnancy

For some women it is an untimely surprise that can quickly be embraced, but for many of the clients we serve at Alcove Health, a positive pregnancy test marks a deep dive into a new reality of fear and crisis.

Every day in our clinic the phones ring with women in this very situation. Women of different ages and backgrounds. Women who are married and women who are single. Women who are facing a first pregnancy and women who have already given life. Sadly, many share a common trait FEAR.

    • Having their dreams dashed
    • Being a single mother
    • Disappointing their parents, significant other, even their churches

For these women, abortion can seem like the only way out of an unplanned pregnancy. At Alcove Health we see each woman. We hear her story. And we are here to offer help and hope!

That’s an unexpected surprise (and great relief) to a woman who has been battling days of fear and hopelessness. It’s amazing how a simple act of heartfelt listening can provide a safe place to process even the scariest of fears.

During these tender conversations our client advocates provide practical resources for obtaining insurance, child care, housing, and so much more. We help with vitamins, maternity wear, and even parenting classes. And most importantly, we offer each woman a spiritual perspective on the weighty decision before her. For Diamond this was a life changer.

Diamond’s hopes were realized: She Is Not Alone.

As part of her visit with us our client meets with a highly trained nurse where she receives a lab quality pregnancy test, and if appropriate, an ultrasound and STI test. We continue to take time with her. Time to listen and answer questions. Time to inform her about the changes taking place in her body.

For so many of our clients the ultrasound is a real life changer. It is a glimpse of the life inside her womb. She leaves with a digital copy of her scan so that she can look at it later and share it with others. It was a life changer for Brittany it was the day she chose life for her unborn baby!

This year, 3,000 women on the Peninsula will face an unplanned pregnancy. Of those around 600 women will process their unplanned pregnancies with us at Alcove Health. You allow us to be here for every conversation. To pray with and speak into even the toughest situations. Your giving means women like Dehlia, Miriam, Diamond and Brittany have a safe place to process their fears and receive hope.

Thank you for investing in this life-saving work! Please continue to pray that the women we serve will choose life for their babies.

Anne Sych, Director of Development

August 9, 2021

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Giving Tuesday 2023 Care Net Peninsula

Save the Date: Giving Tuesday 2023

November 21, 2023

For Giving Tuesday 2023, we invite you to join us in taking a stand for life by giving a life-saving gift by providing ONE DAY of ultrasounds to our clinic to serve the women wondering what to do next when facing an unplanned pregnancy.

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¡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. 

Amanda Franks, Marketing Director

August 3, 2021

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2021 Peninsula4Life Dinner Update

Paul Clegg to Chair Care Net Peninsula's 35th Annual Peninsula4Life Dinner

Local businessman Paul Clegg to serve as chairman at this year’s annual Peninsula4Life Benefit Dinner taking place on October 21st at the Marriott City Center in Newport News.

Newport News, VA June 22, 2021 – This October 21st over 500 guests will gather at the Marriott City Center in Newport News for the 35th annual Peninsula4Life Dinner benefitting Alcove Health, the Peninsula’s only no-cost women’s pregnancy health center. This annual event brings together local businesses, churches, and individuals to raise awareness and funds for the pregnancy clinic’s medical services and resources.

The 2021 banquet will be chaired by local businessman Paul Clegg, Farmers Insurance agent in Yorktown. Paul’s devoted history with Care Net, passion for the unborn, and deep community relationships make him the ideal chairperson for this inspirational event.

“I am honored to be the chair for this year’s Peninsula 4 Life Banquet. Care Net is near and dear to my family’s heart”, states Mr. Clegg. “I look forward to building upon the banquet success of previous years to have our best banquet yet and create more awareness to help continue to serve moms and save babies on the Peninsula.” The keynote speaker for the evening will be Ryan Bomberger of The Radiance Foundation. For more information or to donate online, please visit www.peninsula4life.org.

About Care Net Peninsula Care Net Peninsula, founded in 1986 as Peninsula Crisis Pregnancy Center, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides no-costs services to women experiencing unplanned pregnancy. Care Net Peninsula operates a medical clinic in Newport News offering options counseling, ultrasounds, parenting support and more.

Anne Sych, Director of Development

July 1, 2021

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Meet Karen

Meet Karen

We have been holding on to this gem for a bit now – please give a big welcome to one of our newest Client Advocates, Karen Reynolds.

Karen joined our team early this Spring and jumped right into training and is now ready to see abortion-minded clients. One of the unique gifts that Karen brings to our ministry is that she previously worked as a Survivor Advocate and Case Manager for Transitions Family Violence Services Emergency Housing Program, so she is used to meeting women during some of the most difficult seasons in their lives and ministering to them through it.

In fact, Karen has a long history of ministry work, serving as a Food Bank Administrator and Operator, as well as an Outreach Coordinator for local churches. She holds degrees in Human Services, Business Administration, and Early Childhood Development from Saint Leo University and Thomas Nelson Community College, skills and knowledge that will be put to good use in this ministry. 

Karen has been married to her husband for over 27 years, and together they lived the Navy life for 20 years before settling down in Virginia. She is the proud Mom of 3 sons, 1 daughter, and 1 daughter in love, and is a member of Hope Church in Newport News.

We’re so grateful to have Karen on our team and are looking forward to the many ways God will use her in our ministry.

Amanda Franks, Marketing Director

June 8, 2021

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2020 Impact Report

Providing Help & Hope Through a Difficult Year

2020 Impact Report

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Peter’s response to Jesus is my go-to during ‘dark nights of the soul’, theologians talk about. 2020 delivered plenty of those nights for many of us. Peter’s words have two implications. We have unending hope when our health, our culture, even when our whole world seems to be collapsing around us. It also means there’s a God-sized hole in the heart of man that can’t be filled in any other way. The women we serve are fed a steady stream of lies that abortion will fill that hole. It will not.  

Unfortunately, in 2020 those lies got a little louder. New abortion laws and Covid-19 combined to create the potential for an abortion BOOM. For example, a national abortion provider just launched new ads targeting women in our community by offering the abortion pill “discreetly mailed in 2-4 days” without ever leaving home. This was against the law just 12 months ago.

BUT THERE IS HOPE. As part of the Care Net Peninsula family, you helped share words of eternal life with 506 women on the Peninsula last year. Your faithful giving, your prayers, the cookies you dropped off for the staff when we remained open in the early days of the lockdown – those things speak life to me, to our ministry, and to the women and babies we served this year. 

You equipped Care Net to invest more than ever to reach vulnerable moms on the Peninsula. We never shut our doors. We added STI testing. We launched a digital learning platform to equip our clients for parenting. We’re doing whatever we can to ensure the Peninsula is a community where, no matter what, moms have the help and hope they need to choose life for their baby. 

Thank you so much for being part of the Care Net Family. 

Ryan Holloway, Executive Director

LOCAL PREGNANCY STATS

New abortion laws in Virginia eliminated the ultrasound requirement

The new laws also lowered the standards for where and by whom abortions could be performed

Under the guise of being a “study”, national abortion organizations started providing the abortion pill by mail

Unplanned Pregnancies and Abortions

• 3,016 unplanned pregnancies
• 1,435 abortions

2020 Clinic Stats

2020 Expenses

The Care Net Team

Board of Directors

Garrett Maroon

Chair

Wayne Holcomb, J.D.

Secretary

Ms. Bobbie Lewis

Board Member

Heatherly Cabral

Board Member

Pastor Shaun Brown

Board Member

Dyan Gurley

Board Member

Jerrid Neeley, M.D.

Board Member

staff members

Ryan Holloway

Executive Director

Shantelle Giles

Clinic Director

Anne Sych

Director of Development

Gail Slocum

Director of Operations

Dr. Elizabeth Lunsford

Medical Director

Meg William, RN, BSN

Nurse Manager

Kinta Dye, RN, BSN

Nurse Manager

Carla Branson, RN, BSN

Nurse

Sherri Pigue

Client Relations Manager

Meg William, RN, BSN

Nurse Manager

Sheri Coker

Senior Client Advocate

Karen Reynolds

Client Advocate

Amanda Franks

Media Specialist

Maggie Jervey

Community Relations Manager

Linda Mesibov

Adminsitrative Assistant

Make a Donation Today to Provide Help and Hope to Local Women on the Peninsula!

Amanda Franks, Marketing Director

June 1, 2021

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Giving Tuesday 2023 Care Net Peninsula

Save the Date: Giving Tuesday 2023

For Giving Tuesday 2023, we invite you to join us in taking a stand for life by giving a life-saving gift by providing ONE DAY of ultrasounds to our clinic to serve the women wondering what to do next when facing an unplanned pregnancy.

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2020 Drive-In4Life Update

You Are Providing for Moms Through Covid-19 and Beyond!

When you can’t assemble together for your annual Walk4Life what do you do? Our passionate community didn’t let a global pandemic stop us from raising awareness and funds to serve moms and save babies on the Peninsula. 
 
On June 13th we gathered together in the parking lot of Coastal Community Church for Care Net Peninsula’s first (and prayerfully only) Drive-In4Life. In our decorated cars we celebrated what God has done to continue to provide the needed funds to offer practical help and hope to women in crisis. And can you believe that we held our BIGGEST Spring fundraiser . . . EVER!! Raising over $150,000!! 
 
You did it!! We are so grateful for all of the hard work our fundraising walkers (we never changed the term . . . oops), teams and churches accomplished to provide care in crisis!

Top Teams

Christ Fellowship Church  of Wburg $13,600

Young Team $12,985

Bridgeport Church $9,560

First Church Port Warwick $5,700

Laufer Insurance Solutions $5,525

Peninsula Community Chapel $4,830

Holloways4Life $4,350

Seaford Baptist Church Life Matters Ministry $3,955

Community Bible Church $3,850

All Generations Church $2,965

Top Walkers

Ryan Holloway $4,350

Caroline Driscoll $3,525

Zipporah Young $3,450

Charlie Littlefield $3,100

Rhonda Laufer $3,000

Leah Alden $2,725

Cary Taylor $2,585

Chloe Figgers $2,250

Andrea Beck $2,175

Anna Alden $2,065

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The Water Babies won BEST OVERALL CAR! 

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The Cecil Family won MOST CREATIVE CAR!

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The Alexander Family won MOST ON MESSAGE CAR!

Thank You To Our Generous Sponsors:

Holcomb Law | Genesis Counseling Center | Mid-Atlantic Residential | Reach Orthotic & Prosthetic Services | Cornerstone Custom Homes | Garnett Construction | Green’s Container & Hauling | Emerson Brothers | Spivey Rentals

Amanda Franks, Marketing Director

August 27, 2020

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Giving Tuesday 2023 Care Net Peninsula

Save the Date: Giving Tuesday 2023

For Giving Tuesday 2023, we invite you to join us in taking a stand for life by giving a life-saving gift by providing ONE DAY of ultrasounds to our clinic to serve the women wondering what to do next when facing an unplanned pregnancy.

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Have You Met Maggie?

Have You Met Maggie?

Hey Friends, meet Maggie McNeely! She is a face you will get very acquainted with and we are THRILLED to finally introduce you to her if you haven’t had the chance to meet her yet.

Maggie has been a long time friend of the ministry and a little over a year ago started volunteering as a Client Intake Volunteer. While serving in the clinic she noticed God was at work in her heart and put a desire there to want to do more and minister to the women and families on the Peninsula. So, when the Community Relations Manager position opened up in December she knew that was a HUGE answer to her prayer about what was next.

Since graduating from Christopher Newport University in 2013, Maggie has worked in campus ministry with Cru for the last 6 years, and even though her time with them has come to an end, she is still looking forward to being able to mentor to student women while developing and nourishing new relationships with Care Net friends in the community. If you’re looking for her in her free time, you can catch her taking long walks to the river with her pup, Willow, and playing guitar and volleyball every chance she gets. (We haven’t figured out if she can do both at the same time).

We know she is just as excited as we are to have her join our family and she is eager to get out there and meet you and bring our community together to help serve moms and save babies.

Amanda Franks, Marketing Director

February 6, 2020

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Giving Tuesday 2023 Care Net Peninsula

Save the Date: Giving Tuesday 2023

For Giving Tuesday 2023, we invite you to join us in taking a stand for life by giving a life-saving gift by providing ONE DAY of ultrasounds to our clinic to serve the women wondering what to do next when facing an unplanned pregnancy.

Read More »
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Welcome Back, Sheri!

Welcome Back, Sheri!

Meet our new(ish) Client Advocate, Sheri Coker!

We first met Sheri back in 2015 when she began volunteering with us doing client intake. She was later trained as a Client Advocate. In 2017 Sheri began volunteering at a local safe house for traffick victims where she led Bible studies and helped women with financial literacy. Aside from her volunteer work, she has spent most of the past twenty years homeschooling her three daughters.

Prior to raising her girls and ministering to women, Sheri was employed as a financial analyst. She has been married to John for 26 years. They enjoy a weekly movie and ice cream date night and the occasional 5K to 10K race. Sheri is excited to be engaged in Kingdom work and the daily opportunities to see the love and compassion of Christ extended to women in need.

We’re excited to have Sheri here daily and can’t wait to see how God uses her in our ministry. Please be in prayer for her as she serves the moms who come to our clinic.

Amanda Franks, Marketing Director

January 30, 2020

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Giving Tuesday 2023 Care Net Peninsula

Save the Date: Giving Tuesday 2023

For Giving Tuesday 2023, we invite you to join us in taking a stand for life by giving a life-saving gift by providing ONE DAY of ultrasounds to our clinic to serve the women wondering what to do next when facing an unplanned pregnancy.

Read More »

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Care Net Peninsula is a 501(c)3 non-profit. We provide the help and hope local women need to choose life for their baby.

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