Colleen Holcomb to Chair Care Net Peninsula’s 37th Annual Peninsula4Life Benefit Dinner

Colleen Holcomb to Chair Care Net Peninsula's 37th Annual Peninsula4Life Benefit Dinner

Local attorney Colleen Holcomb to serve as chairperson at this year’s annual Peninsula4Life Benefit Dinner taking place on October 20th at the Hampton Roads Convention Center.

Newport News, VA – This October 20th, more than 700 guests will gather at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virginia, for the 37th 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 2023 banquet will be chaired by Colleen Holcomb, a partner at Holcomb Law, P.C. Colleen’s passion for the unborn has moved her to serve in multiple leadership roles with Care Net Peninsula and as the Executive Director of the Republican National Coalition for Life.

Coretta Scott King said that ‘the greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.’ The Peninsula4Life Banquet has become a cherished tradition for the Peninsula community because it reflects that greatness,” said Holcomb. “The Care Net Peninsula team is serving on the frontlines, bringing hope and practical care to women facing crisis pregnancies. This banquet enables the community to share in and celebrate this vital work.”

The keynote speaker for the evening will be former NFL tight end Benjamin Watson of The Watson Seven. For more information or to donate online, please visit peninsula4life.org.

About Care Net Peninsula: Care Net Peninsula, founded in 1986 as Peninsula Crisis Pregnancy Center, is a 501(c)3 non-profit 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.

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Get to Know Emalee

She’s been one of the driving forces behind a successful event season for our ministry, and we thought it was time we finally introduce you to our Development Coordinator, Emalee.

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Serving Moms and Saving Babies in a POST-ROE WORLD

Serving Moms and Saving Babies

In A Post-Roe World

2022 Impact Report

Remember the end of a world in Super Mario? You’d defeat Bowser only to find Toad saying “Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle.” That’s a bit like the pregnancy center movement right now.

On June 24th, 2022, Roe was aborted! This was great news. The Dobbs decision meant the abortion question would be answered at the state level. In many states, thousands of babies have been saved as a result. But not here in Virginia. In fact, our state as a “purple state” has caused national players on both sides of this issue to label Virginia as a battleground state in post-Roe America. On to the next castle we go.

For Care Net Peninsula, our mission has not changed. We’re doing everything we can to save babies from abortion by caring for pregnant women in crisis. We served nearly 900 clients in 2022. To handle this growth, we purchased 11101 Warwick Boulevard, the future home of our ministry. We’re also constantly adapting to changes in the abortion pill market and trying to stay ahead of Google’s algorithm that filters us out of certain searches now.

Thank you so much for partnering with us in 2022, and please keep the women and babies we serve in your prayers. 

Who Is The Abortion Minded Woman

She could be anyone! Your sister, friend, maybe even the woman sitting next to you in church. It’s easy, in our culture, to believe that abortion is the only way out of an unplanned pregnancy.

Unplanned Pregnancies and Abortions

3,016 unplanned pregnancies
1,435 abortions

*Most recent data available is 2021

According to the Virginia Department of Health, 22% of preborn babies on the Peninsula are aborted. In reality, it’s even higher! That’s because Virginia, like most states, only tracks facility-based abortions. Online abortion companies are mailing abortion pills (for abortions up to 11 weeks) to local women every day without accountability. These companies are strategically located in states that do not track abortion stats, so we have no way of knowing how many babies they’re killing in our community. 

Your Impact in 2022

648

Pregnancy Tests

585

Ultrasounds

199

STI Tests

101

Church Mentors

236

Bundles4Babies

Ashley, a client you served, and her daughter Ani, visiting Karen, a Client Advocate, and the clinic team.

Casey's Story

“IT FELT LIKE A CRUEL JOKE” – Casey saw those two pink lines and was once again overwhelmed with grief and bitterness.

Casey was married with two children, but then had two unplanned pregnancies. Both ended in abortion. Her decisions to abort weighed heavy on her heart in ways she hadn’t fully processed. And yet, here she was, pregnant again. These same lies from before were starting to take over. Would this pregnancy end the same way?

After my second abortion, I was left feeling empty and unloved. My life was becoming a train wreck that caught fire and exploded. I struggled with anxiety and depression and allowed the wrong people into my life. I even convinced myself that my husband didn’t love me anymore, so I left. I turned to drugs and alcohol to escape from the pain.

“One night, blinded and overwhelmed by grief, I was ready to end it all. If my daughter had not walked out to me when she did, snapping me back to reality, my children would have woken up and found me dead in the morning.”

It was only two weeks after this incident when those two pink lines appeared. Casey was working on mending her marriage and family, but she feared a new baby would hurt their progress. Then, she began to experience early pregnancy complications that reminded her vividly of her past abortion decisions and how quickly this could all be over with. But could she live with that decision for this a third time? Casey didn’t want to let another child down, so she made a call to Alcove Health. 

“It wasn’t my first time at Alcove, but this time it was different. There was no hiding. They met me with open arms, and I felt like they genuinely wanted to help me. I met with Sylvia and Shantelle, who understood my situation and talked to me without judgment or ridicule. They gave me hope things would work out.”

“In a time where I felt so alone, scared, and just overwhelmingly sad, Alcove was a bright light of hope.”

“Alcove provided me programs, like LEAP (their parenting program) to help me get started. They connected me with a mentor group that helped keep me grounded and growing in The Word. I returned to my faith, sobered up, and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I will never forget that moment 6 months later when I was baptized with my children, family, and nebworn daughter there to witness.”

God is doing awesome work in Casey’s life . . . and you’re part of her story! Your support provides a safe place for women like Casey to process and learn the truth about abortion. And in a post-Roe world, the truth is more important than ever. For Casey, that meant her daughter was saved from a physical death and she herself from a spiritual death and into a new life with Christ – one that frees her of the guilt, shame, and regret she felt, and helps heal the wounds she carries. 

Client Story Written By Amanda Franks

We're Building a Permanent Space to Serve Local Moms

In June 2022, we bought 11101 Warwick Boulevard. You gave over and above your regular giving to turn this 1970’s office building into the future home of our ministry. We’re at nearly 100% of our $600,000 Capitol Campaign goal and we hope to start construction in April 2023.

The care net team

Board of Directors

Garrett Maroon

Chair

Wayne Holcomb, Esq

Vice-Chair

Pastor Shaun Brown

Secretary

Dyan Gurley

Board Member

Teresa Chalsma

Board Member

Pastor Riley Halliday

Board Member

Carrie Cecil

Board Member

Staff memberS

Ryan Holloway

Executive Director

Dr. Jerrid Neeley, D.O.

Medical Director

Shantelle Giles

Clinic Director

Anne Sych

Director of Development

Linda Mesibov

Operations Manager

Amanda Franks

Marketing Manager

Kinta Dye, RN, BSN

Nurse Manager

Meg Williams, RN, BSN

Nurse Manager

Karla Laskowski, RN, BSN

Nurse

Patty Shuster, RN

Nurse

Sherri Pigue

Client Relations Manager

Katelyn Carpenter

Development Coordinator

Sylvia Pottle

Advocacy Manager

Karen Reynolds

Client Advocate

Jenn Nicholson

Client Advocate

Candra Smith

Clinic Admin Assistant

Joyce Stackhouse

Administrative Assistant

Friday, May 5, 2023

Get to Know Emalee

She’s been one of the driving forces behind a successful event season for our ministry, and we thought it was time we finally introduce you to our Development Coordinator, Emalee.

Read More »

Eloise Turns One!

Eloise Turns One!

We were able to capture sweet little Eloise’s newborn photos, and what a joy it was to be there for her first birthday as well. Check out these photos from one of our volunteer photographers. 

Other Sessions: Newborn

Photos By: Cindy Matthews, Volunteer Photographer

Get to Know Emalee

She’s been one of the driving forces behind a successful event season for our ministry, and we thought it was time we finally introduce you to our Development Coordinator, Emalee.

Read More »

Jolie, Raymond and Baby Eloise

Jolie, Raymond and Baby Eloise

Recently, our volunteer photographer, Cindy, spent the day at Yorktown Beach with this sweet family to capture some newborn photos of their baby girl, Eloise. Thank you for joining us in providing help and hope to local families in our community so moments like this can happen.

Photos By: Cindy Matthews, Volunteer Photographer

Get to Know Emalee

She’s been one of the driving forces behind a successful event season for our ministry, and we thought it was time we finally introduce you to our Development Coordinator, Emalee.

Read More »

Tami Dierberger to Chair Care Net Peninsula’s 36th Annual Peninsula4Life Benefit Dinner

2022 Peninsula4Life Dinner Chair Tami Dierberger
2022 Peninsula4Life Dinner Chair Tami Dierberger

Tami Dierberger to Chair Care Net Peninsula's 36th Annual Peninsula4Life Benefit Dinner

Local business owner, Tami Dierberger, to serve as Chairwoman at this year’s annual Peninsula4Life Benefit Dinner. The dinner will take place on October 20th at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Newport News, VA – This October 20th, over 600 guests will gather at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, VA, for the 36th annual Peninsula4Life Dinner benefitting Alcove Health, the Peninsula’s only no-cost women’s pregnancy health center. This yearly event brings together local businesses, churches, and individuals to raise awareness and funds for the pregnancy clinic’s medical services and resources.

The 2022 dinner is to be chaired by local businesswoman Tami Dierberger, owner and marketing specialist of Donatos Pizza in Newport News, VA. Tami’s passion for women and the unborn, deep community relationships, and history with the Care Net Peninsula make her the ideal chairperson for this inspirational event.

“I am humbled to Chair the 2022 Care Net Peninsula4Life Dinner and to work alongside a team of incredible individuals that share a passion for life”, says Tami. “I witnessed the life-changing impact Care Net Peninsula had on a young woman that is very dear to me, strengthening my desire to be involved. This annual dinner is extremely important as it helps provide the opportunity for Care Net Peninsula to reach many women right here on the Peninsula, and that excites me!” 

The keynote speaker for the evening will be New York Times best-selling author and radio host Eric Metaxas. For more information or to donate online, please visit 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-cost services to women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. In addition, Care Net Peninsula operates a medical clinic in Newport News, offering options counseling, ultrasounds, parenting support, and more.

    • Contact: Anne Sych, Director of Development
    • Phone: 757-591-0303
    • Email: anne@cnpeninsula.org
    • Website: cnpeninsula.org

June 14, 2022

Get to Know Emalee

She’s been one of the driving forces behind a successful event season for our ministry, and we thought it was time we finally introduce you to our Development Coordinator, Emalee.

Read More »

2021 Impact Report

ABORTION’S NEXT CHAPTER

2021 Impact Report

Despite paradigm-shifting changes to the abortion industry, Care Net Peninsula is leading in the fight for life.

“It’s simple, receive the abortion pill in 1-3 days after a quick video visit.” This ad from Carafem was illegal in 2020. Now national At-Home Abortion companies aggressively market to women on the Peninsula and across the country. In fact, the pill is responsible for over half of the 800,000+ babies killed by abortion each year.

What exactly is an At-Home Abortion? It’s when a ‘pregnant person’ answers a few questions on a video call, and a company mails her the abortion pill for about $200. No ultrasound. No leaving home. She passes the baby in her toilet. It’s horrific. It’s also a threat to the future of our ministry and the women and babies we serve together.

But the Care Net Family is ready for the fight. For the first time, you gave over $1 million. We launched STI testing to reach more women in person. We leveled up (again) our digital communication, and our online leads TRIPLED! That means more women than ever learned about our services. Your investment paid off. We served 630 clients in 2021-our most ever. 391 babies were born. 143 women–and 4 men–were connected to a church mentor. 19 women made a confession of faith in the clinic. To God be the glory!

Thank you so much for your faithful giving, advocating, volunteering, and praying. We are well-equipped for the next chapter in the fight for life on the Peninsula, and that would not be true without YOU.

Pray for wisdom as we adapt and grow aggressively to serve as many moms and save as many babies as God would bring to us.

Ryan Holloway, Executive Director

Is This Data Still Accurate?

At-Home Abortions were made permanently legal by the FDA in 2021. Now, national companies are lining up to sell Peninsula women mail-order abortion pills after a ‘quick video visit.’

This means even more competition in the fight for life on the Peninsula. It also calls into question the validity of abortion stats provided by the VDH via local abortion facilities. For now, we’ll continue to report the available data.

2021 Clinic Stats

“Don’t do this” – The words that would change Tiffany’s life forever rang through her mind, as she sat in the parking lot of Planned Parenthood. Just a few weeks prior, Tiffany had received a positive pregnancy test, shattering her dreams of a “traditional” wedding with her fiancé and an uncomplicated first year of marriage. Add to that the pressures from multiple loved ones to “just get an abortion,” and Tiffany felt cornered with the temptation to take what felt like the easy way out.

But instead of listening to these voices, Tiffany said “yes” to God’s voice, and, as a result, she lost many relationships including her engagement. Scared and unsure she could parent a child alone, Tiffany came to our clinic and received the help she needed to care for her unborn baby. Her extraordinary courage caught our attention. So, our team nominated Tiffany to Care Net National, who in partnership with Regent University, awarded Tiffany a 4 year, full-tuition scholarship. Praise God!

Now Tiffany wants to use her story to help other women say “yes” to life in a culture shouting the opposite. She wants everyone to know that God used what seemed like a catastrophe in her life to give her the biggest blessings she could ever imagine: a beautiful little girl and a future filled with promise.

Read more about Tiffany here.

 

2021 Expenses

staff members

Ryan Holloway

Executive Director

Dr. Elizabeth Lunsford

Medical Director

Shantelle Giles

Clinic Director

Anne Sych

Development Director

Linda Mesibov

Operations Manager

Meg Williams, RN, BSN

Nurse Manager

Kinta Dye, RN, BSN

Nurse Manager

Karla Laskowski, RN, BSN

Staff Nurse

Sherri Pigue

Client Relations Manager

Sheri Coker

Advocacy Manager

Karen Reynolds

Client Advocate

Sylvia Pottle

Client Advocate

Maggie Jervey

Community Relations Manager

Amanda Franks

Media Specialist

Joyce Stackhouse

Administrative Assistant

board members

Garrett Maroon

Chair

Wayne Holcomb, J.D.

Vice-Chair

Pastor Shaun Brown

Secretary

Dyan Gurley

Board Member

Teresa Chalsma

Board Member

Dr. Jerrid Neeley

Board Member

Carrie Cecil

Board Member

Make a Gift Today to Provide Help and Hope to Local Women on the Peninsula.

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

Get to Know Emalee

She’s been one of the driving forces behind a successful event season for our ministry, and we thought it was time we finally introduce you to our Development Coordinator, Emalee.

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

Get to Know Emalee

She’s been one of the driving forces behind a successful event season for our ministry, and we thought it was time we finally introduce you to our Development Coordinator, Emalee.

Read More »

Joy from Pain

Joy from Pain

When I was a little girl, age 5, my mother had an abortion. There were medical reasons, but the effects of that decision were life-long for her and for my father as well as for myself and likely my other siblings. That moment stopped time for me, and what my parents thought would be the best answer for their situation ended up being a destructive decision that immediately brought remorse for the loss of a child who would’ve been my little brother.

Many struggles came from that painful decision. Most importantly, God used this terrible decision to help my mother make sure I understood that she was carrying a BABY that was taken from the world too soon and that that would never be an option again.

Fast forward 15 years, and my boyfriend and I discovered we were pregnant. We both loved the Lord but were in a promiscuous relationship together and those choices resulted in a pregnancy. There was no doubt that we were keeping our child even though some people pressured us to seek an abortion. We prayed that God would use our daughter to love others well and give us opportunities to share the Gospel with our story.

We have never regretted our decision, and 28 years later we have four children who love Jesus. We know and believe that God worked despite our sin through our repentance for our good and His glory. He is faithful in every situation. The daughter we chose to keep has made us grandparents twice over now, and we are so blessed.

January 14, 2022

The Care Net Peninsula Family is built up of so many amazing individuals. You encourage us with the ways you fight abortion in our community and work to provide help and hope to local women so they choose life for their babies. You each have a unique story of how God brought you to this moment to take up this charge and we would love to hear it. 

If you would like to share your story with the Care Net Family send an email to amanda@cnpeninsula.org

Get to Know Emalee

She’s been one of the driving forces behind a successful event season for our ministry, and we thought it was time we finally introduce you to our Development Coordinator, Emalee.

Read More »

Local Women Find They Don’t Need Abortion to Secure Their Futures – They Need YOU!

Local Women Find They Don't Need Abortion to Secure Their Futures - They Need YOU!

The front end is easy to see.  

You believe in life. It’s sacred. It’s undeniably alive. So you protect it. You speak up, you give money to Care Net Peninsula, and you pray that pregnant women won’t default to abortion. 

And that is what happens – women do choose life. 

Women bring us their unplanned pregnancies – unsure of what to do; full of the fear that their unplanned pregnancies will give birth to unplanned babies. With the culture screaming in their ears it’s hard to imagine anything other than an inevitable end – unplanned babies will ruin their lives. 

But then women find Care Net Peninsula and get the help and hope they need. 

And then they choose life. 

But in the back of your mind, you wonder. Then what? 

If you’ve supported Care Net Peninsula’s mission to serve moms and save babies, you may hit a wall when you try to envision what happens after her pregnancy decision. After the birth of the baby. As the reality of that choice weighs fully – with a new life sleeping in the next room. 

Pro-abortion advocates weave a pretty dismal story – a woman’s success and happiness hinges on her opportunity to abort her child. Without abortion, how will women survive? 

But here at Care Net we are not story-writers. We’re story-tellers. We tell true stories. Stories that you – our donors – help our clients create.  

We are privileged to see the women you help – months and years after they choose life for their babies. Incredible, successful, happy women. Doing life. Raising their children. Working hard. Proud, powerful women who defy the loud lie that abortion saves women.  

Women like Kapria . . .

“I was confused, sad, and at rock bottom” Kapria remembers the weariness of trying to make a pregnancy decision.  “I had to do something. I needed to be reminded in some way, somehow of Jesus being my anchor.” 

So she turned to Care Net’s clinic, Alcove Health – questions and all. 

She walked through our doors with confusing emotions of doubt and fear. Questions were flooding her mind – Will I be a great mom?,” Who will help me? She even wondered, Is God going to hear me?” 

After meeting with her advocate, Sheri, the confusion started to clear. She allowed the truth to overrule the lies and calm her fears.  

She was “confident and awakened.” She knew God wanted her to keep her child.  

Kapria says her pregnancy was “stressful, hard work, encouraging, and transformational.”  

Draw that picture in your mind. Kapria was not dragged kicking and screaming – fighting the pregnancy decision all the way to the delivery room. No, she found the truth and allowed it to change her. Her life was changed through her pregnancy. 

Wearing not-yet-two-month-old Baby Emmanuel swaddled in front of her, she told her own story at Care Net Peninsula’s Walk 4 Life this year. Far from that day she first walked into our clinic, she told a different story. With her own voice.  

With a mind full of gratitude and a heart full of love, Kapria spoke of her life. “I love my son. I love my children. I’m so very much grateful.”

“Thank you for reminding me that through God, all things are possible,” Kapria said. 

Abortion proponents would say her life is ruined. She’s lost her power, her voice, and her ability to have a successful, happy life. After all, they say, women need abortion to secure their futures. 

But women like Kapria – real women with their true stories – show us otherwise. Their lives stand in contrast to the idea that women need abortions. Women like Kapria choose their babies and themselves; their babies’ futures and their own futures. 

At Care Net Peninsula, our services start with a moment – that first call to our clinic.

And then there are more moments – that first connection with an advocate, that first peek at the ultrasound screen, that first conversation with one of our Registered Nurses.  

Every single life-changing event starts with one moment. 

But these moments turn into lifetimes. Lifetimes not doomed to failure because a woman chose to protect her unborn child. Women not living lives full of regret about what could have been – if only they aborted. 

No, we find women fully aware that they saved themselves when they saved their babies. 

When you’re part of the Care Net family, you empower women to understand the truth. You help women see a real future – one that does not need to include an abortion procedure.  

You see, the abortion industry may need women, but women do not need an abortion. Women live successful lives with their babies. 

When you give to Care Net Peninsula, you become part of every one of these life-changing moments. Your generous support – providing pregnant women with the help and hope they need to choose life – turns these moments into successful lifetimes. For babies and moms. 

Read More News Updates