Tuesday | November, 24 2020
Contact: Andrea Trudden, Director of Communications and Marketing
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ashley Bratcher Surprises Mom with Unplanned Movie Scholarship in Time for the Holiday Season
Columbus, OH: Inspired by her starring role in the movie Unplanned, Ashley Bratcher partnered with Heartbeat International to award a brave woman who chose life when facing an unplanned pregnancy with an $11,700 scholarship to put toward her education.
The Unplanned Movie Scholarship provides Heartbeat International's network of pregnancy help organizations the opportunity to honor clients with financial support toward their education. Scholarship recipients may receive up to $20,000 in four years beginning from the time of their acceptance for the purpose of schooling or schooling related costs (i.e. childcare, transportation, books, etc.).
“Abortion does not empower women,” Bratcher said. “What empowers women is when they choose life for their children and they can still pursue their dreams. Because they can, sometimes it just takes a little help.”
The latest recipient, Sarah, received pregnancy support and on-going care at InnerVisions Healthcare, a pregnancy help medical clinic with locations in Des Moines and West Des Moines, IA. InnerVisions HealthCare provides women and men facing unplanned pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases with compassion and truthful information to educate, empower, and encourage them to live their best life.
Sarah recently finished school for massage therapy and took out student loans for the program and licensing. The Unplanned Movie Scholarship will now help cover her costs related to school.
"Tucked into Unplanned is a vivid reminder that education can present an obstacle to accepting the new life within,” said Jor-El Godsey, president of Heartbeat International. “The Unplanned Movie Scholarship will be a lifeline to a young mom's future as she makes the brave choice to embrace motherhood.”
When asked about the partnership with Heartbeat, Bratcher said, “Not only will the scholarship financially support the decision of mothers to continue their education, but it will also connect them to an organization that will support them throughout their pregnancy and beyond.”
The Unplanned Movie Scholarship fund is accepting donations at www.UnplannedMovieScholarship.com.
To learn more about Ashley Bratcher, go to IMDb.com and follow her on Twitter.
For more information on Heartbeat International go to HeartbeatInternational.org and find Heartbeat on Facebook and Twitter.
About Heartbeat International: Heartbeat International is the largest network of pro-life pregnancy help in the world, with over 2,800 affiliated locations in more than 60 countries. Heartbeat's mission is to Reach and Rescue as many lives as possible, around the world, through an effective network of life-affirming pregnancy help, to Renew communities for LIFE in order to achieve their vision of making abortion unwanted today and unthinkable for future generations.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Today the Charlotte Lozier Institute released a report highlighting the findings of a robust study of approximately 2,700 U.S. pregnancy centers. The new report, “Pregnancy Centers Stand the Test of Time,” is based on national survey data provided by the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates and other pregnancy center networks, including Care Net and Heartbeat International. The data in this report quantifies the tremendous impact of pregnancy centers in America.
“Pregnancy centers and medical clinics exist to empower mothers to choose life. They provide invaluable education as well as physical, medical, emotional and financial support,” said Anne O’Connor, NIFLA Vice President of Legal Affairs. “This report quantifies the impact of their work on a national scale. Pregnancy centers provide these services at no cost, saving communities across the nation millions in tax dollars annually. All Americans, regardless of political orientation, can agree that pregnancy centers provide welcome essential resources during times of uncertainty.”
###
Key findings in the report include:
2,700 pro-life pregnancy centers nationwide served almost two million people in 2019, at an estimated value of nearly $270 million.
These are some of the vital services typically provided at virtually no charge:
Almost 732,000 pregnancy tests
More than 486,000 free ultrasounds
160,200 STI/STD tests
More than 291,000 clients attended parenting and prenatal education programs
More than 21,000 clients received after-abortion support
Nearly 1.3 million packs of diapers
More than two million baby outfits
Personnel facts:
68,832 workers serve pregnancy centers, including nearly 3,800 licensed medical staff (25% of paid staff)
Eight in 10 (53,855) of these workers are volunteers, including more than 6,400 licensed medical volunteers (12% of total volunteers)
Over 10,000 licensed medical workers provide care, as staff and volunteers
