See Beautiful Grant Applicant: Birthright of Memphis

The feature below is brought to you by Birthright of Memphis, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here. 

To learn more about Love Not Lost, please visit their website page: here.

The Beauty of Birthright

In many ways, the things we experience in our lives can alter our perceptions and leave physical and mental scars.  They can cause real damage to our hearts, our minds, and our souls, leaving us searching for hope. We may never be the same again after walking through life-changing events.  We’re different. We can’t go back. But what if these wounds can become something beautiful? What if our life story is transformed into a masterpiece more beautiful than we could have ever imagined? 

From the moment a woman makes the first phone call or enters our center, she is greeted with genuine interest, heartfelt compassion, and caring guidance.  Our volunteers and staff have quietly served women facing unplanned pregnancies for almost 50 years in the MidSouth, and have offered workable options to overcome hardships.  Last year, the Memphis office provided free help to about 1500 women; administering pregnancy tests, offering one-on-one counseling, and access to a maternity closet and baby items.

Birthright cares about the mother and the baby.  We want to walk this journey of life with her and help her through these difficult situations so that she may have a better life for her and her child.  You never know what impact you’ll have in someone’s life just by caring and learning about what’s going on in her life.

​We’ve learned that courage and compassion go hand in hand. A woman having the courage to ask for help often leads to an opportunity for others to show compassion. Here, we ask them where they’ve been, truly seeing them, and seeking to know them and their need. We listen and make room for the unheard to be heard, even when it feels uncomfortable - holding space for people to be loved and valued.

LaShonda,* a Birthright mom, was terrified to find herself pregnant and alone and was surrounded by negativity and limited resources. She wanted desperately to be on her own while still supporting her baby but didn’t know where to go or who to whom she would turn. Seeing a Birthright sign on a bus bench, she timidly walked through our doors and shared her story.

She learned valuable lessons about healthy relationships and boundaries through educational classes and support counseling at Birthright. “Birthright has taught me mindfulness, how to stay positive, how to combat frustration and grounding exercises. What I’ve learned is I can do anything I put my mind to.” She adds that the staff and volunteers are always interested in her, how she’s feeling, and helping her move forward. She says Birthright of Memphis has also taught her how to budget and save money, offered classes in breastfeeding, and infant safety as well as instilled the feeling that “all will be okay and they will always be here, and they support my dream of graduating college.” 

As for the baby girl on the way, “I was really scared when I found out. But now I have the motivation and the knowledge to care for an infant.”

The strength we see each and every day continues to amaze us. As volunteers and employees, many of us came to Birthright to help the moms, never realizing how much they would influence our own lives. Personally, I know I’m not the same person I was when I arrived in November. I learn even more from my bird’s eye view of others’ difficulties, as I witness both the beauty and challenge of loving another well in the face of life’s greatest difficulties. Reaching out to help others in their hardest circumstances is more than just “doing the right thing.”  It’s our mission.

Stories weave a beautiful tapestry of beauty from ashes and it’s an honor to walk alongside women when their lives are forever changed.  We truly get to be the hands and feet of care and compassion in our community.

For Life is beautiful.

*name has been changed for privacy.

Written by: Wendy Nations

Director of Development, Birthright of Memphis