The 29th annual Southern Ohio Pregnancy Center Fundraising Banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 27 at Good News Gathering, Executive Director Cathy Griffith said.
Good News Gathering is located at 6250 U.S. Route 62 in Hillsboro.
Seating will begin at 6:15 p.m. The event will end around 8:30 p.m.
Dinner will be catered by Shoelaces Catering and will include pork tenderloin medallions with apricot and cranberry chutney; twice-baked potatoes; green beans with almonds; tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil tossed in balsamic dressing; dinner rolls; and tea, water and coffee. Dessert will be Melanie Seaman’s cheesecake bites.
The banquet will feature Alex Butler as the master of ceremonies and pro-life speaker and Christian comedian Gordon Douglas. Long-time board member David Wyckoff will be honored.
The cost to attend the banquet is donation-based.
Griffith asks that those who attend the event come in Sunday attire and without children.
Griffith said the SOPC’s goal is to raise $60,000 during this year’s banquet. Last year, the banquet raised $68,000.
Money raised during this event helps fund the SOPC’s programs and cover operating costs.
Griffith said SOPC was founded in 1991 to provide practical assistance, encouragement and unconditional love to women and families in need.
”We’re not a hand out; we’re a hand up,” Griffith said. “We want to walk beside these pregnant moms and help them be the best parents they can be. If a young girl comes in and she’s pregnant and scared, we’re there to hold her hand and walk her through whatever she’s going to go through in the next few months, and we’re there for her when the baby’s born.”
Some of the services the SOPC provides include counseling, parenting classes, and abstinence education in schools. The SOPC also offers maternity and infant clothing and baby care items.
Griffith said in 2019 the representatives of the SOPC spoke to 1,460 Highland County students about abstinence. The SOPC also received 628 client visits last year.
”This is a God thing,” Griffith said. “It always has been.”
Those interested in attending the banquet should RSVP before Friday, March 13. To RSVP, call the Southern Ohio Pregnancy Center at 937-393-2990.
For more information about the SOPC, visit sopcwecare.com.
Reach McKenzie Caldwell at 937-402-2570.
