Thread by Morgana.
BOISE, Idaho, March 1, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – When Grace Swanke, 10, found out that Girl Scouts is entangled with Planned Parenthood, not only did she decide to quit her troop, but as someone who loved to sell cookies, she decided to make and sell her own brand of cookie, but with a pro-life twist.
“The thing I enjoyed most about the girl scouts was selling cookies, and then I realized I could still sell cookies, I just had to bake them myself,” Grace told LifeSiteNews.
Several years ago, a significant number of Girl Scout councils nationwide admitted to partnering with Planned Parenthood (PP). When questioned about the affiliation on NBC’s “Today Show,” former Girl Scout CEO Kathy Cloninger admitted that Girl Scout Troops and Councils partnered with Planned Parenthood to provide “good” and “information-based” sex education. She never retracted this statement.
As recently as 2010, Girl Scouts was caught distributing an explicit PP sex guide at a Girl Scouts UN meeting. They also recently welcomed into their ranks boys who identify themselves as girls.
At first young Grace was going to call her project “Grace’s Cookies,” but when she decided that all money raised would go to fund an ultrasound machine for the local pro-life clinic, she knew she had to change the name. That’s when Cookies for Life was born.
“I find that what is so great about being pro-life is donating money to pro-life charities so women can see life. When women see life, women choose life,” said Grace.
The young entrepreneur started her project last year with a number of baking sessions and raised almost $600 to benefit a Knights of Columbus ultrasound machine project in her area. Now on her second year of baking, Grace plans to aid the Stanton Healthcare Center, a medical pro-life women’s centre in Boise, by helping them to pay for their new location, right next door to Planned Parenthood. Her goal of raising $700 has already been surpassed by $900, for a total of $1600.
Cindy Anderson, youth minister at Our Lady of the Rosary and friend of Grace, told LifeSiteNews that she is “so proud of Grace” and that the young girl is “so totally an inspiration.” With Anderson’s help this year, Grace was able to make use of the Church’s facilities to make even more cookies.
“Grace is thrilled that she is able to sell cookies again and even more thrilled that this money is going to help save babies. Her face just lights up when you talk with her about it. You can’t help but to get involved because she is so excited about it,” said Anderson.
Word of Grace’s tasty cookies and pro-life convictions have begun to spread far and wide. Organizers for the upcoming Idaho Catholic Youth Convention have asked her to bake 2,800 cookies for the 1400 young people that are expected to attend the event and to share her convictions as a speaker at the conference. The money raised from this will also benefit the pro-life clinic.
Grace’s parents, Mary and John Swanke, believe that the Cookies for Life project has taken off because family, friends, and the local community have come together for a cause that everyone believes in and can get excited about.
“Words cannot say enough to thank everyone for all of their hard work! God is good, ALL THE TIME!” wrote Mrs. Swanke on the Cookies for Life Facebook page after a recent successful baking campaign.
As people have often heard Grace exclaim as she bakes and sells her cookies: “All it takes is a little ‘yes’ to God and amazing things can happen.”
Thread by rhema.
[ . . . ]
Here’s what happens: a woman is walking up to an abortion clinic. She is approached by Dave or Daryl or another member of Save the Storks.
“Hi, how are you? Would you like a free ultrasound?”
This is the approach. There is no dangling rosary, no graphic pamphlet, no doom-and-gloom. Just an offer of free help from a non-threatening, friendly, smiling young person.
And then there is the Stork bus. . . .
[ . . . ]
The Stork bus . . . is a bright, lovely blue on the outside, and the inside is clean and free of clutter, with a welcoming but no-nonsense clinical feel. There is a little couch for the mother to sit on and speak to a counselor, and a padded bench where she can lie comfortably.
The ultrasound machine pulls out from underneath the bench. It is operated only by a licensed sonographer whose work is frequently reviewed by an OB/Gyn. In the back there is a small private toilet for pregnancy testing. It isn’t the slightest bit cramped or unpleasant; these mothers get only the best. The completed bus with the ultrasound machine was paid for by private donations to the tune of about $140,000.
The Stork bus is by no means the first mobile ultrasound vehicle — it was Chris Slattery’s mobile sonogram bus that inspired Dave and Joe in the first place — but it may be the smallest, lightest, and most practical. It doesn’t require a permit or special permission to park. It will fit in a parking space or even at a meter.
It is an abortion clinic’s worst nightmare. . . . .
[ . . . ]
. . . . What is the battle cry of the pro-abortion movement? “Choice!” It is their mantra. What do you constantly hear from abortion advocates? “These desperate women feel like they are out of options.” Right here, on four wheels, parked in front of the clinic, is another choice — one they might not even know they have. Inside that bus is an image of their baby waiting to be seen. Connected to that bus is a support system — in short, options.
Dave and the team have high hopes, and they should. The approach is breathtakingly simple and, if early tests are any indication, profoundly effective.
As mentioned, the Storks take to the streets of Dallas on March 13. Meanwhile their website is up and running at SaveTheStorks.com with the purpose of raising money to take the program national. A Save the Storks bus is not cheap, and it takes people to run it. While Dave and his team get things off the ground in Dallas, Joe is in charge of building a national movement.
The thought of a Stork bus in every major city in America should bring a smile to your face. Every one of these buses represents hundreds of lives saved every year.
I have met Dave and the gang. I have been on board the Stork bus. And I have never been more excited about a pro-life idea than I am about this one.
You probably are having the same reaction I did. You are probably thinking: “What can I do to help?”
First: spread the word. Use Facebook, Twitter, Twitbook, whatever, to share with people how awesome this is.
Second: go to SaveTheStorks.com now and volunteer. They need all kinds of stuff — bloggers, artists, counselors, you name it — all across the country to be part of their national team of Save the Storks volunteers. Whatever your talent is, Save the Storks can probably use it to help get Stork programs off and running across the country. You — yes, you! — can be a part of this movement from the ground up.
Third: donate if you can. Save your Starbucks money for a few days and buy a ridiculously cool Save the Storks T-shirt. Wear it and tell people about it. (I promise they’ll be curious.)
In just a few days, Dave, Daryl, and their remarkable bus hit the streets of Dallas, the city where abortion rights were born. As a native Dallasite, I hope what started here is ended here. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Save the Storks becomes a major factor in helping Dallas — and the country — see an end to abortion.