The Women’s Care Center’s annual Luxury Bingo fundraiser was held Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Italian Community Center (Photos by Greta Taxis)
At 21, Brynn was on her own and pregnant for the second time.
Her first pregnancy ended with an abortion, but this time, a Google search led her to a new life filled with hope.
“The Women’s Care Center is filled with people who genuinely care about women and their babies,” Brynn, a Women’s Care Center client, told a crowd of 560 people attending the center’s annual Luxury Bingo fundraiser Sept. 26 at the Italian Community Center.
From a young age, Brynn said her life was a juggling act. She lived with her mother, brother, and grandparents.
“From age 6 onward, different bowling pins were added as I tried my best to manage the world around me,” she said. “My father’s incarceration, my mother’s drug addiction, and the loss of contact with my brother, I had a family that was falling apart. All the mental health challenges that resulted were some of the heavier objects to balance. Despite this, I still worked hard for good grades in school and had a decent athletic career. Ultimately, the pins fell when my mother lost her battle with addiction.”
Her death led to instability for Brynn. As a teen, she became pregnant while in an abusive relationship. She was living on the streets and not treating her mental illness, and all alone. Not knowing what to do, she sought out an abortion.
“On top of everything else, I couldn’t juggle a baby, too,” said Brynn. “At 21 years old, when I thought life was at its worst, I found myself pregnant again. I stared at the positive test, my mind was blank and frozen with shock and fear. I didn’t know where to turn. I went to Google and stumbled upon the Women’s Care Center, and made an appointment.”
After seeing the ultrasound, she knew life was growing inside her. Though she thought she was just a few weeks along, she learned she was in her third month of pregnancy. While haunted by her past abortion, Brynn reveled in the feeling of her daughter kicking her for the first time.
“I will forever feel guilt and shame for that decision,” she said, weeping. “I knew I couldn’t take back what I had done, but my daughter’s first move propelled me to get my life together. So, I picked up all my messy pins and started again.”
She worried about how to afford a baby, what others would think of her, and where she would live. However, her fears abated as the Women’s Care Center made her feel instantly welcomed.
“My counselor, Melissa, helped me through my pregnancy, listened to my concerns, and empowered me to trust myself to navigate this pregnancy and be a good mother,” she said. “They gave me prenatal vitamins and information on breastfeeding, safe sleep, and more. There were times I had bumps in the road that made the juggling act harder. I felt unworthy of the task at times but dedicated my Wednesdays to parenting classes at the Women’s Care Center.”
Because of the great support she received, Brynn went back to school, earned straight A’s, told her family about the news, planned a baby shower and welcomed her daughter, Ludo.
“It was the beginning of a new life,” she said. “I cannot imagine a world without her in it. I am so grateful to be a mother. Now my juggling act is different. Instead of juggling a broken home, I am creating a whole new one for my daughter. Instead of a mom losing herself to drugs, I am a mom growing right alongside my daughter.”
She credits the Women’s Care Center for preparing her, helping her to not feel alone or isolated, and providing the support she and her daughter Ludo needed.
“Although I can’t replace the hole my mother left, I can build my own family and be everything that I needed as a young girl for my daughter,” Brynn said. “It has been such a rewarding experience.”
According to Board President Alice Wycklendt, Luxury Bingo brings in three-quarters of the Women’s Care Center’s annual budget, which allows them more time to focus on saving babies.
“Last year, we helped 2,500 unique women and were able to save 1,000 babies, which is a 20 percent growth over the previous year,” she said. “This fundraiser helps us fill a substantial need to save babies. We are so grateful that more women are choosing to give birth.”
Executive Director Sheryl Laird said she is grateful for the successful Luxury Bingo night, as they use the funds to run two centers.
“We don’t want to have more events to meet the needs, so we try to raise a lot at this event,” Laird said. “It also gives us more time to work with mothers. We are grateful that so many arms link together for this cause, which is nonpolitical and helps women with unplanned pregnancies.”
When the Women’s Care Center started Luxury Bingo in 2010, they had only 80 people attend. Now, they begin planning this yearly event in February. It takes nearly 40 volunteers to make this event a success.
“Another great aspect is that not only is this just about money raised for the centers, but it is a way to get our donors and new people to be aware of our mission of culture and life and to do so with joy, positivity and goodness,” Laird said. “We are bringing people together, educating and promoting how we can help women facing unplanned pregnancies.”
