I became involved in the pro-life movement only a few months ago, shortly after the birth of my first baby. I reverence the transition from maiden to mother, and everything that comes with it: the profound responsibility, the newfound instincts, the fierce love, the awestruck wonder, the drowsy delirium –all commingling through days and weeks that feel like one long, languorous, glimmery daydream. To be living in this complex and stretching space called motherhood is a gift that I am wary not to rob of its full appreciation. 

I am daily reminded that my experience through this transition has been greatly enhanced by the support of family and friends: a loving husband, who takes over diaper duty whenever he is home, tenderly clips our baby’s nails whenever they get too long, and reads Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? like a professional; college friends, old school teachers, religious mentors and extended family members that have showered me with needed baby supplies and wisdom; my mother who loves being a mother, who has happily taken the role of doting grandmother. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I would argue the village is just as much for the raising of the newborn mother as it is for the raising of the newborn child. 

Many of us, having been so blessed with a village of our own, ache for the mothers who find themselves wanting for support. The women that Pro-Life Utah advocates for have made the courageous choice of life for their babies; for many, this loving choice was made despite a lack of familial support or financial resources. PLU’s volunteers have witnessed again and again how the offer of dependable friendship and temporal assistance emboldens and empowers these mothers to confidently face the future with their little one.

With the new service opportunities page on the PLU website, it is easier than ever to rally around these courageous mothers and be the community that helps them and their babies thrive. The site offers several types of events that you can host with your friends, family, community, school, club, workplace, or church. The current event offerings include a baby supply drive, a baby supply kit event, a baby shower, and a baby clothes sorting party. 

One thing I love about these service opportunities is that there are options for every level of availability. Those with the time and resources to host a baby supply drive and a baby supply kit event have the opportunity to work with their community to gather needed supplies and coordinate their assembly into kits for moms in need. For those with limited time who still want to get involved, a baby shower or a baby clothes sorting party are great options. For a baby shower, PLU provides the gifts, planning support, a digital invitation, and 2-3 representatives that will be at the shower; all you need is a group of ten supportive guests, a place to host, decorations, food and drinks, and wrapping supplies. The clothes sorting party is even simpler: Pro-Life Utah provides you with donated baby clothes, and you and a group of friends wash, sort, and pack the clothing before dropping it off to PLU. 

All of these activities, when executed with a proactive group of people, are low on time commitment and big on impact. For more details about hosting one of these service opportunities, click on “service opportunities” under the service tab at the top of the Pro-Life Utah homepage or click here. Clicking on the “View Details” button under any of the service opportunities will provide you with an extensive list of what is required of you for each event and what Pro-Life Utah will provide to assist you. 

This Mother’s Day, as you reflect on your mother or on your own experience of motherhood, consider how the village around you impacted your upbringing or the upbringing of your children. Reflect on the hidden figures whose loving assurance inspired your mother to keep going when she was raising you; the generous family members who helped pitch in for the crib you needed when you became a parent yourself. In this season of celebrating the ones who give everything to be everything for us, let us choose to stand behind the women in our communities and be the village that gives roots to their courage and confidence to their choice to accept the greatest of all callings: Mother.