Community raises $12,000 for 1st Way

Third annual banquet brings in national guest speaker, local representatives

MOSES LAKE — The third annual 1st Way banquet and fund-raising dinner was deemed a success, with more people attending than previous years.

"It was so great seeing new faces, which is what we want to do is get information out about what 1st Way does in our community," said Zonia Cline, 1st Way director.

Just over $12,015 was raised for 1st Way, a nonprofit that offers pregnancy support services to mothers. Services range from pregnancy testing, counseling and providing clothing for infants and their mothers.

Ten donations from Friday's event went to sponsor mothers in a 10-week program where they learn how to hold and feed a baby, administer first aid and prepare for the financial and emotional changes that come with raising a child. The cost of the program is $150 per mother.

Several people showed an interest to join the 1st Way board and six new donors committed to give monthly donations, Cline said. "We love the monthly donors because that's what keeps us going."

Donations ranged from $5 to $2,000.

Throughout the evening, attendees heard Sen. Joyce Mulliken, R-Moses Lake, and Trudy Johnson from Focus on the Family speak. Rep. Janea Holmquist, R-Moses Lake, was also in attendance.

Mulliken touched on her involvement with the pro-life movement and how that eventually led to her career in politics.

Looking ahead to the 2006 legislative session, Mulliken said protecting marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and sex education in schools will continue to be hot topics in Olympia.

After Mulliken, Johnson got up to speak about her experience as a young mother who once made the decision to have an abortion.

It was a decision that haunted Johnson even 17 years after having her abortion, likening the guilt she felt to being in her own silent prison.

"I'm nothing more than a sinner that is grateful for what Jesus Christ did," Johnson said, referencing biblical scripture throughout her message. "It was the very word of God that saved me."

Johnson continued, saying if there had been an agency like 1st Way available to her, she wondered if she would have made the same decision to abort her baby.

"They're being told it's a simple lunch hour procedure and they're not being told the truth," Johnson said of the information mothers are being told about abortion. "America has lost one-third of our nation over the abortion issue."