When good people work together, great things result

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pregnancies and abortion-vulnerable women coming to the St. John Paul II Life Center and Vitae Clinic in Austin, TX, greatly increased. The center and clinic are a unique business model that combine compassionate pregnancy care with an onsite Natural Women’s Health Clinic. My wife, Pat, and I, along with Judy and Dick Ames, executive board members of the center and Legates of the Austin Chapter, were determined to provide the needed services for the growing demand and reached out to their friends in the Knights of Columbus.

What was needed most was a current state-of-the-art sonogram machine. When an abortion-vulnerable woman sees her unborn baby’s heart beating during a sonogram, 97 percent of women choose life! The center has helped save over 1,400 babies’ lives and knew that more could be saved with an additional machine.

The Knights of Columbus Council 10836 in Austin answered the center’s call for help by utilizing the Supreme Council’s sonogram program, which matches the funds raised by a council in order to acquire a sonogram machine for a local pro-life pregnancy center. Grand Knight Richard Sanchez appointed Tom Prevost to lead the project with assistance from Austin Chapter president Leo Saenz; I also assisted as a past state deputy of the Knights of Columbus. The council chose to help raise $39,000, its 50 percent of the cost of the new machine.

Father Dean Wilhelm, pastor of St. John Neumann Catholic Church, agreed that the council should host the center’s A Glimpse Inside™ educational outreach program to help raise the needed funds. Parishioners would view a live sonogram showing an unborn baby and his beating heart. Abigail Borah, director of community outreach for the center, gave the presentation after the Masses along with Dr. Blake Weidaw and sonographer Kallie Slagle.

This is where the Holy Spirit goes to work. A Knight who is also a member of the Austin Chapter offered a $30,000 matching grant if that amount were to be raised by midnight on the Sunday that A Glimpse Inside™ was to be presented. Could they do it?

Knights Richard Sanchez and Chuck Malburg talked to a large group in attendance after each Mass. At the 9 a.m. Mass, Sanchez told people about the $30,000 matching grant and challenged the audience, “One of you here could write a check for $30,000!” After the program, a woman handed Sanchez a check for $30,000. Wow!

As Paul Harvey would have said, “Now, the rest of the story.” The woman who matched the challenge grant was coming to the area that Sunday morning to meet a client. As she neared the client’s home, the client canceled the meeting. The lady thought, “I’m near St. John Neumann, I’ll go to 9 a.m. Mass.” She heard the announcement about A Glimpse Inside™ to follow right after Mass. She thought, “I should probably go, see, and learn.” The rest is history. Truly the Holy Spirit at work! On that one Sunday almost $100,000 was raised to help save babies’ lives.

The project raised far more than the 50 percent needed for the match. Remarkable things happen when the Knights of Columbus and Legatus members work together with organizations like the St. John Paul II Life Center and Vitae Clinic. Legatus members helped raise the needed funds, and the Knights provided the planning and manpower. Legatus’ mission is for its members to be Ambassadors for Christ. Knights of Columbus members are formed around the principles of charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism. This was teamwork and charity at its best!

TIM VON DOHLEN is a past president of Legatus’ Austin Chapter as well as an attorney, pharmacist, businessman, and former legislator. He and his wife, Pat, are co-founders of the St. John Paul II Life Center in Austin, TX, where they reside. Their book, In Life the Journey Is Everything, is available at www.jpiilifecenter.org or on Amazon.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pregnancies and abortion-vulnerable women coming to the St. John Paul II Life Center and Vitae Clinic in Austin, TX, greatly increased. The center and clinic are a unique business model that combine compassionate pregnancy care with an onsite Natural Women’s Health Clinic. My wife, Pat, and I, along with Judy and Dick Ames, executive board members of the center and Legates of the Austin Chapter, were determined to provide the needed services for the growing demand and reached out to their friends in the Knights of Columbus.

What was needed most was a current state-of-the-art sonogram machine. When an abortion-vulnerable woman sees her unborn baby’s heart beating during a sonogram, 97 percent of women choose life! The center has helped save over 1,400 babies’ lives and knew that more could be saved with an additional machine.

The Knights of Columbus Council 10836 in Austin answered the center’s call for help by utilizing the Supreme Council’s sonogram program, which matches the funds raised by a council in order to acquire a sonogram machine for a local pro-life pregnancy center. Grand Knight Richard Sanchez appointed Tom Prevost to lead the project with assistance from Austin Chapter president Leo Saenz; I also assisted as a past state deputy of the Knights of Columbus. The council chose to help raise $39,000, its 50 percent of the cost of the new machine.

Father Dean Wilhelm, pastor of St. John Neumann Catholic Church, agreed that the council should host the center’s A Glimpse Inside™ educational outreach program to help raise the needed funds. Parishioners would view a live sonogram showing an unborn baby and his beating heart. Abigail Borah, director of community outreach for the center, gave the presentation after the Masses along with Dr. Blake Weidaw and sonographer Kallie Slagle.

This is where the Holy Spirit goes to work. A Knight who is also a member of the Austin Chapter offered a $30,000 matching grant if that amount were to be raised by midnight on the Sunday that A Glimpse Inside™ was to be presented. Could they do it?

Knights Richard Sanchez and Chuck Malburg talked to a large group in attendance after each Mass. At the 9 a.m. Mass, Sanchez told people about the $30,000 matching grant and challenged the audience, “One of you here could write a check for $30,000!” After the program, a woman handed Sanchez a check for $30,000. Wow!

As Paul Harvey would have said, “Now, the rest of the story.” The woman who matched the challenge grant was coming to the area that Sunday morning to meet a client. As she neared the client’s home, the client canceled the meeting. The lady thought, “I’m near St. John Neumann, I’ll go to 9 a.m. Mass.” She heard the announcement about A Glimpse Inside™ to follow right after Mass. She thought, “I should probably go, see, and learn.” The rest is history. Truly the Holy Spirit at work! On that one Sunday almost $100,000 was raised to help save babies’ lives.

The project raised far more than the 50 percent needed for the match. Remarkable things happen when the Knights of Columbus and Legatus members work together with organizations like the St. John Paul II Life Center and Vitae Clinic. Legatus members helped raise the needed funds, and the Knights provided the planning and manpower. Legatus’ mission is for its members to be Ambassadors for Christ. Knights of Columbus members are formed around the principles of charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism. This was teamwork and charity at its best!

TIM VON DOHLEN is a past president of Legatus’ Austin Chapter as well as an attorney, pharmacist, businessman, and former legislator. He and his wife, Pat, are co-founders of the St. John Paul II Life Center in Austin, TX, where they reside. Their book, In Life the Journey Is Everything, is available at www.jpiilifecenter.org or on Amazon.