Peoria Invests in a Pro-Life Future

The Future of the Pro-Life movement in Illinois was on display in Peoria at our second annual Central Illinois fundraising banquet.This event was meant to raise money to support our new mentorship program. The goal was $13,000, which is the estimated cost of having a mentor at one campus for one year.Why is the Mentorship program needed?

• College-aged women are victims of abortion more than any other age group.
• Young and impressionable students, who are away from the support of home for the first time, are being impacted by the pro-choice culture on campuses. "I'm afraid to say that I'm pro-life."
• The pro-life movement needs young, new leaders to continue the movement.
• Campus mentors guide student leaders to grow groups at unparalleled and exponential rates.

Kevin Grillot, the Director of the Campus Mentor Program, spoke about its importance. He shared compelling statistics and moving stories of his experience as a campus mentor in Chicago since August of 2011. One story featured David Young, the President of Northwestern Students for Life.Our Impact on Northwestern Students for LifeKevin first met David Young half way through the academic year when he had just returned from studying abroad. Curious about the group, David came to a Northwestern Students for Life meeting in January. At the time, he was unwilling to even identify himself as "pro-life".Intrigued by the 4 students at the meeting, David kept coming back. Throughout the next few months Kevin mentored him in his educational growth and commitment to living actively pro-life.By March, David ran and was elected President of Northwestern Students for Life. Looking back, David told Kevin, “hearing about the things that you did made me realize that it is possible to make a difference.” Instead of returning to Maryland for the summer, David stayed in Chicago to intern with SFLI where Kevin taught him how to guide a group and recruit members.“I really appreciated that Kevin took the internship as an opportunity not only to develop my work with SFLI, but also to continue his process of mentoring me as a leader with Northwestern Students for Life. In the tasks I was given…I knew I was always learning things directly applicable to my role at Northwestern,” said David.This school year, David put that guidance into action. At the activity fair, he recruited 3 times as many interested students as any previous year. With David as the leader, active membership has tripled from 4 to 12 members.Our Impact on Bradley Students for LifeMary Kanowsky, President of Bradley Students for Life, gave a very moving testimony about the role of SFLI in her growth as the leader of the revitalized pro-life group on campus.She was moved to tears when referring to the fact that women leave college more pro-abortion than when they come to campus. The college campus is a very dangerous place to be. The pro-choice ideology can negatively affect the best of us.Mary provided guests with an idea of the challenges pro-life students face on college campuses.Anne Marie Dust was recognized for her courage. As a graduate of Bradley University, Anne Marie was set on going to Nursing School. Vanderbilt was where she would go…but it wasn’t so easy. She soon realized there was a problem with the school’s policy for all nursing students: Every student must commit to performing abortions as part of their training.Anne Marie, a devoted defender of life, did not accept this. Risking her future as a nurse, she challenged this. In fact, she found an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund to help her.We are proud to report that Vanderbilt changed their policy and no longer requires nursing students to help with abortions!Peoria's InvestmentThe banquet was a great success. Those who attended were very generous. With just over 100 adults in attendance, we raised nearly $10,000 in net contributions. Since the event, we received a generous $3,000 gift to help us reach the goal!Without the generosity of some select individuals and organizations, we would not have reached this mark, particularly:Anne Smith and Darin LaHood. Knox County Right to Life, Thomas More Society, and Illinois Family InstituteIf you have not invested in us yet, but think this might be a good time to, please click on the donate button on the right of the screen. Help us continue to grow the pro-life voice on campus!We look forward to hosting next year’s banquet again in November at the Spalding Pastoral Center in Peoria.If you’d like to attend it and/or host a table next year, please contact our Associate Director, David Avignone: David@prolifeillinois.com