After years of success, Michael House Pregnancy Care is continuing its annual Baby Bottle campaign to raise money to support women.
Over 30 churches and organizations will be participating for this year's drive by filling hundreds of baby bottles with spare change and cheques made out to Michael House Pregnancy Care Centre on Mother’s Day May 12 till the end of Father’s Day June 16.
The collected money will go towards the Baby Bottle Campaign which helps pregnant and young women in the community. The campaign also aims to help women in need to find resources to create successful futures for themselves and their children.
Individuals can pick up bottles from their church and drop them off with the collected change back to the designated area in their participating church.
Donations can also be made online to help fill a virtual baby bottle on the website.
“People can take one of the plastic baby bottles, that's a lot of information inside, and it stays on your shelf from mothers day to fathers day and in that time the ask would be that any extra change you have at the end of that day to throw in the bottle and on fathers day we can pick it up and it goes towards our mothers here,” says director of programs and services Pauli Neuman.
Michael House began in 2003 and has grown from a three bedroom house to a six bedroom residence that offers shelter to women and babies in need.
By adding eight additional housing apartments in 2015, the centre has been able to help even more women and has been growing ever since with the support of the community.
“I know that our whole agency was inspired by the community saying how can we start to help our community in an area of need,” says Neuman.
Neuman says the campaign has proven to be very successful with community support and has received many positive responses.
"We've been doing it for many many years and its one of our main fundraising," says Neuman.
“If it weren’t for Michael House I honestly don’t know and fear for where I may have gone, says a past residence of Michael House whose name has been hidden for privacy concerns.
“They showed me that life is more than a struggle without reward and that you don’t have to do it alone. And for that, I am so very thankful.”
