By Ashley McCleery

The North Jefferson News



The North Jefferson Women’s Center is inviting all North Jefferson residents to bid by pen at the silent auction today in the Gardendale Civic Center from 6 to 7 p.m.

Center director Nancy Shaffer said participants would be able to walk around the room with a sheet in order to bid on items such as vacations, gift certificates and household items. “I suppose if you really want something, you need to go back in at five till seven because when you walk out you never know who’s going to get it,” Shaffer said.

The women’s center offers no cost services including pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling, pre-natal care, parenting classes, abstinence and abortion education and baby supplies. However, these services are offered at no-cost, which means fundraisers like the silent auction are vital to keep the center open.

For the past four years, the silent auction has raised about $4,000 per year for the center. This year, Shaffer said she hopes it will be just as successful. “Half of our support comes from fundraisers,” she said. “They help pay our bills. Hopefully, this year we’ll have funds left over to help with the new building.”

Last month the center received a $7,600 grant from Alabama Power for their new building at Mulberry Lane. Although the Jefferson County’s Credit Union has allowed the Women’s Center to rent their building for a low cost the past 15 years, the center needed to expand in order to accommodate their growth and offer more privacy to the women.

The community has already helped the center’s new building by volunteering their time and talents in electricity, carpentry, cleaning and painting. Now, Shaffer said she would love for the community to financially support the center at the silent auction.

After the silent auction, the community can enjoy Jim N’ Nick’s barbeque at a banquet while listening to Becky McDonough, Bessemer’s director of Sav-A-Life, share about her experience as a pregnant teenager.

“I’ll be sharing how God used a pregnancy to bring a change in my life and how positive adoption really is,” McDonough said. “God gave my daughter the very best parents, and it led me to do what I do today.”

McDonough’s now 30-year-old daughter and her adopted parents will also share their story, explaining how McDonough’s choice to adopt rather than abort brought joy to all their lives. “Living with adoption is a much better option than abortion,” McDonough said.

Tickets for the banquet cost $15 per person or $125 for a table of eight and can be purchased at the women’s center on Pecan Avenue behind the Teacher’s Credit Union. For more information, call Shaffer at 608-0100.