The 1st Choice Pregnancy Resource Center celebrated recent improvements to its building Monday with an open house. More than $40,000 in improvements have been made to the exterior and interior.
"We've completely redone the gutters and painted the (exterior) building," said Kristie Wright, 1st Choice executive director.
"Over the last few years we've also updated the rooms where clients have access, painting and new flooring. It's taken a village to redo it. We've had a lot of donations and a lot of volunteers."
The center, at 602 Main St., Texarkana, Texas, is a resource center for pregnant women and girls and fathers. Its mission is to empower people to choose life. They also provide parenting classes for parents and expecting parents. Both moms and dads who attend the classes can earn 'Mommy Dollars' to spend in the organization's Mommy Store. The store, stocked with donated items, provides much of what new parents need including clothing, blankets, formula and other baby items.
"We can't get them everything they need but we can get them enough to get by," Wright said.
Donations of new or gently used items are always needed in the Mommy Store. Clothing is taken up to size 2T.
Volunteers and employees of 1st Choice gave tours to the public Monday and spoke about the services they provide to the community.
"We assess the situation for each person who comes in. There are only three options for someone who is pregnant. They either choose to parent, adoption or abortion. Our goal is to plant seeds in their lives so they can become better mothers and our mission is to empower them to know what their options are," client advocate Jan Trammell said.
1st Choice provides pregnancy tests.
"If the pregnancy test is negative we still talk to them about healthy relationships," Wright said. "If they're not going to be moms, we encourage them to be the best version of themselves. A lot of these ladies don't have anybody to encourage them."
When someone is pregnant, 1st Choice does sonograms helping moms to see the life growing inside them. The sonograms are an important tool helping the agency accomplish its mission.
"This is a turning point where they see they have a live baby. They're able to see the heartbeat and movement," said Michelle Henry, ultrasound witness at 1st Choice. "I think it changes a lot."
The agency sees about 950 clients a year with more than 3,000 visits. For more information, call 903-792-5735.