Friends, it's the end of the year.

In Alabama, that means I'm preparing for a trifecta of harms to our clinic and community. State and federal funding will be non-existent as Medicaid and Plan First money likely dries up for our patients. Our commitment to evidence-based care and to non-judgemental services for all people regardless of race, income, sexual orientation, gender or documentation status is going to put us even further under the microscope than we already are. And with the incoming administration posing a federal threat to human rights, it's pretty much inevitable that the vast majority of resources are going to end up shoring up protections in blue states while those of us in red states get the scraps - if any are even left.

We've been here before, just after the Dobbs decision. We pledged ourselves to our community, and we are doing it again. In 2025 we plan to focus harder on those who are undocumented, making sure they understand they can access healthcare from us without any fear or surveillance or other threats. We will expand our current doula program into a full-spectrum service that we will offer not only to patients giving birth, but to those who are experiencing miscarriages and need an advocate at the hospital to ensure they are seen and not turned away. We will move forward on licensing our birth suite - which is now remodeled and ready to be furnished and decorated - so there can be another option when it comes to delivery in Tuscaloosa besides the hospital or at home. And we will bring on a Black midwife in training who will run our birth services once she is fully certified, as well as a family practice doctor who will be fresh out of residency and ready to return to Alabama to help make their home community healthier.

We have huge plans, and we need help kickstarting them. So rather than ask you for money, I'd like to ask YOU to ask for money to help us reach our year end goal. I'm looking for at least 49 supporters willing to help us with their own peer to peer fundraising campaign so we can reach $25,000 by December 31. If each supporter (and me) can fundraise just $500 each (that's just $20 from 25 friends) we will have it covered.

And to make it all sweeter? Top fundraisers will get to choose a prize from a pool of options, with picks going in order of fundraising amounts. Prizes include a Ruth Bader Ginsburg jigsaw puzzle, vintage West Alabama Women's Center sun visors, handcrafted knitwear and unique pro-choice art. And every fundraiser who reaches goal will receive a WAWC Healthcare coffee mug as our gift for helping us as well as a delightful thank you note with artwork from my middle school son. :)

For two and a half years now, WAWC has run primarily off of the financial gifts of individual donors - the majority of whom give $50 or less. And now, with this end of year campaign, I'm asking you to help us make that network expand. Because when we use our strength and numbers together, the smallest efforts combine to become the greatest gifts.

To start your fundraiser simply click on the "fundraise" button underneath the donation meter. Just want to give a little and move on? Just click on the "donate" button instead.

WAWC 2024 Group Give

By West Alabama Women's Center

WAWC 2024 Group Give

No, I'm not raising money, YOU'RE raising money!