The Stork Bus
HANCEVILLE – First Source for Women (FSW), a pro-life pregnancy and parenting resource center in Hanceville, sees around 90 visitors a month. The agency is one of only a few in this part of the state, and serves a large area, including other surrounding counties. It is not always an easy thing for a client to get to the FSW office. Add to that the organization's understanding that its message gets out to more people when its own people get out more.
This is where Save the Stork (STS) comes in. STS, a fellow pro-life agency, has designed a mobile unit known as the Stork Bus. A modified Mercedes Benz Sprinter, the bus helps FSW offer many of its in-house services on the road, in remote areas.
According to the STS website, "All Stork Buses are equipped with exam tables, restrooms, multiple seats for counseling, a work area for a sonogram machine and technician, multiple monitors and media inputs, a built-in space for an iPad, internet connection, soft lighting, a refrigerator, air conditioning and plenty of storage space. We’ve packed a lot in to give each expectant mother the best experience possible."
FSW Executive Director Catherine Bethell shared some of her agency's services that will be available free of charge on the Stork Bus:
* Pregnancy testing
* Ultrasound procedures
* Educational, mentoring and counseling services
* Access to items from the FSW Baby Boutique
* Referrals
Such a piece of equipment doesn't come cheap. FSW recently wrote one of the biggest checks it has ever cut to help pay more than $70,000 in costs. As people and other organizations have heard about the project, though, they have turned out to help. Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs recently got to tour a Stork Bus that stopped by on its way to another center. A short time later, the Cullman City Council appropriated $10,000 to help FSW make the purchase. Cullman Savings Bank and its CEO John Riley made a contribution and set up a fund to support the organization. Sen. Paul Bussman, R-Cullman, U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama, and the Cullman Lions/Lioness Clubs have also made recent contributions to FSW.
FSW's Stork Bus is on order, and is expected to be in Hanceville in August or September, and in service in the fall of this year.
For more information on Save the Stork and Stork Buses, visit https://savethestorks.com.
For more information on First Source for Women, visit http://www.firstsourceforwomen.org or call 256-352-5683.
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