Offering a New Beginning

Published by Randy Mitchell

“A best-practice, model community that transforms the lives of all young women experiencing a crisis pregnancy, and the lives they touch, by offering them a new beginning.”- Annunciation Maternity Home Vision Statement

At Wise Counsel, we want to educate and inspire our clients to “Connect Wealth with Purpose.” We call our planning process “Wealth Designed. Life Defined.” These words are packed with meaning for our team and inspire us to showcase the “Life Defined” that many of the people we work with are experiencing.

We are pleased to share Randy Mitchell’s passion for the Annunciaition Maternity Home in Georgetown, TX. We hope you enjoy Randy’s story:

No young woman should ever have to feel like they’re walking through life alone, much less when they find out they’re expecting. The Annunciation Maternity Home (AMH) in Georgetown, Texas, helps middle and high school girls who have unplanned pregnancies.

I am a volunteer at AMH. I tutor Math and Physics, and occasionally other subjects, under the guidance of the UT Charter School, which runs the educations program at the AMH.

Let me tell you about one young woman I have worked with. I will call her K.

When I first met K, she was pregnant. At 20, K was older than most of the girls at AMH, though at about the same educational level. She was somewhat withdrawn and depressed, and perhaps a little sullen. I had the sense that in her teens she had rebelled against her strong Catholic upbringing. I was helping K with her math courses—not her favorite subject!

After a few months, K gave birth to her daughter Evey. At the same time, K was undergoing a renaissance in her own life, finding renewed faith and hope for the future. When she came back to classes, with Evey in daycare down the hall, it was clear that K was determined to get her high school diploma and make a success of her life!

One big hurdle for K was passing the Texas standardized test in Algebra. A passing score on this test is required for high school graduation. We worked and worked, reviewing the material, and taking practice exams.

Test day finally came in early December. K failed the test. She was disappointed, but not discouraged. We worked again, and the March re-test day came. She passed!! K was so excited! So was I!

Summer came, and K was approaching her 22nd birthday. Texas education regulations do not permit students older than 21 to graduate from “regular” high schools such as the AMH Charter School. So, K needed to complete all her classes by the end of the summer session.

One biggie for K was Math Models. This is a difficult course requiring the application of geometry, algebra, and basic trigonometry to real-life problems.

K and I worked together through the summer. By the end of the summer, we were meeting daily for 90-minute sessions. She completed the class work but then had to take the final: another big test, and she was just days away from her 22nd birthday.

She took the final…and failed. We worked again for a couple of days. She took the final again…and passed!

Just two days later, in late August with Evey in her arms, K was walking down the aisle for her graduation to Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance.

UT Charter School had arranged for a special graduation ceremony just for K. No dry eyes in the packed auditorium as K received her diploma and testified to God’s grace and the help of AMH and UT Charter School. She was even kind enough to include a special thanks to “Mr. Randy.”

K and Evey continue to live at AMH. She recently passed her Medical Assistants’ Exam, has a good job and a bright future, and will soon move out on her own.

Not every story is like K’s. Some girls drop out. Some continue in a downward spiral. A number just coast along, doing the minimum to get by. But AMH remains a beacon of hope and help for all of these.

Many of the young ladies at AMH are low-income minorities who, in addition to dealing with the life cataclysm of giving birth to and caring for a new child, face a great deal of parental, peer, and self-disapproval and disappointment.

Most struggle with low self-esteem and have poor academic records. The AMH provides a supportive and structured environment for these precious girls, giving them food, shelter, day-care, infant supplies, and education. This education is both academic and life-skills with classes such as parenting, budgeting, and how to find a job.

The AMH partners with the University of Texas Charter School for the girls’ academic education, allowing them to continue to work toward a high school diploma. The UT Charter school at AMH is a terrific program with a stellar lead teacher, Miss Ashley, that incorporates both classroom and extensive computer-based learning.

I am so glad that I could contribute in a small way to K and Evey’s story. I hope to be a blessing to those whom AMH is currently serving and to those who will need help in the future.

The Annunciation Maternity Home is not affiliated with CWM, LLC and Cetera Advisor Networks LLC.

Securities offered through Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through CWM, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC is under separate ownership from any other named entity.
The charitable entity described herein is not endorsed by or affiliated with Cetera Advisor Networks LLC or its affiliates. Our philanthropic interests are personal to us and are not reviewed, sponsored or approved by Cetera Advisor Networks.

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