This weekend, the Picayune Knights of Columbus will be in downtown Picayune raising funds for a cause near and dear to their hearts, Sav-A-Life of the Pearl River Area.
Since 1997, the pro-life pregnancy center has been providing pregnancy support services for women facing unplanned pregnancies and saving the lives of unborn children.
The center, which is staffed by volunteers, provides complimentary on-site services including free pregnancy tests, peer counseling, parenting and abstinence classes, medical referrals, maternity and baby clothing and a limited ultrasound, Sav-A-Life Director Bonita Wynn said in an August interview.
However, their current ultrasound machine is outdated and out of warranty, Wynn said. The broken parts cannot be fixed, she said.
The Knights are raising funds to purchase a new ultrasound machine, Grand Knight Bryan Cassagne said.
The Knights will have a booth at the Fall Street Festival. It will be located across the street from Southern Char Steakhouse, on West Canal Street, he said.
If the group is able to raise half the cost of the ultrasound, the Archdiocese of Biloxi will provide the other half, Wynn said.
“Children will have the opportunity to take pictures with characters from popular shows like “Frozen” and the Ninja Turtles,” Cassagne said. “The cost of a printed photograph will be $5. Three dollars will be donated to the ultrasound fund and the reaming two dollars will cover our expenses.”
Members from Sav-A-Life will also be at the booth handing out literature, he said.
“The ultrasound is very important because we can show the baby’s heartbeat to a mother contemplating termination,” Wynn said. “We can show them the beating heart and let know them know it’s a human being, not a piece of tissue.”
The Sav-A-Life program is a non-profit so it is fully funded through community organizations, businesses, churches, individual donors, Wynn said.
“They’re a really good group of people providing support for women,” Cassagne said. “It’s a neat place to help out when we can.”
Sav-A-Life is located at 1101 Goodyear Blvd. The center is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Contact staff by phone at 601-799-2668 and for more information visit www.savalifems.org and through Facebook at Sav-A-Life of the Pearl River Area.
For more information about Picayune’s Fall Street Festival, visit www.picayunemainstreet.com and through Facebook at Picayune Main Street.