About CFLaps4Life
If you ask any person who has taken part in Pro-Life activities why they participate in those events and initiatives, you will likely get a wide variety of answers from the importance of saving a child from the awful procedure of abortion that ultimately leads to the death of a child, to helping mothers who are facing an unexpected pregnancy and are pressured into a decision that may affect them, their child and their family forever, or even to fulfill a promise to defend life from conception to a natural death and defend those who have no voice. While that is just a few of the reasons why people join this mission, they all have one thing in common, each reason is based on learning about, presenting and defending the TRUTH.
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Unalienable Right to Life
In 1776, the members of our new country declared unanimoulsly, holding self-evident truths that we are created equal and that our Creator endowed us with the “certain, unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This paved the way for proving and protecting freedom for our citizens as outlined in U.S. Consititution. On January 22, 1973 in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, those rights were no longer recognized applicable to the unborn. Although this was looked upon by ruling supporters as providing protection and freedom for women, those opposed to the ruling saw the lie and appealed citing constitutional, religious and scientific arguments to defend life. While the 1973 ruling likely encouraged more people to join the Pro-Life movement, the defense of the unborn and of mothers can also be traced back decades prior.
Bringing the Truth to Our Community
Members of many organizations, including the Knights of Columbus, churches and crisis pregnancy centers, saw a large need in our own community where women facing unexpected pregnancies were not provided with the support that they needed. With biased, fear-based information readily available on the web and in healthcare facilities that discourages women with a “cannot do this” presentation and does not focus on the life inside the mother, it was time to provide more Pro-Life options for these women and their families that presents the TRUTH. As part of that presentation, our organization has chosen to change the tone by providing life-saving technology to Pro-Life pregnancy centers through the procurement and installation of ultrasound machines at those centers. Each vetted center will have trained and experienced professionals who will operate these machines. The mothers, and families, will then have an opportunity to not only receive sound information at these centers, but they will also have an opportunity to connect visually with their unborn child. We believe that it is through this connection, support and information that the hearts, minds and souls of these mothers, their children and families will be saved.
Marching for a Mission with You
To promote the Culture of Life from conception to natural death.
Five Steps to Support
1. Vetting the Centers
We partner with the Diocese of Orlando (specifically the Culture of Life Office at Catholic Charities of Central Florida) to determine with centers who are truly pro-life. This opens the door to support many like-minded centers, even those not designated as Catholic only, in this ecumenical effort to save as many lives as possible while adhering to program guidelines.
2. Stewardship Check
Once our list of vetted beneficiaries is established, our organization will also do our due diligence to make sure that to ensure that your donation money is used wisely. We communicate with partnering vendors in the ultrasound industry to determine capability, reliability, and longevity of machines that can be placed. Those recommendations will help us understand which machines prove viability of a preborn child, will work as expected by manufacturers if maintained appropriately, and when centers are eligible for a replacement. This ensures that your donated funds, and those from the matching programs, are being used appropriately. Any upgrades may be completed through the pregnancy center’s own or private funding outside of CFLaps4Life.
3. Identify Sponsoring Entity
Each council who has participated in Central Florida Laps4Life is eligible to be a sponsoring council. A sponsoring Knights of Columbus council, and its designated member (typically the Life Director), will have the opportunity to help facilitate the vetted pregnancy center in receiving the benefits of the program. Any sponsor must help process all forms and be the point of contact between that center and the Knights of Columbus. Does that council need to raise the entire amount required for an ultrasound machine or for the ASAP program? That answer is no. The beauty of Central Florida Laps4Life is that we provide the mechanism to help raise the funds, help identify available recipients, and disburse funds for the programs. The councils champion the effort to get the centers their program benefits. As one of the four principles of the Knights of Columbus states, in unity, “together – we can accomplish far more than any of us could individually.”
4. Disburse the Funds
The success of each annual event will determine how much funds are available to help support the pregnancy centers. Once all of the paperwork is completed in its entirety by the council for the vetted pregnancy center, the Central Florida Laps4Life will disburse a check in the amount up to our maximum funding amount. As part of being good stewards, our funding cap is set for half of what a machine costs that can prove viability or, for the ASAP program, the maximum amount for a match. This cap is meant to help our funds reach more vetted centers who need our help. It does not prevent upgrades as any centers are welcome to seek additional funds for those wants.
5. Celebrate Life
After all is said and done, we recommend that you have a celebration for a new installed machines. It is a lot of hard work, but every life saved, both the preborn child and the mother, is worth every minute and every dollar. We would love to be a part of your celebration and would also like to recognize your efforts here at Central Florida Laps4Life. Tell us your story and that of the center you helped, and we can post it here on our website!