Matt Hamilton/Daily Citizen-NewsJennifer Anderson, left, client care and development coordinator, and Sally Knox, board member, read invites for the annual Women's Enrichment Center banquet. 

DALTON, Ga. — Sally Knox, a board member for the Women’s Enrichment Center in Dalton, said many of the women the center serves are not there because of a crisis, but more because of not being prepared for a pregnancy and what comes next.

“They are not prepared financially,” she said. “We want to help them so when the child does come parents are prepared to help care for them physically and emotionally.”

The Women’s Enrichment Center is a nonprofit agency that “provides women, men and families with the emotional help and practical resources needed to care for themselves during and after pregnancy,” its website states.

Knox said they help about 120 clients a month. The center offers a number of services including pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, prenatal and parenting classes, post-abortion support for men and women and miscarriage support. The center also offers a variety of classes and provides baby clothing and other essentials.

On Tuesday at 6 p.m. the center will hold its annual banquet at Stage 123, 123 W. Gordon St. This is the seventh year for the banquet, said Jennifer Anderson, client care and development coordinator.

“It’s a big fundraiser for the center. We raise money to help women we service in the community,” she said. “We educate, empower and help them be more successful.”

Tickets are $35 and are available by calling (706) 278-1050 or online at www.wecnorthga.org. The guest speaker is Claire Culwell, an abortion survivor whose mother became pregnant at 13 and got an abortion not knowing she was pregnant with twins.

“It’s her story of living life as someone who was meant to be aborted,” Knox said. “She’ll speak to the group about the importance of supporting women who are in pregnancies that were unplanned.”

Paul Zock, immediate past chair of the board, said the reason for the banquet is to raise money for the center.

“We don’t get any government funding at all,” he said. “All funding for the center comes in the form of donations.”

Zock said some foundations, corporate entities and churches contribute, as do individuals who “have a heart for the ministry and also donate.”

“We’re trying to teach men and women how to be the best parents they can be,” he said.

Reneé Rector, executive director, said the center offers case management for women so they are able to finish their education.

“The goal is to get them off social service help, make a plan of action and be a support outlet for them,” she said.

Rector said a family can be helped through the center until the baby is two years old.

“Parents take classes to earn points for baby items they need,” she said.

Knox said the goal is to have women be responsible for their child from the beginning.

“We’re not a social service hand-me-out,” she said. “We want them to take the class and it be a reward of learning how to be a better parent and take care of your child.”

Zock said the center’s reason for existing is pro-life, but that doesn’t mean pro-birth only.

“We don’t force women to have babies and once the babies are born they’re out in the street, that’s not what we’re about,” he said. “We’re about supporting mothers and families to give them all the resources needed to make an informed decision and be good parents.”

Rector said if a woman comes in seeking information on an abortion, staff use a Georgia Department of Public Health book to discuss physical and emotional risks.

“We talk about adoption, and if they do choose abortion we have post-abortion support,” Rector said. “We want them to have the information with truth and love and be accountable to make their own decisions.”

Rector said she wants people to be informed of what the center offers and the banquet is another way of doing that.

Zock said the banquet has grown from 150 to 300 guests in past years.

“People are learning so much about our ministry and what we do for families,” he said.