Here's Your Monday Update

REMEMBERING VICKI THORN

On Wednesday, April 20, Vicki Thorn, pro-life giant and founder of Project Rachel, died of a massive heart attack. Our hearts break at the news of her sudden death, and our prayers and condolences extend to her husband, six children, 19 grandchildren, and so many friends and family that loved her dearly.

We mourn the loss of Vicki, but she has left us with the gift of her life's work at Project Rachael and her many other endeavors. She founded Project Rachel in 1984, years after a high school classmate confided in her about an abortion.

“When I was a junior in high school," said Vicki, "[a classmate] told me that the summer before her sophomore and junior year she got pregnant, and she had an abortion that her mother arranged for her. And this was a very very painful experience for her. She was an emotional mess, and all I could do was just love her and be present to her and make sure she was okay. But it was a life-changing experience for me in understanding that abortion was not a 'non-event,' that it left enormous footprints in someone’s life, and enormous pain. I just kept thinking...what could we do? And then it dawned on me. We could offer counseling to people who have had abortions.” And so Project Rachel began.

Vicki Thorn brought more post-abortive women and men to a place of healing than any other human being that has walked the planet since the fatally flawed Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. She truly had a deep love for those suffering with the trauma of abortion and saved countless souls from the horror of not being able to forgive themselves. Vicki spoke of God's deep and abiding mercy at every turn. She was a force for good, inspiring all those she met to do more for the cause of life.

“I will forever be in her debt for how she helped me grow from being just a lay person in the pews doing nothing about abortion, to who I am today,” said Pro-Life Wisconsin State Director Dan Miller.

Her loss is felt deeply here at Pro-Life Wisconsin, but we know her legacy will last forever. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her.

PRO-LIFE WISCONSIN PRAYER CARD ART CONTEST: SUBMISSION DEADLINE THIS WEEK!

The 5th annual Pro-Life Wisconsin Prayer Card Art Contest is underway for students in grades 1-12, and the submission deadline is THIS SATURDAY! Send us your artwork for a chance to win the 2022 contest for your grade. Winning entries will be printed as a prayer card and distributed in your church and through PLW. All entries must be postmarked by April 30, 2022.

Grade winners will receive:
- Their design featured on a prayer card
- 500 prayer cards for their church
- 3 tickets to the 2022 PLW Love for Life Gala

ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive all of the above plus $100 cash.

For more details and to submit artwork, visit our website here.

WE'RE HIRING: DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

The Development Director at Pro-Life Wisconsin (PLW) performs all the tasks necessary to grow PLW's Revenue, particularly through major gift fundraising. Secondarily, the Development Director coordinates with the Outreach Director to grow the number of PLW Affiliates and donor/supporter base. This includes the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of the effectiveness of plans and activities toward these two ends.

Requirements
Beyond being 100% Pro-Life, Christian, and a good team player, the individual is expected to be self-motivated with the ability to identify significant contributors to PLW and exert the initiative to accomplish it within the time frame expected. Specifically, the individual must possess the following:

Committed Christian whose life is conducted in accord with Christian principles
Thorough understanding and shared belief in the 100% pro-life position
Bachelor's Degree in related field
3-5 years of various fundraising experience
3-5 years of sales, promotion, marketing, and/or public relations experience
Ability to identify, cultivate, solicit and steward leadership level gifts
Self-starter, with strong planning and organizational skills, who can work independently and take ownership for this activity, yet be able to take some specific direction from PLW leadership
Excellent customer service skills; ability to super-serve our benefactors' needs
Knowledge or involvement in Catholic/Christian fraternal organizations
Solid interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills (verbal and written)
Capable of grant request/proposal preparation
Basic computer skills
Ability to work well in a collaborative culture
Ability and willingness to travel (possess a valid driver's license)

Responsibilities
Specifically, Development Director is responsible for executing the following tasks in an effective and efficient manner:

1. Develop an annual strategic plan for all Revenue Generation activities with specific revenue targets for:

Existing Revenue Sources (Fundraising Letters, Banquet & Web Site Sponsorship)
Grant Proposals
Major Gifts from Benefactors
New Funding Sources

2. Implement and execute strategies to achieve the Plan's Revenue targets for all the Revenue Generating Activities including overseeing the Fall Banquet/Auction

3. Build significant long-term relationships with benefactors to encourage, support and sustain the benefactor's philanthropic relationship with Pro-Life Wisconsin

For more information, please view the full job description here.
To apply for this position, please send your resume and cover letter to office@prolifewi.org

PURCHASE YOUR CHOOSE LIFE WISCONSIN PLATE, AND SAVE LIVES FROM ABORTION!

Choose Life license plates have been available to Wisconsin motorists since late October 2017. Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Family Council partnered to underwrite all the administrative costs of Choose Life Wisconsin, which allows us to give every penny that comes from the sale of the plates to Wisconsin’s incredible pregnancy care centers!

With 2,171 of these plates on cars in the Badger State, sales have resulted in over $152,466 granted to over twenty-five Wisconsin pregnancy resource centers in nearly five years.

If you would like to be a part of the mission to save lives, get your Choose Life Wisconsin license plate today! For more information call Pro-Life Wisconsin at 262-796-1111 ext. 110.

PRO-LIFE ADVOCATES MOURN VICKI THORN, FOUNDER OF PROJECT RACHEL HEALING MINISTRY: (National Catholic Register) – “When Vicki Thorn was a Catholic teen in rural Minnesota, a close friend confided to her that she’d gotten pregnant a year earlier and that her mother had arranged for her to have an abortion. ‘All I could do was just love her and be present to her, and make sure she was OK,’ Thorn would recall years later. ‘But it was a life-changing experience for me, in understanding that abortion was not a non-event, that it left enormous footprints in someone's life, and enormous pain.’” Read the full story here.

HOW LEGAL ABORTION OPENED THE DOOR TO PRO-INFANTICIDE BILLS: (Live Action) – “For years, pro-abortion bioethicists have been promoting after-birth abortion – infanticide - for children with disabilities […] But in a seemingly growing trend, pro-abortion legislators now appear to be attempting to legalize infanticide in some states using loopholes and specific language in laws regarding so-called reproductive rights.” Read the full story here.

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO AGREES TO PAY SETTLEMENT TO FAMILY OF WOMAN KILLED BY ABORTION: (Live Action) – “According to the pro-life group Abortion on Trial, the University of New Mexico (UNM) has agreed to pay a settlement of $365,000 to the Estate of Keisha Atkins, including her mother Tina Atkins, for negligently referring the 23-year-old Atkins to an abortionist that led to her death in 2017.” Read the full story here.

APRIL 28: Pro-Life Wisconsin's Living Courage Awards Dinner.

JUNE 18: Join Pro-Life Wisconsin for the first-ever Father's Day Weekend Ride for Life! The ride will begin following the 8:00 a.m. Holy Mass at St. Hedwig’s Catholic Church (1702 N Humboldt Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53202). Various stops will be made at local abortion facilities to pray the Rosary until the ride concludes at Maxim's Restaurant (18025 W Capitol Dr, Brookfield, WI 53045). The ride should take about 3.5 hours. More information and registration details are available here.

CRAWFORD COUNTY: Life Guardians pro-life group meets monthly in Boscobel. Email Heather at heatherkramer79@gmail.com for more information or check out the Facebook page here.

GREEN BAY: Pro-Life Green Bay is an active pro-life ministry in Northeast Wisconsin and meets regularly throughout the year. For more information, contact prolifegreenbay@gmail.com

LA CROSSE: We would like to see at least two people pray every day of the week outside Planned Parenthood. If you can commit to this weekly prayer, please let Marie Allen know. We encourage people to pray in groups of two if possible. You may choose your own time, and sidewalk counseling and signs are optional. Pro-Life literature is available if anyone wishes to distribute it. Questions? Call 608-784-5189.

MILWAUKEE: Join us every Tuesday at 6:00 PM (rain or shine) to pray the Angelus followed by the Rosary in reparation for sins of ingratitude at the Fatima Shrine (141 N 68th St Milwaukee, WI 53213).

ROCK COUNTY: For meeting times and other information, please email Miriam at

plwrcc@charter.net

WINNEBAGO COUNTY: Please join us in prayer every first Monday of the month from 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. to exercise your 1st amendment free speech rights in the public right of way (nearest to Marcus Cinema) in Oshkosh, near Planned Parenthood (378S Koeller St, Oshkosh, WI 54902). Bring your own sign, or use one of ours! Contact Don Doro at 920-279-3496 or at ddurawa1@yahoo.com

WISCONSIN RAPIDS: Please join us in prayer on the 2nd Monday of each month at 4:00 p.m. along 8th Street near Planned Parenthood. Gather in the parking lot at 3:45 p.m.

ONGOING, KENOSHA – Participate in the Rosary in Kenosha at 6:00 p.m. every Sunday at Saint Therese Catholic Church (2020 91st Street Kenosha, WI 53143). Bring family and friends!

ONGOING, OCONOMOWOC – Public Prayer of the Rosary to entrust the whole world to Our Lady and ask her to intercede for our state, country, and world. Join us at Village Green Park (104 E Wisconsin Ave. Oconomowoc, WI 53066) every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. View the flyer here.

ONGOING – Toda America con Cristo and Family Life Council, Inc. has begun creating pro-life resources for the latino community. If you or someone you know would benefit from these resources please view the web pages both here and here.

HIRING – Milwaukee Birthright is the first pregnancy center to open in Milwaukee. We are a non-profit organization assisting moms and dads in the Milwaukee area with any help they need to have a stable lifestyle. Currently, we are looking for an Assistant Director and Volunteers to help Milwaukee Birthright to open five days a week. Milwaukee Birthright is located at 2025 W. Oklahoma Avenue, Suite 125 in the Ascension Medical Art Building. If you are interested, please call Monica Staubach at 414-335-1562.

APRIL 29, HARTFORD – Join the Hartford Union High School YAF Chapter and Wisconsin Right Now for a movie night of Unplanned at 6:00 p.m. at Divine Savior Lutheran Church (3200 County Hwy K, Hartford, WI 53027). Donations to Pro-Life Wisconsin will be collected.

APRIL 30, WAUWATOSA – Join the Milwaukee Guild of the Catholic Medical Association on Saturday, April 30 for 9:00 a.m. Mass followed by breakfast and a 10:00-11:30 a.m. Presentation by Father Eric Nielson at Christ King Parish (2604 N. Swan Blvd Wauwatosa, WI 53226). Why are anxiety and depression rising among college students – especially those at higher-ranked institutions? What is making young people with the greatest talents and best opportunities so anxious? Fr. Eric Nielsen will address these questions based on 15 years of experience ministering to
college students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Register for free here. View the flyer here.

For inclusion on this list, please send a PDF or JPEG of the event flyer along with a short write-up about your event to info@ProLifeWI.org