Online auction starting today to benefit Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center

The Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center’s “Christmas in July” online auction starts today at 8 a.m. and will continue through 8 a.m. on Monday, July 19.
The Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center’s “Christmas in July” online auction starts today at 8 a.m. and will continue through 8 a.m. on Monday, July 19.

The Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center is hosting its fifth online auction for the first time since 2019, and bidding opens today at 8 a.m.

Executive Director Paula Williams said the funds raised will go toward the nonprofit’s general operating expenses, which are funded entirely through donations from the community and the occasional grant.

“We are a nonprofit and we have to have fundraisers to fund our center, or with grants; we don’t take any funds from the state, and all of our services are free,” she noted.

Williams said the online auctions started as an annual event in 2015, but last year’s was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We just didn’t feel right about asking any businesses to help donate because everybody was struggling during that time,” she explained. “Our donors — they faced hardships as well, so donations were down some.”

However, this year, local businesses were able to come through, supplying somewhere around 220 items to the organization’s auction.

“If everything sold at 100% of what it cost, that’s $13,000,” Williams said. “I would love to shoot for $10,000.”

The Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center (HPRC) offers free services to new and prospective parents at its three locations in El Dorado, Camden and Magnolia, including pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, abstinence education, post-abortion counseling and providing for material and other needs.

One of the programs they offer are the “Earn While You Learn” parenting classes, which serve both mothers and fathers, and allow parents to earn points by taking parenting classes, then use their points to “purchase” baby items like bottles, clothes and more from the centers’ “Baby Boutiques.”

When the El Dorado center was forced to close to face-to-face client meetings for about a month last year, the nonprofit’s administrators instituted a virtual version of the program, allowing parents to take online classes and still earn points to spend in the baby boutique.

“We instituted BrightCourse, which is an online parenting class program … Since then it’s been such a success that we continued to use the BrightCourse lessons,” Williams said. “The girls can be sent their lessons on their phone, they can do it at home and then they can still earn points for the baby boutique, so if they’re working or can’t come in, that works out.”

The HPRC also recently spearheaded a fundraising effort to place a Safe Haven Baby Box in El Dorado that will allow women to surrender babies 30 days old or younger to the state anonymously. The Baby Box arrived in town last week, installation is underway at El Dorado Fire Station 2 and a dedication ceremony is upcoming.

The “Christmas in July” online auction will help the HPRC to continue providing those programs and for the needs of those facing unplanned pregnancies in the tri-county region, Williams said.

Starting today at 8 a.m., those who wish to participate in the auction will be able to visit hannahprc.com, click the “Hannah Auction” banner and bid on a variety of items donated by businesses in El Dorado, Camden and Magnolia, from home decor and socket sets to gift certificates and gourmet foods, among others.

The auction will remain open on the HPRC’s website through 8 a.m. on Monday, July 19. Those who place the winning bids will receive an email letting them know they’ve won, and from there they can organize a time to come to the HPRC office at 101 W. Main St., Suite 201 in El Dorado to pick up what they won.

“Wer’e here Monday through Thursday,” Williams said. “If we have several (winning bidders) in Camden or Magnolia then we can help deliver to the centers there.”

Those who wish to donate to the HPRC without participating in the auction can also do so through the nonprofit’s website by clicking the “Donate” button.

“We’re just very thankful for all the support we’ve gotten through the pandemic,” Williams said. “Our supporters are really great, and they’ve helped us tremendously.”

For more information, call the HPRC at 870-862-1317.

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