Knights of Columbus councils in Kennebunk, Wells, Biddeford, Sanford, and Springvale teamed up to raise $40,000 for a new ultrasound at the Alpha Pregnancy Resource Center in Sanford.

SANFORD—An initiative that launched on Mother’s Day Weekend in May will compassionately help expecting mothers in the area for years to come.

Knights distributed empty baby bottles to parishioners who wished to help the cause. Individuals and families then filled the bottles with change, checks, or paper money, and returned them to their church.

Over $28,000 was raised. The knights then petitioned the organization’s supreme council for $12,000. The petition was approved, and an ultrasound machine will be purchased for the center to provide for the health of mothers and their unborn children.

“Our goal was to raise $20,000,” said Bob Marlowe, a member of the Knights of Columbus in Kennebunk. “This is overwhelming. The supreme council helped us to the finish line with money from the Culture of Life Fund that all knights contribute to with dues each year.”

“We know from experience that a woman who sees an ultrasound image of her child is highly likely to keep her baby,” said Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “A nurse practitioner told me that the first woman to use a new machine purchased in Texas said her mind was already made up in favor of abortion. But then, as she watched the ultrasound, her baby turned and seemed to wave to her. She looked up at the nurse and said, ‘I’m going to keep my baby.’”

Since 2009, similar ultrasound initiatives have allowed the Knights of Columbus to purchase over 900 ultrasound machines at a cost of approximately $44 million. The machines have been placed in pro-life pregnancy care centers in all 50 states and Canada, including several centers in Maine like First Step Pregnancy Resource Center in Bangor, ABBA in Portland, and Hope House in Lewiston.

For 25 years, Alpha in Sanford has offered a safe and confidential haven to those facing an unplanned pregnancy. The center is committed to serving all clients in a caring manner regardless of age, race, income, religion, nationality, or disability.

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