Married couple, Kathy and Paul Dobrowolski, lead Sidewalk Advocates for Life in Ann Arbor where they manifest the love of Jesus Christ by offering pregnant mothers, who are considering aborting their unborn child, with alternative, life-affirming choices – all done with the help of funds from the Diocese of Lansing’s Diocesan Services Appeal.
“Our advocates are on the sidewalk outside of Planned Parenthood to be the hands and feet of Christ reaching out to those going into the facilities, trying to show them how much we care and offering loving, life-affirming alternatives to abortion,” says Kathy to Maria Servold of FAITH Magazine, the official publication of the Diocese of Lansing.
Kathy explains how, at the Ann Arbor location, Sidewalk Advocates for Life has been involved in helping countless moms and saving many unborn lives, including 19 babies saved during the COVID-lockdowns in 2020.
One of these cases, she recalls, involved a young woman who was pregnant with twins who drove to the Ann Arbor facility from Lansing. After speaking with the advocates before entering Planned Parenthood, the mother later decided to keep her babies.
Nationally, since its foundation in 2014, Sidewalk Advocates for Life estimate that its volunteers have saved more than 16,000 babies, helped 80 abortion workers leave the industry and closed 29 abortion facilities.
The Diocesan Services Appeal, says Kathy, helps to cover many costs incurred by Sidewalk Advocates for Life, including a yearly registration fee, materials for advocate training sessions, literature used during sidewalk advocacy, gift bags for women contact outside of clinics, signs, vests, and community outreach efforts.
“Words cannot express how grateful we are, because we don’t have a major source of funding for what we do,” she says. “What we’ve been able to do with the money – we never could have done without funding from the diocese.” To read Kathy and Paul’s story in full go to: https://faithmag.com/sidewalk-ministry-making-difference-pro-life-arena
• To find out more about the 2022 Diocesan Services Appeal or to donate to DSA go to: https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/DSA
• For more information, visit sidewalkadvocates.org or email Paul and Kathy Dobrowolski at saflannarbor@gmail.com