Imagine this: You are a single mother, fully responsible for the care of your two children, ages two-and-a-half and 14 months. Most weeks, you are barely scraping by as you live paycheck to paycheck. Your minimum wage job serving at the local restaurant in town covers the bills. . . barely.

You have been making it on your own for a while now, as most of your family lives out of state. You have some friends in town who offer to help, but most days they are unavailable handling their own issues. You wake up every morning feeling the undeniable weight of the day on your shoulders, as you are fully aware that the livelihood of you and your children depends solely on you.

You can do this, you tell yourself when the alarm sounds, even though you’ve been parenting on your own with no support from your children’s father…

The Starting Point Boutique.

Within our community, it has become a claim to fame. Individuals from across Knox County will unload bags full of baby items to be donated for our families in need. When taking someone on a tour of our facility, it is most frequently the favorite room of them all.

The material assistance component of our services is often what draws in our pregnant clients. Many are uncertain how they will be able to provide their child with all the necessary items.

Our Boutique is a crucial puzzle piece to our ministry— one that would be impossible without the support of our volunteers who keep it all running.

To better understand this work, keep reading for a typical day-in-the-life of a Starting Point Boutique volunteer.

When a client walks through Starting Point’s doors, they know they will find open arms, welcoming smiles and listening ears. . . they will find our loving Client Advocates.

The role of the Client Advocate is a unique one. These are the wise mentors, ready to journey alongside our “Start Here” members.

There really is no predictable day for a Client Advocate. In fact, it is nearly impossible to foresee the crises they may have to talk our clients through. Yet it is a rewarding task, one that presents the most perfect opportunity to plant seeds of God’s truth and love.

To better understand the work of these individuals, keep reading for a typical day-in-the-life of our Client Advocates.

If you have attended a Knox County church within the last few weeks, you are probably familiar with our tagline “It only takes one donor filling one bottle to change one life.”

This phrase encompasses the truth and power of our Baby Bottle Campaign. In this very moment, hundreds of families in neighboring towns are actively collecting spare change to benefit the young families of Starting Point. However, it only takes one to change a life.

“How’s it going?”

“What’s happening?”

“How was your day?”

“What’s new?”

The list goes on… and on… and on… I mean, there are hundreds of ways to ask the same question, and not surprisingly enough, there are hundreds of ways to give the same answer.

Spiderman. Batman. Ironman. Superman. Captain America. Wolverine. Hulk. Thor. Wonder Woman.

I know I’m not the only superhero movie lover.

There’s just something about the way these characters save humanity that makes us want to grab some popcorn, turn off the lights, put up our feet, and press “play.” Am I right?

Most people won’t know Eric. In fact, no one on social media knew him until the Olympic Games in Rio. Eric broke the internet when his picture, shown carrying a bag of condoms, was tweeted and retweeted. He, along with other staff, were hired for the sole purpose of handing out condoms to Olympic athletes. Olympic coordinators provided 450,000 condoms this year, to serve over 10,500 athletes and staff, encouraging them to practice “safe sex.” That number is up from 150,000 that were handed out in London just 4 years earlier.

It’s summer!  Next year, I’m a senior!  Life as a Christian girl is good, well except maybe just this one part … I think I’m pregnant!

My monthly cycle hasn’t shown up yet.  I’m scared & anxious – I mean I’m in high school & 17!  I’m a “good” Christian girl, who’s not married.  If I’m pregnant my life will suddenly be different.

What if we search online to get answers about where we can go to get rid of the situation?  What’s this … Starting Point?  I know we’re in shock & panicked but I’ll call & maybe we can go there.

I (Ashley) was scared & anxious as I stared down at the positive home pregnancy test. I was in a relatively good relationship…now, at least…but I was still suffering the memories of a past abusive relationship. Living at home with my parents, & not having any extra money, I thought, “How could I possibly care for a baby?” I didn’t think there was any way I could be a good mom. So, in my fear & panic, I decided if there wasn’t a heartbeat yet, I would definitely get an abortion. It felt like my only option.

No matter what your situation is, if you think you might be pregnant you’ll want to find out for sure. Most pregnancy tests are fairly accurate, but if you want to know for sure it’s best to have a lab quality test run by a healthcare professional.

Not sure if you really need a test?