Some 185 people attended the Loving Arms Pregnancy Center’s annual banquet at the Pillars Event Center in Taylorville.   It’s the non-profit organization’s largest fund-raiser each year.   

The Center, with locations in Taylorville and Pana, provide faith-based counseling services for women considering abortion, as well as support for women and their family who decide to have their baby.

Following dinner, this year’s guest speaker was Doctor Damon Friedman, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U-S Air Forst Special Operations.   Doctor Friedman, who served 4 combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, shared his life story with the Loving Arms attendees, and with Regional Radio following the evening.   He himself was the product of being saved from an abortion.

Loving Arms Executive Director Cathy Coker also spoke to the crowd about young women in Christian County that are scared, alone, and convinced abortion is their only option, and how they’re continuing to use new platforms to deliver their message.  She shared with Regional Radio News her reaction to the large crowd.

Funds pledged Thursday night, along with the Center’s annual Walk for Life, help pay for staff, rent, and supplies for their 2 locations at 500 North Walnut just south of Taylorville Memorial Hospital, and in downtown Pana.   Find out more about Loving Arms on-line at lovingarmsillinois.com.