Life Is For Everyone, Inc.
Nurses Concerned For Life began as a ministry which evolved out of a shared concern by many nurses in the congregation of Wabash Friends Church to reach out to teens in our community with unplanned pregnancies. Wabash County was listed as having the highest teen pregnancy rate per capita in the state of Indiana at that time.
A movie was shown at the Friends Church entitled “Assignment Life” which dealt with the abortion issue. This movie showed an actual abortion taking place and educated the congregation on the affects of abortion. The need to present a pro-life message within the community through this ministry was also addressed.
Rose Smalley, a member of Wabash Friends and also the Wabash County Health Nurse at that time, set things in motion to start a clinic which administered free pregnancy tests to teens and young women. A building was located for rental, donations were received for furnishings and interested persons were invited to attend a meeting at the new location to discuss the opening of the clinic. A group of nurses in Ft. Wayne, Indiana involved with the same ministry came to this meeting and shared ways to counsel clients and dispense literature. Nurses Concerned For Life is a sister organization to them. We adopted the same name for our clinic. The Articles of Incorporation was approved March 8, 1984. The initial Board of Directors were: Donald E. Smalley, Rosella Smalley, Gary Dawson, Frances Dawson, John Myers, and Jean Myers. Officers were: President; Rosella Smalley, Vice President: Frankie Dawson,
Secretary/Treasurer: Jean Myers. The first Director was Rosella Smalley.
The structure of the clinic was finalized but there were many legal issues to pursue. The incorporation process began with Dan Vanderpool as attorney. CPA Brent Dawes helped achieve a non-profit status.
The name of the organization was changed in 1992 to Life Is For Everyone, Inc. in order to better reflect the make-up of the organization. Official approval of the name change was received in 1994.
The original location of the Center was South Wabash Street. The clinic later moved to 280 North Wabash Street and purchased a house at 88 North Wabash Street February 4, 2000. July 9, 2007 sold the property at 88 North Wabash Street and purchased property at 78 West Hill Street. We closed on our current facility, 489 Bond Street, March 25, 2017. The center moved and opened for business on May 1, 2017. The new facility was purchased without additional debt. The property at 78 West Hill Street sold on November 20, 2017.
On June 21, 2017, LIFE Center was contacted by Focus on the Family director Robyn Chambers. In honor of Vice President Mike Pence and his pro-life views, Focus on the Family was donating an ultrasound machine to LIFE Center. This was a gift in celebration of Focus on the Family's 40th anniversary. In 2017, LIFE Center administered 111 pregnancy tests, 62 limited ob ultrasounds and gave out more than 2,000 clothing items, helping almost 700 families in total.
In 2018 LIFE Center administered 104 pregnancy tests, 42 limited ob ultrasounds and gave out more than 3,507 clothing items.
LIFE Center is supported by our generous community and area churches. LIFE Center also has a limited number of fundraising events that carry us throughout the year. We have our precious child contest at the Wabash County 4-H fair, the annual golf scramble and the annual fundraising dinner with a guest speaker.
Services provided by LIFE Center are always free and confidential with no appointment needed except for our Earn While You Learn classes and our abortion recovery Bible study.