We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Deborah Bird. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Deborah below.

Deborah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea?

Once we decided we wanted to open a pregnancy resource center, things just began falling into place. We were connected with our first mama within the first month, and were able to pour into her as well as help get her connected into a community of like-minded women. Shortly after, we had our first donation of $5k which helped us tremendously with getting the non-profit set up legally.

Then, within 6 short months of our saying yes to this opportunity, we put on our very first gala which was one of the scariest undertakings – as we were asking people to join us in something that wasn’t even fully established yet. But, God is good and has taken care of ever single detail from the start!

Right after our gala, we were joined by the generous support of our first two monthly donors, as well as a location to host all of our events absolutely free. A mere three months later, we launched our very first support group and had 3 mamas begin attending! We were beyond thrilled to be able to fill a need in our community and support these mamas both emotionally, spiritually, and tangibly.

As of now, just a year and a half later, we have launched our third support group, have thrown two baby showers, two princess days, offered two educational classes, have served 21 mamas in various capacities. We are also up to 20 volunteers who help us out throughout the year at our events. At current, we also have four consistent monthly donors, have partnered with 4 churches in our community. Several churches, as well as a few local elementary schools, have graciously hosted multiple fundraisers to help us have the necessary items in throwing our baby showers. The generosity we have received is beyond our wildest dreams only 18 months into this endeavor! We know it is by the grace of God, as He has given us those vision and has been sure to see it through.

So much has happened this past year, and we can’t wait to see what all God has in store for us and our mamas.

Deborah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We are a pregnancy resource center in the Southshore area that walks alongside women who find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy. We offer support groups, one-on-one mentoring, transportation to and from appointments, counseling, and educational classes.

We jumped into this industry mainly because we have a heart for helping these women thrive as mothers and want to do our part in letting them know we are there for them. I (Deb) had an unplanned pregnancy at the age of 21 and it has completely altered my view on how these women are received by their peers and the church as a whole. Our vision is to change the narrative and bring back the joy found in motherhood, and part of that is by celebrating these women that have chosen life for their babies.

Our organization celebrates life and strives to help these ladies who don’t have the support at home. Because of this, we throw them a baby shower at the end of each support group in order to alleviate some of the financial stress a new baby can bring.

Each mama that comes through our door receives a Life Box full of goodies for mama and baby. We want to make sure these ladies feel loved and celebrated as having a baby can be tough especially when you’re doing it alone. We then connect each mama with a Mother Hen/mentor that will walk alongside them on their journey throughout motherhood.

Our mentorship program honestly sets us apart from other resource centers in the area. From day one our mission was to walk alongside these ladies and support them in their journey. Which is how our Mother Hen program was born. Our Mother Hens come to the support groups with the mamas and connect with them on an individual bases, which allows for their relationships to grow. These mamas feel seen, heard, and loved by their Mother Hens within a few short meetings. Our goal is for these young ladies to look up to their mentor and lean on them when they need it the most.

Our support groups run twice a year, once in the fall and again in the spring. We use a curriculum called Embrace Grace and each week we learn more and more about these precious women and their growing babies. Every week the mamas come, they go home with diapers, wipes, baby clothes, and any other donations we have received for that week. Their eyes just light up when they see what all they get to go home with, which is honestly a true blessing for us.

In addition to our support groups we maintain relationships with all of our mamas and help fill a need when it arises. For example, some moms need help getting to and from doctor’s appointments and our support groups, therefore, we cover travel expenses when needed. We also have some moms who have gone through a lot in their past, therefore, we outsource counseling services for those that need it most. We try to do at least one home visit once the baby is born, and after the baby is born, our Mother Hens continue to nurture that relationship.

While the baby showers are so much fun, our ultimate goal is to lead these ladies to Christ and show them the love of Jesus along the way.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When we first started out, I (Deb) was a full-time teacher and Aubi was a stay-at-home mom who homeschooled her 5 children. To say we were busy was an understatement, and now we just decided to add one more thing to our plates.

When we first started things were a little slower and we worked in the evenings and weekends. I mean, we just had one mama so it wasn’t that stressful. During that time was when we were still getting everything set-up for the business.

Then the fall hit and we launched our first support group while I (Deb) was still teaching full-time and Aubi was still homeschooling her kids. Trying to juggle work, family, and extracurricular activities wasn’t exactly easy. Then add on top of that the emotional stress we were under trying to mentor these ladies all by ourselves.

Aubi would work one day a week on the business, and did an amazing job – we wouldn’t be where we are today without her. However, we knew things had to change. So in January of 2022, just one year after getting the idea to start a pregnancy resource center, I decided to not go back to teaching this fall and work full time for Abundant Life.

This was a huge leap of faith for me, to say the least, but it needed to be done as emotions were starting to set in and that overworked feeling was all too real. A few emotional breakdowns later, more volunteers coming alongside of us, and a job change, things were looking much different and feasible for the long-term.

God’s grace and promise has brought us through some pretty tough times yet again. We could not have made it through our first year without our faith and trust in Him, and the support of our family and friends. That being said, I am now working full-time and Aubi is still working part-time while still doing what she loves, which is being a mom and homeschooling her 5 children (with one more on the way!)

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When we first launched our resource center, Aubi and I were doing everything ourselves. I think as moms and women we tend to take on everyone else’s burdens because that is what we are used to doing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://creatingabundantlife.org/
• Instagram: @creatingabundantlife
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creatingabundantlife