New Beginnings to help fund Pregnancy Information Center
A new thrift store has opened in Clintonville, and it's purpose is two-fold.
First, the store will offer many thrift items at reasonable prices; and second, all proceeds from the store will benefit the Waupaca Pregnancy Information Center (WPIC).
New Beginnings Community Thrift Store, 106 N. Main St., Clintonville, opened for business on Saturday, Jan. 7. The store will be open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"We wanted to start this ministry as a funding partner," explained Heather Ruesch, director of the WPIC. "In addition, we now have some outreach into the Clintonville community and we hope to attract lots of clients from this side of the county.
"We would also like to open satellite centers in New London this spring and in Clintonville next summer," Ruesch stated as she explained her desire to see the WPIC reach into each community in Waupaca County. "We want to get to know this community and find out what it's all about, and we want to do that with other communities as well."
Ruesch said fundraising is a dying breed, and explained that it has been very difficult to raise funds to keep the WPIC on track.
"As director, I have to think outside the box," Ruesch said. "We are looking for ways to support the PIC and expand at the same time. One way to do that is to take our resources and put them into action through a venture like this thrift store. We had been receiving donations for our Care Closet in Waupaca, and we had more than we could use. In June, Rebecca Ripley had an idea to start a thrift store. The idea has taken off, and everything in the store has been donated. I think it's going to be very successful."
Ruesch is coordinating efforts to raise awareness in each community in Waupaca County, hoping to show residents the need for a pregnancy information center. She uses recent statistics to show that the services offered by the WPIC are much needed.
"A study of 15-19 year olds in this country showed that one in four had a sexually-transmitted disease (STD). In Waupaca County, it's one in three; that's a big deal," she said. "Surveys show that 42 percent of our youth are sexually active; of those, 65 percent are using contraceptives, but one in three have an STD.
"When we talk to parents about these statistics, they're shocked. We want to help raise awareness and be invested in prevention. Our goal is to ultimately put ourselves out of business-we want to eliminate the need for the services the WPIC provides," Ruesch commented. "Our goal is for adults to be the compass that direct kids' standards, morals and actions.
"It's not unreasonable for parents to tell their kids 'don't have sex.' The current standard has changed, and many people believe it is unrealistic-so they're just giving kids contraceptives," continued Ruesch. "But that doesn't work either, and it exposes kids to STDs.
"Parents need to be informed-that's why we want to expand and offer enrichment through the WPIC to hit home the concept of prevention," concluded Ruesch.
The WPIC is a Christian non-profit organization that provides resources on issues dealing with life and sexuality, including abstinence/sexual purity resources and education, unplanned pregnancy, abortion and sanctity of human life, adoption resources, relationship resources, post-abortive support, STI and STD information and education, and contraceptive and PLAN B education.
To learn more or partner with the WPIC, email director@wpic.info or call 715-256-4144.
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10 Comments for "New Beginnings to help fund Pregnancy Information Center "
Patently false and misleading.
CDC reports that in 2009 (most recent year available), there were 803 cases of STDs per 100,000 persons, aged 15 to 19 in the United States. In order to say "1 in 4" had an STD, that 803 number would need to be more like 25,000.
[quote]In Waupaca County, it's one in three; that's a big deal[/quote]
Patently false and misleading.
CDC reports that in 2009, there were 719 cases of STDs per 100,000 persons, aged 15 to 19 in the state of Wisconsin. In order to say "1 in 3" had an STD, that 719 number would need to be more like 33,000.
In fact, the chlamydia rate in 15-19-year-old's is significantly lower in Waupaca County than it is in the rest of Wisconsin; which correlates that all STDs are less prevalent in Waupaca, not more prevalent.
[quote]When we talk to parents about these statistics, they're shocked[/quote]
They should be shocked, because the statistics are shockingly high and shockingly [b]WRONG.[/b]
I'd say that the article's statistics are [b]intentionally misleading[/b], except that I know there is a good chance that it is a case of simple ignorance. The person who supplied the statistics does not possess the necessary knowledge and skills to understand what they're talking about.
[b]WNOW - however - [/b]they should know better than to post disease statistics without doing the minimal fact checking. Is there anybody in journalism who knows what fact checking is? Was?
Having said all that, Milwaukee has one of the highest rates of STDs in 15 to 19 year olds in the entire country. Keep your (apparently sexually ramped up) kids out of Milwaukee.
lastpercentile Jan 18, 2012 10:16 PM
Contraceptives don't expose kids to STDs. Sex exposes kids to STDs.
Knowing that (some) kids will have sex, and not arming (some of) them with condoms and other contraceptives - is morally and culturally bankrupt.
Envisioning that today's teenagers will stop having sex - or more ridiculously - that they will decide to be the first generation of teenagers not to have sex, is intellectually bankrupt (you're a functional moron, in other words).
Yes, tell them not to have sex. When they stop laughing (the one's that laugh), buy them some condoms. If you want your daughter to go to college, put her on oral contraceptives. If they're unnecessary, at least her acne will clear up.
[quote]The WPIC is a Christian non-profit organization that provides resources on issues dealing with life and sexuality[/quote]
Let's not pretend.
WPIC is a pro-life, anti-abortion organization that claims to provide information to pregnant women (hence the name); but are never [i]openly[/i] honest about their true agenda and the fact that they provide less than "half" of the information.
==========================
To obtain more information about how to protect yourself from (or be tested for) STDs and [u]prevent[/u] unwanted pregnancies, check out this website: [url]www.plannedparenthood.org/Wisconsin/[/url]
They are concerned about your health and only your health - not whether you will (or should) burn in hades for all eternity.
lastpercentile Jan 18, 2012 11:00 PM
The most common STD out there is HPV (Genital warts). HPV is transmitted by skin to skin contact so is not effectively stopped by using a condom, and is associated with 99% of cervical cancers. The new vaccines do not cure it and only prevent infections from 2 of the 77 strains known to exist. Then there's HIV which has no known cure and which will almost certainly kill you.
The problem with artificial contraceptives is that they give a person a false sense of security. No birth control method is 100% effective except for a full hysterectomy. And no contraceptive can keep you safe from all STD's. That's why abstinence is the only safe and healthy choice. Plus, it's absolutely free. If young people are looking to bond with a partner, making a vow to abstain until their wedding night - and working together to keep that vow - will do more to strengthen their love than anything they can do physically with a partner. I encourage you to give it a try.
brendajhansen Feb 02, 2012 4:02 PM
Provide the source of this "study" you claim to be quoting, so that we can evaluate the accuracy of the statistics.
My source of information is available to everyone here: [url]http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats/[/url]
You can't say that a study "showed" that 1 in 4 teenagers has an STD, and now back-pedal and say that some of the "showed" infections were unreported. If your statistics are based on unreported cases, then say so.
[quote=PMisIC]there were 6 million more cases of STDs reported in 2000 than in 1996[/quote]
You are comparing apples and horse apples. Testing that is available today was not available, or not cost effective, or simply not as prevalent as it is today. But partially right that STD cases are not going down - over the past several years.
Having said that, you need to look up the definition of "exponentially", because it doesn't mean what you think it means.
[quote=PMisIC]According to the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, the current accepted numbers within the medical community are estimated at about 9 million new cases of STD's each year.[/quote]
Never heard of the MISH, which means it has no standing the STD prevention and control arena. The information on the website is a joke. It tells the casual reader that condoms only give you a 50/50 chance of preventing bacterial STDs, and the source of this fact is a lowly study that took place in Uganda.
The "accepted numbers" are any number published by the CDC - and basically nowhere else.
[quote=PMisIC]The most common STD out there is HPV (Genital warts).[/quote]
It's also the STD that has the least clinically significant symptoms - in other words, most people have no idea they have been infected. Also, 90% of all infections are cleared from the body within 2 years. In other words, medical professionals (and patients) have more to worry about than HPV.
Condoms cover up skin, so how can they not prevent some HPV?
lastpercentile Feb 02, 2012 9:34 PM
Well, we will all die of something, sooner or later. The fact is, the current HIV treatment regimens have gone a long way into turning HIV into a chronic disease - much like diabetes is treated. Magic Johnson tested positive in 1991 - 20 years ago - that's longer than most heart disease patients live, after a heart attack. He has HIV, so he must by dead, right?
[quote=PMisIC]That's why abstinence is the only safe and healthy choice. Plus, it's absolutely free.[/quote]
Abstinence for married people too?
Actually, psychologists could make a solid argument that abstinence for healthy adults is, well, very unhealthy.
Abstinence is not free if you are using sex as a means of supporting yourself. In that case and in terms of economic decision-making, abstinence can be very expensive. Yes, I'm trying to shock the reader, but the world is not made up of stiff collars and sun bonnets anymore - if it ever was.
Now we need to address your credential for giving medical advice, interpreting the results of peer-reviewed studies, swaying public opinion on sexual health, or criticizing me, as I do these things.
Your self-identified education: "Trans American School of Broadcasting, Radio Operator's License, First Class"
I'm sure that's a great trade school, but they don't pretend to certify their students in medical research, patient counseling, biostatistics, epidemiology, biology, bacteriology, etc, etc, etc.
You are WHOLLY unqualified to interpret medical information, let alone act on it, let alone advise anyone else on how to act on it.
Abstinence is wonderful for people who haven't had sex in 5 years, and have little or no plans to have sex this year. Recommending abstinence to hormone-challenged teenagers (or adults), particularly those who are already sexually active, is modern day quackery.
lastpercentile Feb 02, 2012 9:58 PM
brendajhansen Feb 07, 2012 10:11 AM
Here's what else the Guttmacher Institute had to say about STD's:
1) In most cases, [a sexually transmitted] infection does not have a major, lasting impact on an individual’s health if she or he seeks proper treatment.
2) Early treatment with antiretroviral drugs and other medical and lifestyle interventions can greatly delay the onset of the disease, and with high-quality care, HIV-positive people can live many years with minimal symptoms.
3) Estimates of the incidence (new cases) and prevalence (total existing cases) of most STIs are difficult to make...it is difficult to measure trends in the incidence and prevalence of STIs because of changes in reporting systems and testing methods. As a result, increases in reported cases may be due to improved testing and reporting, rather than true upsurges in incidence or prevalence.
4) Most of the "1 in 5" people infected with an STD are infected with Herpes [because it never goes away].
Those are a few examples of "quotes" that you failed to include in your have-sex-and-you-die doomsday messages about STDs.
Again, you need to understand the difference between INCIDENCE and PREVALENCE.
Websites, by the way, are not peer-reviewed medical journal articles. You need to learn how to conduct actual RESEARCH on a subject before you "claim" an expertise that would allow you to give the kind of advice you seem to have been deluding women (in crisis) with over the years.
In medicine, research demands a thorough knowledge of these peer-reviewed articles - at a minimum. You can't point at a website and pretend that you know what you're talking about - because it's painfully clear that you don't know what they're talking about.
lastpercentile Feb 07, 2012 1:17 PM
Being invested in the HEALTH and WELL-BEING of our young people isn't just our job, it's our privilege and passion. Our agenda speaks for itself by the work we do FOR and WITHIN our communities. Yours, on the other hand, speaks for itself as well: as you publicly disrespect, slander, and call names in your above comments.
*If you would like more information on the services the Pregnancy Information Center provides or would like to see for yourselves the state and national documentation from which our statistics derive, please don't hesitate to contact us at (715)256-4144.
Joyfully,
Heather Ruesch
Executive Director
Pregnancy Information Center
Serving Waupaca and Surrounding Communities
directorWPIC Feb 07, 2012 6:14 PM
No, in fact, it's not. You have no information of your own, you only borrow information from other sources - invariably misinterpreting it, if not deliberately twisting it, in the process. Your website is void of useful information and intentionally hides your true agenda of anti-choice (and "abstinence for everyone").
Your agenda is spoken out loud only within the confines of your establishment. And THAT speaks for itself.
[quote]Yours, on the other hand, speaks for itself as well: as you publicly disrespect, slander, and call names in your above comments.[/quote]
Disrespect barely begins to describe my opinion of wholly unqualified "activists" providing counseling to women in crisis on medical decision making.
Truth is a complete defense.
You wouldn't go to a "neighbor lady" if your leg was broken, why would you go to her because you're pregnant?
If you want to know about national disease statistics - that's why we have the Centers for Disease Control: [url]www.cdc.gov/std/stats[/url] $9BIL in tax dollars to battle diseases and you would rely on the neighbor lady to give advice on avoiding syphilis?
Credentialed medical professionals - nurses and doctors - are trained and certified to provide sound medical advice. The neighbor lady probably took home-ec, while the future nurses and doctors were taking honors biology. Now she wants to utilize her baking skills to give you medical advice.
That guy sitting out in an ice shack? He's the Executive Director of the Cold Feet Information Center. Anybody can declare themselves "director" of their own shack. But to give professional medical advice - you need some letters after your name.
When this pregnancy information shack has a responsible physician on staff (or it shuts down), I'll shut up.
lastpercentile Feb 08, 2012 6:54 AM
lastpercentile Feb 08, 2012 7:20 AM