PRC and Best Choice Now Under

New Parent Organization: ThriVe

By Jim Day

In a letter sent to supporters of the Greater St. Louis Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRC), president and CEO Mark Dungan announced that on October 4th of this year PRC, their Best Choice Sexual Integrity Program, and all other programs associated with their organization will operate under a new corporate umbrella known as “ThriVe St. Louis.”

According to the letter the new name ThriVe St. Louis communicates a powerful, united, engaging, energetic and inspiring message to clients, donors and the community at large about the organization, its activities and impact.  Dungan related that “At the most fundamental level, all of our services and programs are intended to help people ThriVe - physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually - as God intends.”

ThriVe St. Louis is a key part of PRC’s three year Vision 2010 Capacity Building Campaign designed to expand their donor base, triple annual donation levels and increase the impact of their programs and services.

Dungan and ThriVe’s leadership believe they have been called to a greater level of engagement in today’s culture, so along with the name change, comes a new slogan “Changing the conversation about sex.”

When asked about the new slogan Dungan stated, “We live in a sex-saturated culture that communicates and promotes behavior that is inconsistent with the reality of being human and thus is unhealthy, unfulfilling and in many cases destructive. Twenty-four years of experience serving clients in St. Louis has revealed to us that, contrary to the prevalent cultural view, sex outside of marriage does have consequences. Unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, and broken relationships are only the tip if the iceberg. Our PRC counselors and Best Choice presenters see the impact of this sex-saturated culture every day. The need to change the conversation about sex is long overdue.”

Dungan continued, “Successfully countering the impact of a sex-saturated culture requires a growing community of supporters and participants. To help make this happen, we’ve initiated weekly ‘Get to Know Us’ events at our headquarters in the Central West End. Participants in these events see the Center and hear from staff on the front line. I guarantee you that anyone attending one of these events will be deeply touched by what they see and hear. I encourage anyone interested in attending one of our ‘Get to Know Us’ events to contact Terri Hunter at (314) 783-3040 ext 225 for a schedule.”

The letter concluded with an invitation to all to attend their Fall Gala 2007 fundraising event which will be held November 1st at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet in Westport Plaza. Those who were not yet part of the PRC community of supporters were urged to request an invitation by calling Erin Herwig at (314) 783-3040 ext 224 or sending an email to www.events@ThriVestlouis.org.

I know my wife and I will be there to support them and I ask readers to please pray for the leadership and staff of ThriVe as they seek God’s direction, guidance and serve those in need of their services.