All of the dollars and dimes have been counted from the Sav-A-Life auction and, once again, the auction was a great success.

Jane Ward, Sav-A-Life director, said the annual auction traditionally earns between $15,000 and $20,000 and that is a life-saving amount for the local organization.

“The auction is our biggest fund-raiser, and it is extremely important to our operating budget,” Ward said. “Sav-A-Life is funded through donations and the dollars donated through the auction. We do not receive funding from any entity.”

Ward said dollars raised through the auction help the center stay open.

“We have day-to-day operating expenses, maintenance costs, supplies and materials to purchase and all of these are out of pocket expenses,” she said. “We greatly appreciate all of those who donated items to the auction and all of those supported the auction.”

Ward said the money raised at the auction also will help the Center reach a very important goal.

“We have a part-time position that needs to be filled and it is a very important one,” she said. “We need someone to go into the schools and take the message of our ‘Decisions, Choices and Options’ program. This is a fact-based abstinence program that outlines the outcomes of teen sexuality. In very realistic and graphic ways, the program lets young people know the consequences of the decisions they make regarding sexual activity.”

Ward said this part-time position goes above and beyond what is asked of a volunteer.

“It requires between 10 and 12 hours a week,” she said. “That’s the reason it’s a paying position.”

Ward held that part-time position until she became interim director of the Sav-A-Life Center in August 2013. She was voted director of the center in October 2013.

“I had been a volunteer at the Sav-A-Life Center since 2008 because I knew the important role it plays in our community,” she said. “Sav-A-Life is a ministry that provides for the needs of women in crisis pregnancy situations and I am blessed to be a part of it.”

In 2013, the Sav-A-Life Center in Troy served 2,213 families in Pike and surrounding counties.

“I say ‘families’ because we have prenatal classes, parenting programs and classes for men, so we serve more than just women,” Ward said.

“And that number does not include the students that we serve through the ‘Decisions, Choices and Options’ program. If we included them it would be more than 3,000.”

Most of those served through the Sav-A-Life Center are between the ages of 19 and 22.

“We also serve Troy University but only about 13 percent of those we serve are from the university. However, we do serve other colleges, including several in the Montgomery and Dothan areas. But in 2013, we didn’t serve a large number of high school-age young women. Hopefully, they are getting the message about the consequences of sexual behavior.”

The Sav-A-Life Center in Troy provides different volunteer opportunities and always needs and appreciates donations.

For more information about Sav-A-Life, contact Jane Ward at 334-566-2880.