By Thea Jarvis

Birthright director Terry Weaver is among 11 recipients of WXIA-TV Channel 11’s eighth annual community services award, “The Ones Who Care.”

Mrs. Weaver, a parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Atlanta, was cited for her “23 years of volunteer community service, including the founding of Birthright and aid to troubled pregnant teenagers and other mothers-to-be.”

The Atlanta chapter of Birthright, founded by Mrs. Weaver in 1968, is a non-profit, non-denominational outreach offering counseling and related services to pregnant women.

“I don’t look at this as a Terry Weaver award,” the outgoing mother of seven remarked modestly of her accomplishment. She considers the recognition a tribute to the Birthright family of volunteers and hopes the publicity will mean broader exposure for Birthright.

The awards ceremony will take place June 1 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta and will be videotaped for broadcast by WXIA-TV June 4. The telecast will also include a documentary portion highlighting the area of service with which each award winner is affiliated.

Other recipients include men and women involved in boys’ clubs, historic trusts and the arts, scouting, services to the handicapped, foster parenting, prenatal care and medical fundraising.

“The Ones Who Care” award carries with it a stipend of $1000 for the charity of the recipient’s choice. Because Birthright is not funded in any systematic or official way, the monetary dimension of the award is welcome, Mrs. Weaver indicted.

“There are no regular donations coming in,” she explained. “It’s like having a family with no regular income. It runs on faith.”

Birthright’s purpose is singular, although its related services are varied. “It’s up to us to help pregnant women bring their baby to term,” said Mrs. Weaver, who is often confronted with the question, “I’m pregnant and I don’t know what to do” by women who call the Birthright crisis line.

Birthright volunteers respond to requests for lodging, counseling, medical services, employment and clothing. Recent statistics indicate that six percent of Birthright clients are under 16 years of age; 24 percent are aged 16-18; 59 percent are 18-30; and 13 percent are over 30 years old.

The organization receives an annual average of 4,000 calls and has a success rate of 80-85 percent, down from a previous high due to the availability of abortion, Mrs. Weaver feels.

Twenty percent of the Birthright clients have had one or more abortions, she commented, adding that the organization seeks an approach that is open and non-judgmental. “You save the baby if you care for the mother” summarizes the Birthright philosophy, Mrs. Weaver remarked.

Her own extensive involvement in pro-life work dates back to her early years in Georgia. Twenty-four yeas ago, when she and her husband moved to Atlanta, she found there was “not anything (available) for young mothers.”

She began the St. Gerard Guild in IHM parish with other new mothers who “wanted a place to go with our kids.” Out of the guild grew the Georgia chapter of the La Leche League, a support group for nursing mothers, and the Georgia Right-to-Life Association, which Mrs. Weaver began in the late sixties.

While she was coordinating the Georgia Right-to-Life movement in 1968, she was sent to Chicago to represent Georgia at a national right-to-life meeting. There she met Louise Summerhill from Toronto, Canada, the international home of Birthright.

As the two women talked, Mrs. Weaver found herself drawn to the simple philosophy of Birthright, involving no red tape or fees, just confidential listening and caring for those who needed it.

“I knew I couldn’t do both” Georgia Right-to-Life and Birthright work, Mrs. Weaver remembered, because she and her husband were “trying to keep family first.” It was Birthright that eventually won her heart.

Her own family of six sons and one daughter, who now range in age from 10-26 years, have been a vital part of Terry Weaver’s Birthright experience. From the beginning, they furnished motivation for her drive and devotion. As they grew and could be helpful, they did “everything from hanging curtains to handling out the (Birthright) newsletter” – and still do.

Bill Weaver, whom his wife describes as a “very patient husband,” has been a bulwark through the whirlwind of activity that frequently characterizes the pro-life arena, Mrs. Weaver said. His extra efforts have involved during his wife all over Georgia and out-of-state, as well as keeping the home fires burning when his wife was away.

Hearing of her award, Terry Weaver’s family’s comments “ranged from ‘It’s about time!’ to ‘What did they give that to you for?’” she said with good humor. “The Ones Who Care” award is as much theirs as it is hers, Mrs. Weaver emphasized, because her family has been so much a part of the growth and development of Birthright in Georgia.

“Mostly what we have to give at Birthright is friendship and a lot of love,” Terry Weaver said simply, echoing the philosophy she has attempted to share within her own family circle.