Crisis Pregnancy Outreach has been 100% run by volunteers since its inception more than 30 years ago. No one has ever received a salary, which enables CPO to make an even bigger difference in the lives of Tulsa area women. We know that volunteers matter, and to honor them we periodically interview and highlight one of our volunteers. This week we hear from a volunteer who has been extremely dedicated to CPO for years and years: Kelly Jacobson.
Q: In what ways do you volunteer at CPO?
A: Right now I am only planning the Waiting Families Workshop but I have done just about everything at least once in the past.
Q: How long have you been volunteering with us?
A: Since 1996 with a three year break when we lived in Colorado.
Q: How did you find out about CPO?
A: Through a friend of a friend, Patti Schatzmann.
Q: Why did you choose to volunteer at CPO versus other organizations? What is it about crisis pregnancies that drew you to us?
A: When I was 19, I had an abortion. I struggled for many years to heal from it. Volunteering for a crisis pregnancy ministry helped me heal. So when we moved to Tulsa, I was on the look out for a place to volunteer.
Q: Why is our cause so close to your heart?
A: I can’t help but wonder that if I had been able to get help from a place like CPO when I was 19, I may have chosen life for my baby. I want all girls to feel like they can choose life if they want to.
Q: What have you learned about yourself since you began volunteering?
A: That God can use me in ways I never imagined! That his plans are so much better than my own.
Q: How have you seen God’s hand at work in the ministry of CPO?
A: Too many ways to count, really. In my own family, I have four adopted babies that I wouldn’t have without CPO. I have seen couples become families and birth mothers’ lives turned around. I have seen women choose life for their babies when they found out that they wouldn’t have to do it alone. I have seen God provide funds we needed in the nick of time. I have seen God provide space for us so that we didn’t have to office out of Cheryl’s car. I have seen lives saved by CPO providing women a place to live when they were truly pregnant and homeless. I could go on and on.
Q: What would you say to anyone who may be considering becoming involved with CPO?
A: Serving CPO is a privilege. Sometimes it is like God is filming a movie and He asks me if I want to be in it. It is incredible to watch it unfold before your eyes. My life has been incredibly enriched by serving here. Sometimes it is hard. Sometimes it is very sad. But it is always worth it!