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A Message From Martha
Friends,
Opportunities to reach underserved, pregnant women with the gift of prenatal vitamins continue to grow. With assistance from CVS Health, The Vitamin Bridge has rapidly expanded the number of first-touch provider organizations and thereby, the number of women served. What began as a Dallas-Fort Worth area initiative has grown to support a number of regions in Texas. From as far north as Paris and as far south as Houston, east to Tyler and west to Cisco, we are helping disadvantaged, pregnant women to a healthier start in pregnancy.
Our partners continue to expand the possibilities for The Vitamin Bridge. In addition to partnering with CVS Health, we are grateful to work with Minuteman Press - Ft. Worth (Morris Baldridge) and The UPS Store Frisco (Rick and Lori Hildebrandt). Minuteman Press - Ft. Worth assists with printed materials which help educate women about healthy habits and good nutrition during pregnancy. These materials are provided with every bottle of prenatal vitamins donated by The Vitamin Bridge. The UPS Store – Frisco, located at 5999 Custer Road, makes efficient shipping possible as we expand to new first-touch providers throughout Texas.
The Vitamin Bridge partners also include the many supporters that provide the financial and volunteer resources necessary to make this work possible. Thank you and best wishes during the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays!
Martha Day
President
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The Lord's Plan
By: Samantha Crouch
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Everyone has a plan for their life, but oftentimes it is just that: a plan. The problem is that plans are fickle, always changing in some way and leading us down a new path that deviates from our plan. For Samantha Parsons, the Lord pulled her from a structural engineering job, her plan, and set her in a new direction. Now, Samantha is the director of operations at Watermark Health, a nonprofit organization that medically assists those in need.
After experiencing an unhealthy work environment as a structural engineer, Samantha suddenly felt in her heart that she wanted to enter the nonprofit world. Samantha said, “I think the Lord’s wired me to have a heart for people in vulnerable situations . . . and be a voice for those that don’t have [one] or their voices get drowned out really easily.”
Samantha became involved with an internship at her church, which empowered her to find ways to help those in need. She began working against human trafficking in Dallas and met her current boss through this ministry. Samantha began to learn more about Watermark Health, their clinic, and how they help improve the lives of people in need. Inspired, Samantha joined Watermark Health in 2017, starting as a clinic director and then moved into her current role as of this summer 2020.
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Watermark Health mainly serves international born people, about 70 percent, and their target population consists of uninsured or underinsured individuals. They serve, on average, ten to twelve thousand patients a year. As a free clinic, they ask that their clients only donate ten dollars if they are able. Additionally, Watermark Health has also started pop up clinics for the homeless population in South Dallas.
Samantha and Watermark Health are also passionate about helping pregnant women in need. “We wind up being the first stop, where a woman doesn’t even realize she needs a PRC yet. A lot of times we’re the first ones to tell a woman she’s pregnant.” Samantha explained that many women come into the clinic complaining of back pain and nausea when, in reality, they are pregnant. “We get to sit with them in that moment in all of the emotions that [news] brings. Then, our goal is to connect them to more long-term follow-up.”
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Another way for Watermark to show women that they are cared for is through prenatal vitamins. “I think the prenatal vitamins are a tangible way of saying, ‘hey, we’re in this with you,’ and helping to provide some initial support.” Samantha clarified that being able to put prenatal vitamins in women’s hands on the first day is especially reassuring for their international clients who may not know what vitamins or pharmacies are, or how to acquire them. “By putting prenatal vitamins in their hand, we’re helping them with that next step.”
To further this notion, Watermark partners with The Vitamin Bridge, as their source of prenatal vitamins. Watermark Health had not been able to maintain a consistent inventory of prenatal vitamins, so when they met with The Vitamin Bridge and learned of their mission, they couldn’t turn it down. “It was a blessing to be able to see a nonprofit that saw the same need that we did, that saw there’s a benefit to getting this in their hands both for the health of them and the baby.”
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FIRST - TOUCH PROVIDER SPOTLIGHT
The Source Austin supports, cares for and equips women by providing high-quality, whole-person health services including the following: pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling, education, STI/STD testing and treatment, and well-woman’s exams.
While The Vitamin Bridge began supporting pregnancy centers and health clinics in the Dallas - Ft. Worth area, opportunities to serve first-touch providers began to emerge elsewhere in Texas. We selected The Source Austin as our first “out of market” partner and appreciate the close relationship that we’ve established with this organization. The organization's staff is great to work with and has been instrumental in helping The Vitamin Bridge implement programming for distributing prenatal vitamins outside of the Dallas - Ft. Worth area.
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The Vitamin Bridge receives donations through Amazon Smile. Register with Amazon Smile so that a portion of your Christmas shopping dollars go to support disadvantaged, expectant moms.
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Before You Go . . .
Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn using the icons at the top of the page!
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Established in 2019 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, The Vitamin Bridge was formed to provide prenatal vitamins and healthy nutrition information to disadvantaged, expectant mothers. Everyone deserves a healthy start to life!
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