By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

PELHAM—Guests filled the banquet hall of the Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena for the annual Sav-A-Life Shelby banquet on Sept. 23.

“The size of the crowd just plows me away,” Sav-A-Life Shelby Executive Director Kay Sanford said. “I feel so blessed to have you all here tonight.”

Founded in 1984, Sav-A-Life Shelby is a mission-based organization offering assistance to women facing unplanned pregnancies. The group provides a number of free services to women from Shelby and neighboring counties, including pregnancy test, ultrasounds, counseling and classes.

“We are the Red Cross of unplanned pregnancy,” Sanford said. “People come to us, we assess the situation, we stop the bleeding, figuratively, and we calm them down.”

Over the past year, Sav-A-Life Shelby saw 1,105 client visits, provided nearly 600 pregnancy tests and performed nearly 400 ultrasounds at the Pregnancy Resource Center located at 3516 Pelham Parkway, Sanford said.

“When a client comes in, everything starts with a pregnancy test,” Sanford said, noting even those with negative results are offered counseling. “We care, we care about what happens to these women.”

The featured speaker of the night was Sol Pitchon, the son of two holocaust survivors and the founder and CEO of Florida-based New Life Solutions.

Pitchon’s mother, Germaine Pitchon, was placed in the experimental unit at Auschwitz where she was subjected to a surgery performed by Dr. Josef Mengele. The experimental procedure was cut short when American planes flew above the facility. Sol Pitchon discussed the miracle of his mother’s survival and ability to give birth to him.

Sol used his experience to underscore the miracle of life and the importance of the mission behind Sav-A-Life Shelby.

“This ministry, they’re preventing abortion,” Sol Pitchon said. “We have the power to make a difference… They’re seeing miracles every day.”

For more information about Sav-A-Life Shelby, visit Savalifeshelby.org.