“Our Executive Director, Celey Cumbo, worked as a volunteer with Life Line Pregnancy Center in Wilmington, for over 10 years,” said Brandi Elkin, head of donor development and marketing. “She started out teaching classes at the center and eventually became more involved with client care for men and women facing pregnancy decisions.”

A native of Clinton, Cumbo felt called to return and set up a pregnancy center in her home community, and it began as a partnership with the center in Wilmington in August 2019.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this grant, it was truly an answer to prayers. We were facing challenges – running out of larger size diapers on a regular basis; we do advertise our needs through social media, but that is still no guarantee.”

“We began in a mobile RV unit, and became independent in June 2020,” said Elkin. “Diaper assistance has been part of our program since day one.”

Now, on average, they serve between 65 and 70 families per month through their emergency needs program, and that’s a lot of diapers and wipes. They recently applied for and received an Operation Round Up grant for their emergency needs program.

“Up until we received the generous grant from South River EMC, our emergency needs (diaper) program, solely relied on donations from community members and local churches,” said Elkin. “We are very blessed to have loyal and faithful donators that deliver diapers and wipes to our center regularly.”

But, as you can imagine, even with generous donations the needs for such a program might not always be met, so Life Line of Sampson County decided to apply for the grant to bridge the gap between donations and the increased demand they were seeing.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this grant, it was truly an answer to prayers,” she said. “We were facing challenges – running out of larger size diapers on a regular basis; we do advertise our needs through social media, but that is still no guarantee.”

Elkin continued to explain that a lack of resources in rural areas like theirs make for a tremendous need for supplies like this, particularly as word has spread about the programs offered at Life Line of Sampson County.

“Life Line Sampson offers more than material assistance, our mission is to offer life, love and support to men and women facing pregnancy decisions,” said Elkin. “We offer pregnancy testing, limited ultrasounds, options education, an education program for parents, support groups, and community assistance referrals – all free of charge. Our clients also utilize our emergency needs program, which includes the diapers and wipes.”

The center, located at 109 W Main St Suite A, Clinton. is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and donations can be dropped off at any time during those hours.

They also accept donations of wipes, gently used baby clothes and baby toiletries.

“Word of mouth is our most effective method of sharing information,” said Elkin. “Yes, our clients, who receive services, also participate in the emergency needs program, but being a client is not a requirement to participate in the program. It is open to anyone in the community in need of diapers and wipes.”

Interested in donating, but not in the area? They have shopping lists on Amazon and at Walmart and you can have the items shipped directly to the center.

Elkin expressed her appreciation to members participating in Operation Round Up saying, “Thank you for your incredible generosity! A few cents from each of you adds up and has a tremendous impact for organizations like Life Line of Sampson.

“For us specifically, your pennies help us provide life, love and support to families in our community by providing diapers to families in need – families that are extremely grateful for this assistance. Your generosity is making a difference!”

Wish to learn more about services at Life Line Sampson? Visit lifelinesampson.com or call 910.828.2785.