Gala For Life
Perth
A Fun & Glamourous Evening to Fundraise for Pregnancy Help Australia
When: 23rd February 2023
Time: 6:00pm-10:00pm
Where: Matilda Bay Restaurant 3 Hackett Drive Crawley
Keynote Speakers
Bridget is the Founder of the Gala for Life in Australia, a series of popular fundraising Gala dinners aimed at increasing awareness of the important outreach work that life-affirming pregnancy help centres provide to support women’s needs. Through her travels, and her work, over the last 20 years, she has developed strong relationships in communities around Australia and the world. A pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico in 2019 cemented her calling to weave a tapestry of love in Australia through the Gala for Life events. At these public fundraiser events, she encourages people to listen to the stories of vulnerable women who have been helped by pregnancy help centres to birth their baby, and their new identity as a mother, with confidence and courage.
Archbishop Emeritus Hickey is a much loved and well-respected leader in Western Australia for his charisms of community building, love for the poor and marginalised, and defence of the faith and its teachings. The effect of his responding to the work of the Holy Spirit in his priestly and apostolic spiritual ministries, during his 60+ years as a Catholic priest, including seven years as Bishop of Geraldton and 21 years as Archbishop of Perth, is enormous.
Archbishop Hickey founded numerous organisations to support the marginalised, including YouthCare, Pregnancy Assistance, DayDawn, Shopfront and eventually Lifelink. He was also recently knighted with the Star of Italy, for his work supporting the Italian migrant community. While he may be retired from the office of Archbishop of Perth, this highly creative, contemplative and active soul, is ever ready to be of service to others both spiritually and humanly.
Lara is the President of Pregnancy Help Australia, a charity that inspires and equips communities to create spaces where women can receive hope-filled support throughout pregnancy and beyond. Serving in the pregnancy help field for ten years, she has countless stories of how churches and pregnancy centres come together to be a simple light of love in the community, nourishing life and flourishing families. One of her favourite quotes by Mother Teresa is, "do small things with great love", and this fuels her desire to motivate the growth of pregnancy help centres (lovingly nicknamed 'Hubs of Love') across the nation.
Based in Columbus, Ohio, Jor-El Godsey serves as President of Heartbeat International, where he leads America forward in Heartbeat’s core mission to be the leadership supply line for the growing pregnancy help movement worldwide by providing accurate information, training resources, leadership development conferences, programs, and daily support. He leads the missionary work of helping affiliates start, grow, and expand their services to women and couples at risk for abortion. He is looking forward to coming to Australia to add value and inspire hope in the hearts of Australians that if Roe vs Wade can be overturned in America, the same can happen here too.
About Gala For Life
Gala for Life is a private initiative brought to you by a small group of dedicated Australians who are passionate about protecting all mothers and unborn babies.
Our goal is to support women in crisis, to get the support they need to eliminate the crisis, not the pregnancy. We also want to support those women who need healing after infant loss.
Gala for Life is a local fundraising event, which was founded in 2015 by Bridget Spinks, to raise money to support women in crisis pregnancies with practical and material aid.
Our event is under the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn. Our prayer is “That all mothers and unborn babies are protected and kept safe”.
PREGNANCY HELP AUSTRALIA (PHA) IS OUR 2023 CHARITY OF CHOICE
Together, let’s make a little hub of love bloom in her neighbourhood.
Funds raised from the 2023 event will go towards Pregnancy Help Australia (PHA), which has a 40-year history of supporting women in their unexpected pregnancy journey by providing a nationwide network of life-affirming pregnancy help centres (#hubsoflove).
Around 10,000 women and families receive vital pregnancy support annually through the Pregnancy Help Australia network.
However, the sad reality is that many pregnant women across Australia can’t find the PHA National Helpline and so don’t have access to a local pregnancy centre.
Without access to the PHA network, these women often become part of the 70% statistic who choose abortion due to lack of support.
Together we can change this. Together we can give our isolated sisters access to pregnancy support and the option to carry their baby to term by advertising the PHA National Helpline and helping to plant new start-up centres (#hubsoflove) where services are currently unavailable.
Once a new Hub of Love launches, PHA statistics show that an additional 500 women receive help per year on average. That’s 1000 hearts that could be in your local neighbourhood!
Your funds will go towards the following:
Establishing, encouraging and equipping pregnancy help centres (#hubsoflove) across Australia through the provision of practical start-up tools, coaching and up-to-date training resources and;
Operating and advertising the PHA National Helpline and Directory Service 1300 139 313, 7 days, 8 AM-10 PM, so that;
Vulnerable pregnant women can find free, confidential support and connection to a local allied pregnancy help centre.
Anyone struggling after an abortion can find hope and healing.
PHA-affiliated pregnancy help centres are devoted to providing services that reflect real LOVE in action. LOVE that values every LIFE.
They agree to follow the PHA Commitment of Care and Competence to uphold their life-affirming standard.
Together we can ensure that women have access to ‘pregnancy help’ and the ‘option’ to flourish in Motherhood!
ABOUT OUR PATRONESS of Gala for Life
Our Gala is under the care of Our Lady of Guadalupe who appeared to a Mexican nearly 500 years ago, as the Mother of God in her pregnancy. We believe that it is her who is asking for this event.
Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531 and left a miraculous image on his cloak. The symbolism in the image indicates her powerfulness as Queen of Heaven as she is “clothed with the sun, has the moon at her feet and upon her head is a crown of 12 stars”. She spoke to Juan Diego with the tenderness only a mother knows.
May all those women in crisis, and each of us, hear the echo of her words in our heart, as she says to Juan Diego: “Hear me and understand well, my little son, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything.”
Major Sponsors
