Beginnings celebrates 25 years
of serving women and children Having been involved with Beginnings for 20 of its 25 years, counsellor Pat Allen has a unique perspective on the changing face of adoption in Canada. “At one time,” she remembers, “counsellors were discouraged from showing a birth mom photos of a prospective family waiting to adopt." Today, waiting families often provide complete photo journals, detailed profiles and home studies. Open adoption, where the birth parents and their extended families remain in contact with the adoptive family, is perhaps the biggest change Pat has seen in the last quarter of a century. What hasn’t changed, however, is Beginnings’ focus on the well-being of the mother and the child.  Pat Allen According to Beginnings’ founder and board chair, Reverend Arie van Eek, it all began in 1979 when four Christian professionals desired to reach out to women who faced unplanned pregnancies. Support was garnered from churches and deaconates and a grant was secured from Operation Manna, a funding agency of the Christian Reformed Church, to provide start-up support for Beginnings Counselling and Adoption Services of Ontario. They based their mission on the conviction that every human being is a gift from God. While Beginnings’ roots are in Hamilton, the agency’s reach extends to other areas of the province. Satellite care centres were established in Guelph, Cobourg and Woodstock in the early 1990s where women, many of them teens, received support and information about their pregnancy. Free and confidential counseling is provided regardless of background, race or religion. Beginnings Hamilton offers services for those who choose the life-affirming option of adoption. More than 230 families have been created in this way since Beginnings opened its doors. According to Pat Allen, this decision involves a tremendous amount of courage from the birth parent and the adoptive family. “Imagine entrusting your most precious gift, the life of your baby, to someone else. Then imagine, an adoptive family completely exposing their faults, dreams and anxieties just for the chance to parent that child.” Events are being planned to celebrate Beginnings’ 25 years of serving. A gala evening will take place on March 5 at Carmen’s Banquet Centre on Stonechurch Rd. E., Hamilton. For families, an all-inclusive day is being organized on Saturday, June 26 at the African Lion Safari near Cambridge. These celebrations will resemble family reunions – bringing together people whose lives have been touched by Beginnings – and of course, like everything Beginnings does, it will be centred around the celebration of life – that of mothers, fathers and children. For more information on Beginnings, its ministry, or the 25th anniversary events, please call their office at (905) 528-6665 or visit their website www.beginnings.ca. ■
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