One afternoon, as Michelle Schultz was driving around Auburn running errands, the idea came to her that she should open a home to help pregnant college women discover they have the option to choose life.
Baby Steps, the nonprofit organization established by Schultz, will be a home for pregnant Auburn University women to live in so they may continue to work on their degree while also being around women their age going through pregnancy.
“Baby Steps' mission is to develop and staff a home and support system for students who become pregnant and feel trapped in circumstances, due to family pressure and/or academic or athletic scholarships that push them to feel they have to have an abortion,” Schultz said. "These women are in the terrible position of thinking they must choose between having their baby and getting their education."
According to the Baby Steps website, a woman can be a part of Baby Steps at any point during her pregnancy and may stay until the baby is 1 year old.
“We want to offer an alternative,” Schultz said. “A safe, loving home exclusively for pregnant Auburn University college students, convenient to campus, so that these courageous women can have their babies and their education."
Kait Willing met Schultz while working at Women's Hope Medical Clinic in Auburn.
Willing had been in an unplanned parenting situation herself, and when she heard Schultz's idea she said she thought it was necessary.
"I was in an unplanned pregnancy situation myself so I got to see firsthand how much there is a lack of resources for girls who find themselves wanting to parent and stay in college," Willing said. "The University does not really have those resources. Having worked at Women’s Hope Medical Clinic, I saw college women all the time. Baby Steps bridges the gap that we have in Auburn by helping girls continue their education and not having to make a decision to choose between their education and their baby's life."
Although Baby Steps is still in progress, Schultz said she feels confident that the organization is coming right along.
“We received our nonprofit status last fall and have currently made ‘baby steps’ toward our goal of $350,000, having raised $42,000,” Schultz said. “The next step is to pursue grants. We continue to look for housing or property, a long process that will happen in God’s perfect timing.”
The inspiration for Baby Steps came when Schultz and her husband began sharing their story to high school seniors and college students through ministry at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Auburn.
“My husband and I went to school at Auburn, and when I was in school, we got pregnant,” Schultz said. “It was 29 years ago. Although things are very different now, I also felt really trapped. I was close to graduating, my parents were not in a good place in their relationship. I was in a really dark place, and I chose to take my baby's life.”
When Schultz began working in the youth ministry at St. Michael's, she and her husband felt called to do something more.
“We shared our story with the ministry and talked about how God has helped us heal and work through those dark times," Schultz said. "Although clearly forgiven, the scar never goes away.”
Schultz has been working with the youth ministry for 13 years.
“By working with the college students at the church, my husband and I got to share our story,” Schultz said. “Throughout the years of sharing our story, I really felt called to do something else. I was riding through town one day when I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, there are college women right here on this campus who are getting pregnant and who are feeling trapped and who feel like they don’t have an opportunity to make a choice to keep their baby, so I decided to do something about it.”
For more information or to donate, visit the Baby Steps website at support.baby-steps.org.
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