Guiding Star at the Shores, a new health center for women in Galloway Township, will hold a ribbon-cutting tomorrow, Aug. 1, 11 a.m.
Located on Jimmie Leeds Road, the facility, next to an abortion clinic, has been open since early May and offers support, resources and referrals for women on such issues as family planning, pregnancy and childbirth.
The new organization in South Jersey “is great news for all women and pregnant women in particular,” says Matthew Davis, director of Life and Justice Ministries for the Diocese of Camden.
“I am grateful to the many Catholics who have worked hard and given generously to help bring this new initiative to life,” he said.
On hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony will be Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood administrator who quit her job to join the pro-life movement. The recent movie “Unplanned” details her story.
The building is “a light to the community,” says Felonee Joo, Board Director and one of the founders of the Guiding Star at the Shores.
It is the center’s focus on pregnancy and childbirth, and life, which has spurred Joo’s dedication.
Like many of the young women visiting Guiding Star at the Shores, or the next-door abortion facility, she is familiar with the challenges and uncertainty associated with carrying a child to term at that age.
“I was a teen mom (at 16). I can relate,” she says.
If they decide to have the baby, these women can lose their support system, and even be ostracized by their families, she said.
“Sometimes, we’re the only family for them,” Joo continues.
Joo’s passion kicked into overdrive four years ago.
During her sixth pregnancy, she recalled, her doctor “told me my (nine-week-old) daughter wouldn’t live; then, at 20 weeks, he told me if I went to term, I’d be on dialysis the rest of my life,” due to underlying kidney issues.
Refusing to end her daughter’s life, and determined to go through with the birth, Joo had a healthy girl, Zophia. Today, mother and child remain happily healthy.
“This experience pushed my interest and dedication” to the pro-life cause, she says.
“We walk with the women” who visit Guiding Star, she continues. “We give them an attentive ear, drive them to doctor’s appointments. These women need help, support and people to walk alongside them every step of the way. If I’m not going to do it, who is?”
In the past three months, she says, nine women have foregone abortions to give birth, and baby showers have been held, compliant with mask and social-distance regulations.
Joo is a Baptist, but she credits the volunteer help and outreach of local Catholics in the area.
The organization is currently leasing 1,000 square feet of space in an existing building.
Open Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, Guiding Star at the Shores is also looking for donations of baby diapers and clothing, and canned formula.
“We see God’s work here,” Joo says. “Whatever we can do, to let women know they are supported.”
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