Sometimes life doesn't go according to plan. A job lost while starting a family or maybe a surprise pregnancy. But in Evergreen there is a place that provides a little assistance when there's a bump in your belly that is going to require everything you've got - financially and emotionally - and you need a little help to get through.

The Mountain Area Pregnancy Center (MAPC) provides a store - Mother's Closet - for women struggling financially while pregnant. It's right up the road from the Evergreen library. They accept gently used maternity and kids clothes up to size 6, diapers, wipes, baby food, formula, toys, just about anything required to raise a child.

The store is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am - 5pm and receives five to eight donations a week (no appointment necessary) and has approximately 75 visits a month from mothers and mothers-to-be in need. The items are not priced and free to those experiencing hardship. But the store is also open to buyers in a position to pay who are asked to make a donation to the organization.

MAPC was founded in Evergreen in 1987. Founders Bruce Nicholey, Stephen Pleham, Judy Solomon, Ron Lewis, and Mary Lou Nissen, saw a need for local women to have free and confidential assistance with their crisis pregnancy.

Confidential MAPC services include: pregnancy testing, childbirth classes, a library of pre-natal/childcare information , car seat instruction, life skills coaching and many other types of assistance depending on the women's and families' requirements.

The group states that they provide counseling on all options for pregnant women; however it should be noted that they will not provide or refer for abortion services.

According to Executive Director Jill Sneed, who began her work with MAPC in September 2007, "We educate and will continue with the women and/or families regardless of the decision they make for as long they need."

MAPC also provides post-abortion counseling; however, while they are not affiliated with a particular religion or church, according to their mission statement, counseling is based on "Christ's love and forgiveness."

The organization has two paid staff and is otherwise manned with volunteers for the store, fundraising, administration, training and peer counseling.

MAPC has posters at the high schools, advertises in local papers, and receives referrals from ECHO, local doctors, churches, and word of mouth.

There are no qualifications for the women experiencing a crisis pregnancy to meet and they fill in a simple registration form. Sneed, who has a BA in Sociology and has always worked in the mental health arena, says the women they work with vary from single moms to families with a baby on the way whose breadwinner has lost their job to teen pregnancy and more.

Fundraisers and donations support MAPC. The Gift of Hope, a silent auction and dinner to benefit MAPC and held at the Evergreen Lake House is scheduled for April 4, 2008. It is $80 per couple or $350 to sponsor a table.

Money is also raised between Mother's and Father's days with the Baby Bottle Drive. Area businesses display baby bottles for accepting spare change and donations.

The Walk for Life, 1.3 miles around Evergreen Lake, is scheduled in early summer and attracts more than 50 walkers who raise pledges for the cause.

And, of course, the Mother's Closet provides maternity, baby and children's items for mothers and families with a baby on the way battling to get back on their feet.

For more information go to www.mapc.us or contact:

Executive Director Jill Sneed
Mountain Area Pregnancy Center
28677 Buffalo Park Rd Suite 104
Evergreen, CO 80439
303-674-5881
Info@mapc.us