GREENVILLE—The Darke Pregnancy Help Center (PHC) has helped families, women and men on their path to family for about 10 years.
Volunteers at PHC are ready to listen and help with your needs. The center provides free and confidential support and are here for all throughout their journey.
Behind PHC, is PHC Director, and My County Link’s April Impactful Rippler, Jeannette Shuff.
Impactful Ripplers are people that initiate ripples of positive change within their community.
Shuff was nominated due to her work at Darke County PHC, where she helps facilitate classes, guidance, support systems and more to new and existing families.
Shuff, a mother of seven children, gave birth to her first as a teen.
At the time she became a teen mother, she had no idea it would lead her down her current path.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” she said. “Someone spent a lot of time with me, educating me, and pouring into me.”
As a young mom, Shuff was very career driven so she could provide the best lives for her kids.
Shuff was previously a manager at Verizon, and a branch manager at Fifth Third Bank.
“I left my job,” she said. “I absolutely loved my job. I loved what I did. But I was doing my daily devotion, and I said I wanted to open up a 501(c) non-proft, and I wanted to help moms have a voice. As women, it’s sometimes hard to have a voice, or just someone to listen to you talk.”
Although a non-profit, PHC is not government funded, but funds received through donations, fundraisers and revenue from sales.
“That’s how we keep the lights on here, is through our community,” she said.
PHC sells children’s clothes, baby home accessories, and education classes to the public.
The education classes offered vary in topic, from Finding Out You’re Pregnant, to Budgeting.
“We do a little bit of everything, parenting classes, we have a fatherhood class,” Shuff said. “Dads can come in. Some of those things we take for granted, we had to learn it somewhere. That’s what we want to do here, provide that education.”
After a client completes a class, they are allowed $50 worth of merchandise at the PHC store. All clothing items at the store are $1, for students of classes and the public.
“A big myth about us is that we only help teen moms or low-income,” Shuff said. “A lot of it now is 25 to 30 years olds, and just knowing where you go for parenting classes. We are not income-based, if you want to come in and take parenting classes, do it.”
The Darke County Pregnancy Help Center is located at 534 S. Broadway St., Greenville, Ohio 45331, and open to clients from Monday to Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. They are also open to the public Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Arrangements can be made for those who would like to remain confidential.
Call the center at 937-547-1112 for more information, or check out their Facebook Page and website.
Any citizen, of any age, from any local county, is eligible to be nominated for the Impactful Rippler award. Each month a recipient will be chosen by our board then featured with a story, and receive a special gift.
