MARYSVILLE – Dayna Young of Marysville has been a single mom for about a year. She lives with her parents and works at a casino.
She has a hard time making ends meet, with a 5-year-old daughter and 1 1/2-year-old son. So she tries to get whatever help she can.
“I’d pretty much gone through my resources,” she said, before going to Pregnancy Aid about a year ago. “I needed clothes and diapers for my children.”
Young said Pregnancy Aid provided that and more. They steer clients in the direction of help for Public Utility District bills, food stamps, maternity clothes and so much more.
Pregnancy Aid exists to help mothers and their babies, through their pregnancy and afterward.
Donations provide much of the funding. One of its big money-makers is its annual auction and dinner. That will take place Saturday, Nov. 1, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the St. Mary’s Catholic Parish Hall in Marysville, 4200 88th St.
Young started going to Pregnancy Aid around Christmas time last year. She was happy to find out she could pick out one toy per child. She gets to shop every two months at their store in Everett for items such as car seats, nursing pads, baby food, baby carriers, playpens, socks, hats and more.
Young said, “I do not have any funds right now,” so she is glad “other families are able to give back.”
Young said she is so glad she found Pregnancy Aid.
“I don’t have enough good things to say about the organization,” she said.
As for the auction, the group hopes to make up to $30,000 at the event. Cost is $35 for an Italian entree with salad and bread. A dessert dash where each table makes a bid then runs for their favorite dish will raise more funds.
Auctions will be of the silent and live varieties.
Some of the top items to bid on include: Weekend at a bed and breakfast in Friday Harbor; weekend at a cabin in Sequim; a diamond necklace; Seattle Storm basketball tickets; and a Mariners basket valued $500.
About 150 people are expected for the third year of the event.
The organization’s website says the majority of clients are low-income and often in their teens, but in recent years the clientele has included more women in their 30s and 40s, and even older grandmothers who are caring for their grandchildren. In 1970, Washington state became the first state to legalize abortion. Less than a year later, Pregnancy Aid was founded because many expectant mothers lacked the personal support and material assistance necessary to encourage them to see their pregnancies to term.
