We have spent the last year looking inward at our practices and outward at our patients trying to decide how we can better reach those in our city that are in vulnerable situations facing unplanned pregnancies and seriously contemplating abortion. This research and focused effort have produced some staggering data as we get a glimpse into the questions and curiosities surrounding abortion. What do I mean by that? Our research has shown that there are 15,540 Google searches for abortion every single month in Tennessee. Eight percent of those searches occur right here in Knoxville. This means that we are seeing over 1,200 abortion searches every month in the city we call home. This number forced us to dive deeper into the data where we found that late-term abortion searches are also increasing here in Tennessee and specifically, Knoxville.

I share these numbers with you because I want you to join me in praying for those that find themselves in desperate situations where they populate their Google searches with abortion oriented questions. This news didn’t come as a surprise to us, but it did encourage us to make a concerted effort to meet our patients where they are. This is why we have increased our marketing efforts substantially so that HOPE appears in these Google searches, on social media platforms, and where our patients are always looking…their phones. This strategy has already proven successful as we have seen a 290% increase in patients who are vulnerable for choosing abortion within the past year.

This data is the impetus for today’s letter. HOPE has been a fixture in this city for going on twenty-five years. We have assisted with education in our schools, spoken at churches, and have been a consistent presence on UT’s campus, but a great deal has changed during these two decades as social media is a constant, phones are a necessity, and online interaction via advertisements has become the number one avenue for connecting and reaching our patients. This is where your partnership comes in. You have helped us provide pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, classes, and baby showers. Your consistent engagement has been instrumental in the success of HOPE and our ability to serve the most vulnerable in our city. You have been willing to adjust and adapt with us over the years and I humbly ask for you to come alongside us again as we adjust and adapt HOPE’s marketing to reach more women in need of that pregnancy test, ultrasound, STD test, well-woman exam, class, or baby shower.

HOPE has been and continues to be a leader in pregnancy center work. You have helped us set the bar for expert medical care provided in a loving, gentle, and Biblical environment. This is why we trust and believe that a woman entering our building for any of our services will see her chances of carrying a baby to term exponentially increase. I know this because I know the quality of care our staff provides and desires to offer to the thousands of women that we serve. Will you help us, once again, adapt and continue our marketing efforts as we seek to reach those in need? Your partnership will help us rise to the top of these online searches and ultimately keep women out of an abortion clinic.

I am grateful to serve with you and am excited to see what God has in store for HOPE in the coming months and years as we continue our work of serving our city with expert medical care with a Gospel minded mission.

published by Andrew Wood, Executive Director