Tulare-Kings Right to Life

Tulare-Kings Right to Life

Advancing the Mission: TKRL Welcomes Keynote Speaker Jim Caviezel

Words by Lifestyle Staff | Photos provided by TKRL

This month, Ann Marie Paden, the new Executive Director of Tulare-Kings Right to Life (TKRL), shares her vision to expand impact for the organization, which has been a longstanding part of the community.

Community Impact

Reflecting on TKRL’s history, Ann Marie notes, “We were founded around a kitchen table 39 years ago. We have been active in community outreach with Latinos for Life and Voices for Life, doing presentations and info booths.” They also acquire billboards to educate on life issues, which have been powerful in helping the community. One woman stuck in traffic on her way to get an abortion changed her mind and had her child. They also have cotton trailer messages. Ann Marie adds, “We offer retreats for post-abortion healing, healing after sexual abuse, and healing after miscarriage or infant loss, and we connect people to other mental health resources.”

Vision and Mission

Since becoming Executive Director, Ann Marie has been working to reach more people in the community. "Our vision is to expand the education we offer," she explains. TKRL will continue to educate in public forums and include education on fertility care with a practitioner teaching the Creighton Model System for resolving infertility issues, such as repeated miscarriages, polycystic ovaries, and endometriosis. We will make referrals to medical consultants for further treatment. “We will also add resources for seniors with the help of the Senior Coalition in Visalia. Our endeavors are to provide resources from pre-conception to natural death," she shares.

To achieve this vision, they currently have public and private school curricula, and displays for health fairs, marketplaces, and public events. They also host a symposium offering mental health resources for those who have had abortions, and they plan to organize similar symposiums to encourage adoption and support for the aged and infirm in our communities.

Teen and Adult Outreach

Engaging middle school to high school students is another key focus for TKRL. “We plan to implement virtual reality headsets to teach the science of fetal development in the womb,” Ann Marie shares. “Students will be able to experience ‘being in the womb’ alongside a baby, and watch all 40 weeks in utero (conception to embryo to fetus).” For adults, TKRL plans to engineer a “Womb Room” mobile unit, so people can virtually step into the womb of a pregnant mother to see and hear what it's like to be a baby in utero.

Supporting the Mission

Realizing such an ambitious project comes with significant costs, but TKRL has a plan. For their next fundraiser on September 5th, actor Jim Caviezel will be the featured speaker. Caviezel has starred in films such as “The Passion of the Christ,” “Sound of Freedom,” and “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

But this year’s TKRL fundraising event will be different. Ann Marie clarifies, “Our annual fundraiser will not be a banquet this year. The past two years, we sold out at 1200 attendees.. Our new venue seats 2,600, accommodating more people to hear Mr. Caviezel’s address. It will be powerful." Regarding Mr. Caviezel’s address, Ann Marie shares a teaser: “Mr. Caviezel’s agent relayed that he will be speaking about freedom. Attend to hear more!”

Event Highlights and Key Details

Ann Marie recalls the very first annual banquet, “It was 1994. This will be our 30th big fundraiser, though not a banquet this time.” But attendees can still look forward to the regular banquet programming: Volunteer of the Year, a personal abortion testimony, a state-of-the-state presentation by Jonathan Keller from the California Family Council, and a presentation on local trafficking issues from Sheriff Mike Boudreaux. “Our guest speaker will complete the evening with an unforgettable address.” Likely to be a sold-out event, attendees all over are already purchasing tickets to see Mr. Caviezel. “A well-known speaker like Caviezel will likely help introduce TKRL to a larger audience,” says Ann Marie.

With Ann Marie Paden at the helm, Tulare-Kings Right to Life is set to embark on an exciting new chapter, expanding its reach and impact within the community.

Advancing the Mission with Jim Caviezel

September 5, 2024

New venue: Visalia First Assembly tkrl.org | @tulare.kings.right.to.life