For three years, Vicki Colls prayed for a child. Seven years ago, those prayers were answered — thanks to adoption.
    Today, the gratefulness she feels toward the woman who chose adoption and allowed her to become a mother gives her a unique bond with the women she works with everyday.
For the past two years, Colls has worked with Covenant Care Adoption Services as a birth mother caseworker. Based in Macon, Covenant Care is a non-profit, nondenominational, Christian ministry providing adoption placement services and follow-up counseling to women, children and families throughout the state of Georgia, including here in Savannah.
    Covenant Care will hold its8th annual Savannah fundraising banquet Monday, with doors opening at 5:45 p.m. The theme for this year's event is “She Did a Beautiful Thing,” taken from Mark 14:3-6. The keynote speaker for the evening is Ryan Dobson, adopted son of James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization devoted to Christian family values.
    In her role with the organization, Colls works directly with birth mothers, providing counseling and support and generally serving as an advocate for the mother. Based in Savannah, she oversees a 24-county area in southeast Georgia which includes Chatham and Bulloch counties. In her two years with Covenant Care, Colls has worked with 43 birth mothers ranging in age from 15 to 40 years. Of those, 12 have chosen adoption. Colls said she works with mothers whether they decide adoption is the right decision for them or not.
    “With Covenant Care, I can still work with the mothers, even if they decide not to adopt. Our mission is really to serve women,” she said. Since its inception in 1989, Covenant Care has placed approximately 500 children in two-parent Christian homes.
And the need appears to be growing. “This year I've worked with six women, five of whom have given birth,” Colls said. “Two years ago, I was not this busy.”  All five women have chosen to parent their babies.
    Colls said adoption is a third option for women facing a crisis pregnancy situation, but it is one most don't immediately consider, in part because of negative perceptions about birth mothers.
    “If there is one thing I could change it would be the perception many have of birth mothers,” Colls said. “I've never met one young woman who didn't want her baby. Adoption to me is what being a parent is all about. We give up things constantly for our kids. These women are willing to take on the pain for the rest of their lives so their babies can have better lives.”
    Colls said their fundraisers bring in a majority of their annual budget which helps Covenant Care to continue to offer free individual services and pregnancy counseling to women.    Adoption fees for couples are on a sliding scale based on income, because of the generosity of the donors, so no family is forced to forego adoption because of costs.
    For those mothers who do choose adoption, Colls puts together what she calls a background story for the baby. The journal, which is written for the child, contains medical information, details about the birth parents and why they made the choice for adoption.
    “I put in what I would want my son to know,” she said. “And the first thing I make sure he knows is it wasn't because he wasn't loved.”
    The banquet will be held at the Live Oak Community Church on Montgomery Crossroads.  
    There is no cost to attend, but reservations are required. For more information or reservations, please call 1-800-226-5683.