Published: October 05, 2008 09:28 pm            

Colburn receives President’s Award

From Staff Reports



Former Corsicana resident Sheila Colburn, now of Clinton, Miss. received a national honor given by President George Bush. Colburn was one of 150 people from across the United States to receive the President’s Volunteer Freedom Award. Colburn is the daughter of Mr. Bennie Colburn of Corsicana. Her father works at Stewart Motor Company.

The award honors exemplary volunteers from the country’s 56 pregnancy resource centers. Colburn is a volunteer at the client support services location for the Center for Pregnancies in Pearl, Miss., where she has worked at least two days per week for the past three years.

Colburn says she became interested in the center through the encouragement of her Sunday school teacher.

“I fell in love with the program,” said Colburn. “I think I’m just a frustrated grandmother. I want to mother the girls and love on the babies.” Colburn says her office serves as many as 13 clients a day. The facility offers pregnancy testing, counseling, parenting classes, pre-natal classes, and new baby classes. Colburn emphasizes that the center is a Christian organization which does not make abortion referrals. Instead, she says the program offers alternatives to abortion.

“Most importantly, we try to teach them sexual integrity and the need for having (higher) self-esteem,” she said. “We counsel them about how to stop negative behavior so that they can have a better life.”

Colburn logs about 800 hours a year as a volunteer. She volunteers while working as an adjunct professor of psychology at Hinds Community College in Jackson, Miss. and while completing her Ph.D. degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Amridge University in Montgomery, Ala. She appreciates the flexibility that Amridge’s distance education program has given her in pursuing her advanced degree.

Colburn says she was surprised to learn that she would receive a national volunteerism award. She was one of two volunteers nominated by the pregnancy center’s director. She said her trip to Washington was very exciting although she was disappointed that the President was not there to present the awards himself.

“Everyone was so nice,” she said. “I did find out something I did not know about pregnancy center volunteers: 29 out of 30 people (who work) in a center are volunteers. These centers run on volunteers and donations.”

Colburn says she plans to continue her work with the pregnancy center. Her next goal is to help to start a life-coaching class for the facility’s clients.

        

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