Local

Project Manger gets a new home

Dave Borowski | Catholic Herald

Volunteers for Project Manger (above) move cribs out of storage at A Woman’s Choice, a Falls Church pro-life pregnancy center, into waiting cars in this 2014 photo.

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Dolores Wisecarver, director of A Woman’s Choice, welcomes volunteers with a crib at the apartment of a waiting mother.

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Since 2008, Denny d’Alelio, a member of the Holy Spirit
Knights of Columbus council in Annandale, has managed a crib
distribution effort called Project Manger.

The project began when Dolores Wisecarver, director of A
Woman’s Choice, a Falls Church pro-life crisis pregnancy
center, was trying to help a woman who told her she was going
to have an abortion because she did not have a crib for the
baby. Wisecarver placed ads in parish bulletins around the
diocese asking for donations.

D’Alelio saw the ad in the Holy Spirit bulletin, called
Wisecarver and said he’d like the Knights’ council to help
out.

In its first year of operation, the council was able to buy
and deliver about 25 cribs and mattresses. It’s grown every
year since, with more than 1,500 cribs delivered by the end
of 2015. Three other crisis pregnancy centers have joined the
project: Hope of Northern Virginia in Falls Church, Assist
Pregnancy Center in Annandale and AAA Women for Choice in
Manassas.

Recently, D’Alelio’s health forced him to relinquish control
of the project, so he was concerned about its future.

“He wanted to make sure the project continued,” said
Wisecarver. “He didn’t want this to fall through the cracks.”

He and Wisecarver talked, and she agreed to take over the
management of Project Manger, and they created a board of
directors to manage the project.

D’Alelio said that the board was selected carefully to
include people who have been involved with Project Manger
during the last five years.

D’Alelio is the acting-president of the board, so is still
involved.

He said the project is stable now, with about 200 cribs
provided each year.

The transition was smooth, said Wisecarver. A Women’s Choice
is a 501c3 charity, so donations are still tax-deductible and
cover the cost of purchasing cribs and mattresses.

Wisecarver said that major fundraising drives will be
scheduled and run by diocesan parishes and that their primary
crib distribution event will continue to be the Saturday
before Fathers’ Day.

To donate

Go to awomanschoicecenter.com/page/7-donate

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