Sirens, I hope you will support me — better yet, support women in our community and across the country — by joining my team or giving a donation to my team for the National Abortion Funds’ Blogger Bowl-a-Thon!

The dual goals of the National Abortion Access Bowl-a-thon are to raise awareness of economic barriers to abortion care and to strike down these barriers by raising money to pay for abortion care and to improve state and federal policies that interfere with access to abortion for the most disadvantaged women.

Abortion Funds are local, grassroots groups that provide direct financial assistance to women who need money to pay for their abortions. Many abortion Funds also help pay for emergency contraception and offer additional information and support. Some abortion Funds provide related services, including transportation to a clinic, housing for women who must travel far from home to reach a clinic, child care during the procedure, options counseling, and additional funding for ultrasound, pregnancy testing, or follow-up care.

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Today, the Network includes over 100 abortion Funds in more than 40 states, Canada, Mexico City, and the UK. Member abortion Funds are independent, non-profit, grassroots organizations, many of which are run solely by volunteers.  Each year, member Funds raise and disperse over $3 million to help more than 20,000 women and girls who would not otherwise be able to obtain abortions.

Last week the organization contacted The Sin City Siren about participating in this nation-wide fundraising event. How could I say no? Reproductive rights, access to reproductive health care and access to safe, affordable abortions has never been more in jeopardy.

It may be easy for those of us living in the Las Vegas metro area — where we have amazing services provided by organizations like Planned Parenthood of Southern Nevada — to forget that there are many communities all over our very own state that have little to no access to reproductive health care. How far does a teenage girl have to travel from a place like Elko to get access? What are the barriers to her access? Transportation. Parental permission (or parental abuse, depending on her situation). Stigma in her community. Time off school. Money. … The list goes on.

I joined this national campaign because it’s time for me to put my money where my mouth is and do more to help women. And you realize, helping women helps families and therefore helps our entire community, right?

Please join my team or make a donation! You can also donate to my personal page! Every dollar helps!