ABOVE: Women’s Care Clinic Director Mariah Hanson, along with Paul DeArmond and his mother Marilee DeArmond.
It was thirty years ago that Danville resident Paul DeArmond was about to be born to a very young couple in Georgia. They knew they were not ready to care for a child, and approached a Women’s Care Clinic about adoption. The director of that clinic had been friends at Illinois State University with Marilee DeArmond, and she and her husband Craig were looking to adopt. A call came to Marilee from her friend, saying, “I think I’ve found someone for you.”
AUDIO: The director and I had gone to college together. She told me when she called me that the Lord put my husband and I on her heart that day. We were getting ready to go to China to adopt a little girl. So we felt that God turned our head towards Paul.
As the years went by, Paul became more aware of his story; and wanted to do something special for the Women’s Care Clinic in Danville, since it was the one in Georgia that led him to a life with Craig and Marilee. He began fundraising for the Women’s Care Clinic in 2015, and the mission grew every year. Last year he began approaching area churches on his own. And this year, he had a specific goal, that was passed a long time ago.
AUDIO: I go to churches, and my goal this year was to raise $50,000. As of right now, I have $78,000; and my next goal will be $100,000.
Paul’s mom Marilee says when Paul began speaking on his own last year about his mission, it was a major turning point in his life.
AUDIO: Last year, by the end of the speaking tour for raising funds for the Women’s Care Clinic, he was talking about how his birth mother had had care at a Women’s Care Clinic, and that he wanted to help women like his birth mother. And that was a total surprise when he gave that speech.
For Mariah Hanson, director of the Danville Women’s Care Clinic at 1509 North Bowman for the last three years, Paul’s effort has been an absolute blessing, with even more to come.
AUDIO: It just means so much to us. Because, one, Paul has such an incredible story; because I think people resonate with it, and see just the amazing things that God has done in him. But it’s about helping people; it’s about making this community a better place.
And as Paul DeArmond reminds everybody, you can stop by the Women’s Care Clinic and make your own donation, and maybe even pick up a “Paul’s Team” T-shirt.
AUDIO: So, if somebody would like to donate $1,000 or more; get a Paul’s Team t-shirt.
When he’s not working on his Women’s Care Clinic fundraising, you can find Paul working in Danville at Hawthorne Inn and Liberty Estates.
