By Pat Wagner
Sometimes students wonder if the things they learn in class will have any application in real life.
Joanne Buczkowski sought out the classes she's enrolled in, Owning and Operating a Small Business and Oral Communication Skills, to fill a need, and she finds them doubly useful.
Not only does she find the classes helpful in a business, Tender, Loving Care Doula Services, which she and two other women have established, but also valuable in the operation of AALC/Stock Support, an organization she helped establish 13 years ago and which she continues to direct.
Both of these organizations provide support to women during pregnancy, a field that she loves, but about which she said, "I never thought I would be doing in a million years."
After experiencing some life-changing personal events, including watching the video "Eclipse of Reason," which exposes the reality of abortion, Buczkowski thought pregnant women deserved something better.
In 1989, after working for a time with an existing pregnancy assistance center in Princeton, she joined with a few like-minded friends and began to offer similar assistance to women in the LaSalle-Peru area.
At first, they worked from a bedroom and the basement of Buczkowski's home. Later they were able to move to a rented location, but the site didn't work for long, and they were forced to move their stock of materials back to her porch. Again, they found a rented location, but again it lasted only about a year.
Despite family problems, Buczkowski continued to pray and look for a permanent location.
"When you help someone else it lets you look at your own situation different," she said.
And, she said, there were plenty of women needing help. They came from all the surrounding counties and from as far away as Chicago.
About two and a half years ago, their prayers were answered with a donor provided a down payment for a building and the owner agreed to sell on contract when financial institutions refused a loan.
Now that Abortion Alternatives of LaSalle County/Stork Support has a permanent location at 828 First Street in LaSalle, Buczkowski has begun classes at IVCC to learn what is required to manage the many details involved with owning it. She is working towards an associate degree in marketing.
Last year alone, AALC/Stork Support provided assistance to over 700 women and their families, continuing to rely on private donations. Explaining that she doesn't receive any funds from the federal or state government or through the United Way, she said, "We pray a lot, …and God is going to supply the rest."
Never one to be content with one project, Buczkowski's efforts also expanded in recent years to include what she hopes will provide her with a source of income while allowing her to continue the work she loves -- assisting pregnant women.
To this end, she sought training as a doula, a trained person who "stays with a laboring mom and gives continuous emotional support and provides physical comfort measure for pain control."
So besides being a CNA, training she received at IVCC, she also received a certification as a Birth Doula through Doula's of North America in 1999.
Between both of her "jobs," Buczkowski has been involved in about 20 births, each of which involves whatever that woman needs.
When she is hired as a doula, she will accompany the woman to two or three doctor visits to become better acquainted, and, if the woman requests, she will also attend Lamaze classes with her.
Always looking to expand her efforts, Buczkowski is currently working towards an additional certification as a Post-Partum Doula. This, she said, will allow her "to help women before, during and after the birth of their babies."