Laurie Huff is a client advocate at the 22nd St. location of
The Pregnancy and Parenting Center. When she came to our organization about five years ago, she was not so much looking to volunteer but was seeking a place where God could use her. Her previous volunteering had centered around opportunities at her children’s school and her church, but now she felt called to mentor young women. She was drawn to TPPC’s mission to not only care for women and children in practical ways, but to also help them spiritually.
She has learned from talking with clients that often it is their grandparents that took them to church as a child or had an influence on their spiritual life. She shared, “As a grandmother myself, this encourages me. I share this with women my age so they can be encouraged to know how much we can influence our grandchildren.”
In one of her favorite memories at TPPC she was praying with a mom who felt alone and isolated when God recalled the Bible story of Hagar. God told Hagar that He saw her when she felt very alone. She shared with the client that, like Hagar, she is seen by God. That has continued to be a special message to Laurie, reminding her that God sees each one of the women who come through our doors and He loves them.
Laurie was a reporter for The Massillon Independent until she had her second child and decided to become a stay-at-home mom. Her son is now 37 and her daughter is 35. They have blessed Laurie and her husband with 6 grandsons.
Laurie and Herb have been married 43 years and dated for seven years before that! Several years ago, they, along with their dog, took a 2 1/2-month road trip to Alaska. They have also done overnight dog sledding trips in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, driving their own team of dogs.
She enjoys vegetable and flower gardening, sewing, reading, hiking and playing with the grandsons. She and Herb are caretakers for her family’s farm, so in the summer she spends a lot of time on a zero-turn mower.
Tesa K. Strasser
Advocate
Eva Women’s Clinic