Tehachapian's define community

Community is not the city, the location or the government – it's the people. Webster's dictionary defines community as "an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location." Community is a body, society or group of individuals.

On Sept. 9, a community of 165 people from all walks of life gathered together at An Evening for Life to show their support for the Family Life Pregnancy Center and the growing services provided to the Tehachapi and East Kern areas. Together, over $37,000 was raised, validating the need for such services and the desire to lovingly serve individuals in need.

In January, the Family Life Pregnancy Center purchased its own building. Whether purchasing a home, a building or an empty lot with plans to build, the process is demanding, time-consuming and finances get tested. For a nonprofit organization, the latter can create tense moments and times of uncertainty. However, this gracious community rallied around the center, modifying the building, fulfilling city requirements, as well as, moving the establishment to the new location.

Newcomers have found our doors and clients continue to visit simply because our community believes in developing relationships, building a sense of trust and care, belonging and creating a safe place for all. That's our community. Today, the center averages serving two to six clients a day. We pray for more.

This year's Evening for Life hosted the largest number of guests in its history. The evening began with tastings of California and International wines, a variety of champagne – including Triassic Vineyard's Sparkling Almond Champagne, wines from the Boisset Collection, home-brewed beer from local brewers Robert and Suzanne Guerena and a selection of beers from Westlane Brewery. Delicious appetizers were also served, including sausage stuffed mushrooms, gourmet cheese puffs and honey-thyme ricotta bruschetta. After a fun time of mingling, browsing and bidding on silent auctions, guests were treated to a mouth watering tri-tip and chicken dinner, with a light lemon-blueberry shortbread cookie for dessert. Food was catered by Borda Petite, out of Bakersfield. After dinner, the live auction began.

Ryan Beauchamp and Jay Shipman teamed up as the surprise auctioneers – what a delight! The pair were both thoughtful and entertaining. In fact, both donated not only their time and talents as auctioneers, but also their business products for the auction. Ryan Beauchamp owns several vacation properties, including the small houses in Tehachapi called "The Flat," for which a 2-night stay was auctioned. Jay Shipman owns Brite Creek Farms and graciously donated his infamous Farm-to-Table dinners for six as an auction item. The night came to close with a fun time of dancing and enjoying a light evening breeze.

This event was a great success, not just because of the funds raised, but more importantly because of the relationships built and the weaving of diverse individuals in this community. People, human beings and life was honored, encouraged and declared worthy by the people, human beings, and life of those in this community caring for one other. We, at the Family Life Pregnancy Center, are humbled and in awe of the people we live with and serve. Thank you for this honor.

If you would like to learn more about the Family Life Pregnancy Center, call us at (661) 823-8255 or visit out website at http://www.familylifepc.org. We are also on Facebook and Instagram.