Since it’s incorporation in 1998, a few Pregnancy Centre Directors from across Canada readied and poised themselves towards building a successful future in the development of Canadian Pregnancy Centres. Today, CAPSS is the only national organization in Canada that exists to encourage and equip the local Pregnancy Centres. Resources and excellent supports are given to women and their partners through counselling, mentoring, and educating in a non judgmental, compassionate manner as it relates to pregnancy, sexuality and post abortion issues.

CAPSS is committed to helping women and babies during challenging times. Our resources and staff are available every step of the way to not only assist groups in setting up a crisis pregnancy centre but to encourage and equip their staff, volunteers and boards.

History

With roots beginning in 1989 Canadian CPC directors from coast to coast met to discuss the dream of establishing a Canadian affiliate organization that would assist in the development and leadership of Pregnancy Centres across Canada. These meetings would discuss what our Canadian dreams would look like took place over a few years as we met at Care Net conferences throughout the United States. An interim board was established to negotiate a covering relationship with Care Net however it was deemed most effective to create an independent Canadian association.

In April 1996, the CAPSS founders met together for a strategic planning meeting in Alberta. A nation-wide survey had been sent to all existing CPCs in Canada. From the 46 surveys returned, the respondents prioritized that Canadian centres have their own core documents and national focus. These included counselling ethics, affiliation agreement, financial accountability, statement of faith, Canadian conferences and Canadian content in their training manual and client literature.

In September 1996, our founders met for a further planning meeting in Ontario. The official name of our new organization was approved, as was the language for our core values, and the criteria for centre affiliation.

In May 1997, CAPSS founders met to finalize the submission for charitable status and choose candidates for a Board of Reference. Our first conference was being planned, and the writing of a Canadian manual was now underway.

In October 1997, CAPSS held its first conference in Guelph, ON on the Bible Conference Grounds.

In October 1998, Revenue Canada approved charitable status for our fledgling association.

In June 1999, we held our second conference at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC. At this gathering our newly published training manual was revealed; over a two-year labor of love. Volunteers and the CAPSS team continue to organize successive annual conferences to encourage and equip our leaders.

In March 1999, Bern Currie became our first part-time CEO, generously working full-time hours from his home office. In September 2001, at the amalgamation of Council and Board into a national working-board model, the CEO baton was passed to the capable hands of interim CEO Isabelle Slater. And nine months later, in June of 2002, following a nation-wide search, CAPSS hired our first full-time CEO. We were delighted by the servant-leadership of Theresa McRae White who served CAPSS until December 2006.

Once again a nation-wide search was held. In March 2006, Lola French, one of our founding members who was long serving in the Pregnancy Ministry in various ways, became our new CEO.

With a new CEO at the helm, CAPSS strategic plans were reviewed and revised to focus on our “hedgehog concept” of “encouraging leadership excellence in our Centres across Canada”. This clarified our strategic focus in meeting our mission, which is “to help women and babies by encouraging and equipping pregnancy centres across Canada.”

CAPSS now offers a very effective triple affiliation package, working along side our U.S. neighbors, Care Net and Heartbeat while still offering the Canadian flavor and culture.

We gratefully acknowledge the gracious support of the CPC boards of our founders. These centres carried much of the ministry-related costs of CAPSS, from our beginnings until recent days.

Building, Strengthening, Together.