Who We Are

In 2011...

Brandy Aschliman was led, by God, to open a Pregnancy Resource Center in Wells County. She would take the next year and form a steering committee which began making the calling a reality. 

In 2012...

The vision for Helping Hands came to life! A Board of Directors was elected, voting Brandy in as the Executive Director. Together, they formulated a list of potential names for the organization they knew would soon be coming to Wells County. To be honest, this was one of the hardest challenges in the whole process. Brandy ended up deciding on the name on her way to meet with the lawyers! Then in June, a location was secured in Bluffton; after six months of remodeling the doors opened in January 2013. 

In 2015...

God began bringing the idea of a second location to Blackford County. The Lord continued to reveal the need in Blackford County, but despite the search for a location, nothing seemed like the right fit.  And then on November 24, 2015 God moved individual’s hearts and granted Helping Hands a building and an ultrasound machine in Montpelier; Renovations began right away and the second Helping Hands opened in May 2016 serving women and their families in the Blackford County area.

The last few years…

In 2022, Helping Hands celebrated a wonderful ten years! And while we started out as a crisis pregnancy center, we have evolved into so much more over the last decade. Our programs and services have an appreciation for life that extends beyond a pregnancy and birth. We have adopted a whole-family approach, serving the mother, father, and child (no matter the age) through education, community groups, children's programming, material assistance, goal-setting, medical services and more. 
 
2023 brought quite a bit of change for Helping Hands! Our founder and Executive Director, Brandy Aschliman, decided to step down from her leadership role with the organization. While it’s impossible to quantify all the ways Brandy has influenced our community, her investment of time and talent has prepared Helping Hands to move forward with confidence! Following Brandy, Kylie Tomlin (who had been on staff since 2020) stepped in as our next Executive Director. During the spring, the decision was made to centralize Helping Hands' offices and have one center based in Bluffton; however, our mission remained the same to continue serving Adams, Allen, Blackford, Huntington, and Wells County, plus more! Some things that helped make our mission possible in 2023: We received a BRAND NEW ultrasound machine from PreBorn Ministries! We hired four more employees. Our 170 volunteers logged over 2,100 hours! We received $13,251.00 in grant funding. AND we had 570 people attend our fundraising events!
 
Our verse of the year for 2024 was Proverbs 19:21, "“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” Man did that hold to be true… Helping Hands has always been intentional in the way we serve our clients and meet the needs of our community. At the beginning of 2024, we recognized that we did not have adequate space for our evening programming. Thankfully God met an immediate need, and provided us with a wonderful partnership with First Church of Christ who allows us to use their space for both our parenting classes on Monday evenings and community groups on Tuesday evenings. However, we began praying over a long-term plan… and God quickly answered our prayer. On May 14, we closed on parcel of land on Commerce Dr that was generously donated to our organization for the foundation for a future, new facility! WOW! God has been so good to us, and the community showed up in so many ways throughout this year. In addition, we added several new programs, we updated our store to include items for men and women beyond pregnancy, we experienced a 49% increase in visits, our staff excelled in professional development, and our fundraising events exceeded our expectations!

Currently...

We are excited for 2025! We continue to pray for God’s guidance, as we navigate planning for a future, new facility, in the midst of excelling our current operations at our home on Dustman Road. We found it fitting that this year’s verse to guide us would be from Proverbs 16:3, “Commit to the Lord in whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” We can’t wait to see where this year takes us and ask you to join us in prayer!

We aren't just another organization,
but a community. Do you want to join our community?

 

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Our Mission

Helping Hands exists to build transformational relationships through education, medical services, and advocacy.

Our Vision

Helping Hands strives for healthier pregnancies, self-sufficient families, and in return a stronger community in the name of Christ.

Our Five Core Values:

Life - Helping Hands values every life of the born and unborn.
Relationships - Investing in relationships is the utmost priority.
Compassion - Circumstances do not change someone's value.
Unity - We are a diverse group of people with a shared purpose.
Excellence - We put our best effort in how we perform our roles.

Our Difference

Our programs and services have an appreciation for life that extends beyond a pregnancy and birth but are designed to initiate and build relationships with women, men and their children of all ages. We desire abundant life (John 10:10) for those we serve: basic needs are met, positive relationships, healthy pregnancies and children, life-affirming choices, and most importantly - eternal hope.