Lehman Catholic Pro-LifeGuards

The Lehman Catholic Pro-LifeGuards is a student organization at Lehman Catholic High School in Sidney, Ohio, located on State Route 29. It is intended as a vehicle to help educate students about the value of human life in all stages and to inspire them to be involved in safeguarding life-- through prayer, peaceful demonstrations, and disseminating to others, the information they have learned.

The number of students active in this group for the 2006-2007 school year is around 20 members, with additional students participating occasionally. The Pro-LifeGuards is in its third year, having been founded in the 2004-2005 school year by two students: Erin Grant and Chad Hewitt. These two founders have graduated from Lehman, but their fellow Pro-LifeGuards, Anna Frantz and Libby Galbreath, have taken up the standard for this year, serving, respectively, as President and Vice President of the group. Their parent advisors are Mike Staudt (in his second year) and Jill Heitmeyer (her first year).

Students of this organization participate in a monthly organizational meeting and monthly Holy Hours of prayer in the chapel at Lehman High School. They have made donations to the Elizabeth New Life, Women's Center of Sidney to help pregnant mothers in need. The Pro-LifeGuards occasionally gather together to watch movies with a pro-life theme including A Distant Thunder and recently, a video from abort73.com. Many students participated in the 2007 March for Life and our local Candlelight Vigil in January. Last year their big project was to erect a pro-life memorial on the Lehman Catholic High School grounds. At least two times a year the group goes to an abortion clinic in Dayton for prayer and silent demonstration. Their most recent trip to the Dayton abortion center was April 9th. They were joined by youth from the Anna-Botkins organization, Teens for Truth and by a newly formed group from St. Remy Catholic Church in Russia. Both of those newer pro-life youth organizations have benefited in their growth from the experience and example of the Lehman Pro-LifeGuards. Lehman Pro-LifeGuards advisor, Mike Staudt stated that this is, "one of the fruits of their labors that I am most pleased with this year--that we have played some small part in helping others with the development of their groups." He also noted that it has been a good experience for the Lehman group to become acquainted with other teens who share their concern for human life.