Four years ago, in the summer of 2007, I was introduced to a new pro-life media organization called Virtue Media. I met with its founder, Tom Peterson, viewed his pro-life ads, and discussed his vision and philosophy for producing them. I was completely impressed and inspired.
Tom Peterson spent most of his life as an advertising executive until he felt the call from God to use his talents to help build a culture of life. Virtue Media quickly grew from a small organization to a national and international pro-life media apostolate. More recently, Tom expanded his mission to reach fallen-away Catholics with his powerful Catholics Come Home ads.
On its website, Virtue Media states that "since 99 percent of U.S. homes own a television and radio, and the average American spends more than five hours every day using these media, it’s easy to see how VirtueMedia™ can reach millions of people each day using powerful broadcast commercials to positively affect culture.
"VirtueMedia™ commercials have aired on broadcast and cable stations in over 1,500 cities throughout the U.S., as well as in many foreign countries. The results are nothing short of phenomenal, with thousands of babies saved from abortion and countless post abortive mothers offered hope and healing.
"VirtueMedia™ pro-life campaigns are thoroughly researched prior to production, tracked during airing, and studied after each campaign to ensure that the maximum positive impact is achieved. The result? These powerful messages are making a tremendous difference in the lives of so many people and helping to serve as a positive, life-affirming influence in a troubled culture."
According to Mr. Peterson, "educational advertising was the key to reducing prejudice, littering, drunk driving, and smoking… and educational advertising can help lead the way back to a culture of life in America."
The first year the Virtue Media project was implemented in all three dioceses, more that $230,000 was raised statewide. These funds purchased nearly 9,500 television ads covering much of the state. These ads prompted at least 580 women to seek help from pro-life pregnancy centers in Nebraska. And at least 1,120 women and men sought help for post-abortion trauma.
After a two-year hiatus, the Catholic bishops of Nebraska graciously agreed to implement another Virtue Media project in all three dioceses. Each bishop recorded a DVD containing their message of support, a sampling of the television ads and an appeal for donations.
These DVD presentations will be shown in parishes in the dioceses of Grand Island and Lincoln sometime during October, Respect Life Month. Parishes in the Archdiocese of Omaha will make the presentation on the first weekend of December.
Hence, parishioners will get a chance to see some of the inspiring ads and make a donation to this worthy and effective project.
If I’ve piqued your interest in these amazing ads and you can’t wait until you see them in your parish, I encourage you to check them out at www.virtuemedia.org. The television ads that will be shown in Nebraska can be viewed under the category of "Pregnancy Help," "Worth," and "Post Abortion Healing."
You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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