Janice Laplume has plans for the Pregnancy Help Center of Manteca.

In 10 months, when the lease that the non-profit organization currently holds with its landlord is up, Laplume – who serves as the voluntary Executive Director – has visions of a 3,000 square-foot building capable of helping hundreds of young women facing crisis pregnancies.

Nothing fancy. Nothing ornate. Just enough space to allow for the necessary classrooms and operating areas.

And the clock is ticking.

The building that the organization currently occupies on North Main Street is currently up for sale. Any sort of permanent plan beyond the 10-month period is out of the question.

Laplume outlined crude plans that would be ideal if all of the stars aligned during Thursday night at the organization’s annual fundraiser dinner at Chez Shari. She noted that converting them into workable blueprints – any anything that would follow – will cost money.

“We’re an all volunteer (organization) and we don’t receive any government funding so the private contributions that we do receive are extremely important,” she said. “It’s wonderful to see a room full of people like that are willing to support us and our mission to provide services to young girls that are looking for other options and alternatives.

“Support like this will be important as we figure out the next step.”

A variety of local churches help supplement the Pregnancy Help Center’s operating budget, but as the community grows, so does the outreach effort and its goals.

Parked outside Thursday was a recreational vehicle that Laplume says will eventually be converted into a mobile medical unit capable to providing the in-office services at locations throughout the community.

The fight, however, was summarized by keynote speaker and former KSFO morning show anchor Melanie Morgan. She openly criticized current elected officials for their war on the unborn and the backroom deal-making that goes on with high-profile non-profits that have come under fire in recent years.

“We have to make the argument that life is an essential right that belongs to everyone – in the womb or not,” Morgan said.

The Pregnancy Help Center of Manteca is a non-profit organization that “exists to provide life-affirming services for young women and men who find themselves facing an unexpected pregnancy.”

The agency serves the Manteca, Lathrop, Ripon and French Camp area, and combines pre-birth counseling and post-birth classes to teach young parents the skills they may need.