DALLAS: Council for Life will celebrate their 20th year anniversary with not one, but two featured speakers for its annual Celebrating Life Luncheon on November 17, 2021, at the Omni Dallas Hotel— world-renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson and multi-award winning Christian music songwriter/artist Matthew West.
World-renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson feels that each of the 15,000 surgeries he has performed is as important as the well-publicized ones. Among many firsts, Dr. Carson performed the first successful placement of a shunt to relieve hydrocephalus of a baby that was still in the mother’s womb and accomplished the first completely successful separation of conjoined twins. He holds more than 70 honorary doctorate degrees, the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal, their highest honor for outstanding achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Dr. Carson served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Under his leadership, HUD implemented the Foster Youth to Independence Initiative, helping youth who are aging out of foster care to succeed. Currently, he serves as President and Chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute (ACI), which emphasizes common sense solutions to improve the lives of all Americans by promoting liberty and justice.
Matthew West is a five-time Grammy nominee, a multiple ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter/Artist of the Year winner, and a 2018 Dove Award Songwriter of the Year recipient. He has received an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, a K-LOVE Fan Award and was named Billboard’s Hot Christian Songwriter of the Year. He has more than 130 songwriting credits to his name. Matthew has written two songs honoring the unborn. "Untold" is from the unborn baby's perspective, and "Unplanned,” the title track of the movie Unplanned, is from the perspective of a parent hearing the heartbeat or seeing the sonogram of their unborn baby for the first time.
Honorary Co-Chairs for this year’s Luncheon are Ann and David Carruth and Lisa and Kenny Troutt. Ann and Lisa were part of the visionary group of 11 women who founded Council for Life in 2001 and have remained active in their leadership and support of the organization ever since. The Carruths and the Troutts are dedicated to philanthropic and community efforts that promote the sanctity of life, faith, liberty, and American values.
Council for Life Board members and community leaders Shannon Graham and Billye Turner are the dynamic team serving as the Luncheon Co-Chairs. Graham and Turner are unwavering in their devotion to being tireless, bold advocates for life in their extensive charitable endeavors.
Since 2001, Council for Life has raised more than $9 million to fund a multitude of nonprofit agencies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. These agencies and their invaluable services include pregnancy resource centers, adoption and foster care, maternity homes, youth mentoring, parenting and life skills education, post-abortion counseling, sexual risk avoidance and targeted media campaigns to reach women in unplanned pregnancies.
Proceeds from the Celebrating Life Luncheon will benefit 20 organizations on the “front line” actively furthering Council for Life’s mission to empower women, men and youth to make life-affirming choices. For more information, including underwriting opportunities and table sales, please visit https://councilforlife.org/luncheon .