Why You Should Donate To Planned Parenthood Today

Long before — 100 years to be exact — Planned Parenthood was America's largest single provider of reproductive health services, it was just one birth control clinic in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Over the years the organization has grown into a fundamental part of our country's healthcare system, with 650 clinics spread across all 50 states providing numerous services to millions of men and women each year regardless of their income level. As one of our favorite champions of choice celebrates 100 years of service, advocacy, and sex education, consider donating to Planned Parenthood to help foster its next 100 years.

While conservatives' continued efforts to stymie Planned Parenthood have made the organization's name nearly synonymous with the word abortion, the health care nonprofit's legacy extends far beyond abortion and birth control. Along with offering reproductive health services like pap smears and breast cancer screenings to women, Planned Parenthood provides vital sex education and is an impassioned advocate for reproductive rights and a woman's right to choose.

Even better, the affordable healthcare services Planned Parenthood offers aren't just for women. Testing, counseling, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and HIV are available for men along with colon, prostate, and testicular cancer screenings, infertility screenings and vasectomy counseling and referrals.

A quick glance at the services on offer makes it clear a donation to Planned Parenthood isn't just a contribution to a nonprofit organization. It's a contribution that enables women and men to have access to essential and affordable health care services regardless of their income or insurance. In 2014, for example, the organization reported serving more than 2.5 million patients in more than 4 million clinical visits, providing more than 3.5 million STI tests, more than 360,000 breast exams, and more than 271,000 pap smears.

There may be no better time than Planned Parenthood's 100 year anniversary to make a donation to the organization. (Wait, scratch that, it's always a good time to donate to Planned Parenthood). In honor of its centennial birthday, however, donations to Planned Parenthood are being matched, dollar-for-dollar. Meaning even the last $5 you have in your wallet — or say the $5 you could save by passing up that new nail polish — can have a positive impact on Planned Parenthood.

Donating to Planned Parenthood is easy and can be done in a variety of ways. Head to their website to donate online via a credit or debit card or call them at 1-800-798-7092 to make a donation over the phone. You can also donate by mail (via check, money order, or credit card) using this printable donation form. If supporting your local community is important to you, you can opt to donate to a specific Planned Parenthood clinic using this donation form.

In celebrating Planned Parenthood's 100 year anniversary many are sharing personal stories of what the organization means to them and how it has impacted their lives, but consider sending Planned Parenthood a tangible birthday gift this year. In donating what you can spare you'll help fund another 100 years of affordable reproductive health care.