This weekend, Higher Heights hosts its second annual fundraiser to finance its effort to alleviate barriers associated with teen pregnancy. It’s part of an ongoing countywide initiative to give pregnant and parenting teens a chance to reach their educational goals and decrease secondary pregnancies that could keep those goals from being reached.

The nonprofit’s Pig Pickin’ For a Cause will include a live auction for cakes and other various items, a DJ to provide entertainment and dinner catered by Keyzer Catering, according to Loretta Ebison, founder and executive director of Higher Heights.

The event has significant support among organizations and businesses in the area, including St. Clair Trucking, Roy Parker of Edward Jones Investments, Family Wellness Center of Washington, G.W. Walker and Sons and several others.

Ebison, having been a teen mother herself, started the nonprofit nine years ago as a labor of love.

“It’s a passion of mine,” Ebison said. “It’s a personal interest because I was a teen mom. I had a baby girl at 16. Had I not finished college and gotten a decent job, I wouldn’t have been able to support my child. I’m bringing that personal experience in and wanting to share it with the community.”

The money generated by the fundraiser finances programs such as Healthy Outcomes and C for E, which involves the purchase of laptop computers for pregnant or parenting teens taking college courses while still in high school, according to Ebison. Currently, the nonprofit serves an average 30-50 teens per year, with a primary focus of preventing secondary pregnancies through education and support systems. Each year, the organization awards a $500 scholarship to one of its clients to support their effort to seek continuing education, Ebison said.

Ebison said this mission ultimately leads to increased rates in graduation among teens in the county, as well as an increase in post-secondary education.

The organization is also working on a residential maternity home that can house eight to 10 teens faced with homelessness during and after their pregnancies, Ebison said.

“We want to help these girls understand because they got pregnant, it’s not the end of their lives,” Ebison said. “They can still reach their educational goals. We didn’t want pregnancy to be a roadblock to proceed with their educational goals. We want them to go to college, not get pregnant again, and come back and work in the community. It’s vital that people come out and support us because, if not, we’ll see an increase in teen pregnancies in our county and an increase in high school dropout rates among teen parents.”

The event is set for Saturday, from 6-10 p.m. at St. Clair Ranch. Tickets are $20 per person and $35 per couple.

St. Clair Ranch is located at 1085 E. Fourth St. in Washington.