A Dream Takes Shape
After five years in business, not only is the Culture of Life credit card and long-distance service company on track to making $100,000 annually, but they are also giving money away. In January alone, the company donated more than $7,000 to pro-life, pro-family, and Natural Family Planning organizations such as the Couple to Couple League, Priests for Life, and the Mary Foundation.
It was a combination of events that eventually led to the creation of Vitae Corporation. As Natural Family Planning instructors in the Joliet Diocese, Ginny and Steve realized that NFP was not a very high priority, so they were constantly struggling to obtain funds. Right around that time Steve became involved with his local Knights of Columbus and began asking members to brainstorm new ways to help raise money. Add to this some information the Thomas’ received from the St. Antoninus Institute and Life Decisions International — information on banks that donate money to anti-life groups, and things started coming together.
“I woke up in the middle of the night with the idea of starting a “culture of life” credit card, but I had absolutely no concept on where to even start,” said Thomas. “I asked Our Lady to please help me out, and in her usual fashion, things began happening almost immediately.” The very next day Steve had an appointment with a customer from his other profession (the one that pays the bills), and in normal conversation asked the person what he did for a living. Steve was dumbfounded when he found out the man was in charge of affinity credit card programs in the Chicagoland area! It was at this providential meeting that the future enterprise began to take shape.
About a year later, Thomas’ first attempt to set up a culture of life credit card with a small bank met with failure. But in 1996, with the help of the Illinois Knights of Columbus, Thomas signed papers with MBNA of Delaware, Maryland, for a Culture of Life Visa credit card. “I think we were the only group to ever come to them, get approved, and not have any members,” explained Steve. Today, thousands of members hold the card. Based in New Lenox, Illinois, Vitae also utilizes PowerNet Global and Buyers Online to provide long-distance service to nearly 1,000 customers nationwide.
Benefitting Families
The company is innovative not only in its commitment to life, but also because Thomas donates 100 percent of the companies profits to organizations that promote family and marital chastity, such as One More Soul, Family of the Americas, and the Billings Ovulation Method Association-USA.
One of the groups that recently benefited from such a donation is the Cincinnati-based Couple to Couple League (CCL). “My first contact with Vitae was at the GIFT Foundation’s Pandora’s Pillbox Conference last September,” explained Mark Hayden, executive director of CCL. “Steve Thomas, completely unexpected, approached me with a check. I was both shocked and thankful for his generosity.”
“We plan to use the money to further the work of our organization and for promotion of the NFP apostolate,” said Hayden. In addition, CCL also plans to promote use of the credit card through their newsletter.
Another organization that has benefited from Vitae’s generosity is the Mary Foundation. “I think the reason why the Vitae Corporation was so excited about the Mary Foundation was our free “Secret to Happy Families” audiotape,” says Mary Foundation founder Bud Macfarlane, Jr. “The tape, by Dr. Robert McDonald and Bud Macfarlane, Sr., focuses on the positive psychological and theological benefits of having children. Families on the tape talk about these benefits. That’s what Vitae is all about.
“If I have any hesitation about people using the credit card it is that Catholics should not be piling up debt that earns interest,” suggested Macfarlane. “However, credit cards are becoming like cash. You can’t use cash online. Many individuals donate to the Mary Foundation using their credit cards.
“If you have to use a card, and as long as you’re paying off the balance in 30 days, then why not have the profits from such a card support a good Catholic apostolate?” commented Macfarlane.
Influencing All of Society
Fr. Peter West, a priest associate with Priests for Life, says he often uses the card rather than a check so that a larger contribution will go to Vitae. “The Holy Father said last week that to build a culture of life we have to do more than just denounce the culture of death. We have to do positive things to change the culture of death. Why not let the use of your credit card go to promote life? The pro-life movement cannot be restricted to any one sector of society. It must influence the whole of society — politics, law, religion, education, medicine, journalism, and business. The Vitae Corporation is using its business skills to build up a culture of life. It’s a very creative idea and I think it will make a difference.”
Thomas agrees. “As believers, how can we support companies such as AT&T? The Vitae Corporation exists to not only raise money for pro-life and pro-family organizations, but also to affect corporate policy. We plan to keep money from companies that support or promote the culture of death.
“I have heard it said that the pro-life movement will succeed only to the extent that pro-life people are willing to be inconvenienced,” explains Thomas. “I take to heart the message from Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Evangelium Vitae. The Pope wrote, “Together we all sense our duty to preach the gospel of life, to celebrate it in the liturgy and in our whole existence, and to serve it with various programs and structures which support and promote life.”
For more information on the Vitae Visa card, call 1-888-883-LIFE or visit http://www.vitaecorp.com/.
