Charlotte Swannack, one of the National Leaders Collective’s October leaders of the month, is a North Carolina Students for Life Action (SFLAction) Captain. Learn more about Swannack’s activism and how she inspires the younger generation to get involved below. 

Since a young age, I’ve been committed to defending life and instilling in everyone that every life is valuable, from the womb to the tomb. When I was in 8th grade, I was invited to join my church’s Respect Life Committee, and at the time, I was uneducated about abortion. As a teen representative on the committee, I learned the true horrors of abortion procedures and the evil of the industry. In January of 2023, my family experienced a miscarriage, and it was through losing this child that I fully recognized the value of these precious preborn lives. Through these experiences, the call to be more involved in the pro-life movement is more profound now than ever before, fighting for the lives of the preborn and teaching everyone their value. 

Over the past few years in the pro-life movement and volunteering with Students for Life of America (SFLA), I have grown into a leader who, while still on a journey of self-improvement to educate myself and find my calling in leadership, can help others learn about the pro-life movement and find their calling in it. After being in the pro-life movement for almost four years, I applied to be a State Captain to help with the outcome of the election and the policy in my state, and I knew that SFLA and SFLAction would provide me with support and resources. 

Over the past year, we have prayed outside an abortion vendor multiple times, and through our prayer and witness to life on Saturday mornings, we have seen four mothers walk out of the abortion facility and choose life for their children.  

We also implemented several educational programs for elementary-aged children in our local churches’ faith formation programs, which include a yearlong spiritual adoption program reaching over 200 children that teaches about the development of a baby in the womb and the immeasurable value of every human life. Additionally, we hosted a Pumpkin Patch for Life for children under 11 years old, educating them on the value and purpose of life through the Pumpkin Patch Parable. As we continue to have a pro-life presence at all of our church events, our message of life directly contradicts the message that they are getting from their schools. We launched a middle school chapter of Our Lady Guadalupe Students for Life with six members. In this middle school group, we are training the students to become pro-life leaders by having them plan and lead projects that spread the message of life and love in our community.  

This year, I spoke at two local churches as part of Camp Joshua, a camp run by North Carolina Right to Life, encouraging high school students to get involved in the movement. I also spoke at North Carolina State University to college-aged students and encouraged them to vote pro-life and get involved this election season. 

This year, I have had a great experience as part of the National Leader Collective (NLC). Through being part of the program, I gained meaningful contacts in the pro-life sphere, and I am very excited about the impact that my group will continue to make through being part of this program. 

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