Prolife Profile

When the Vitae Corporation's employees gather to discuss the company's direction, the meetings are a bit unconventional. They typically take place late at night, with Steve and Ginny Thomas huddled around the family's kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea.

Given Steve's full-time job as a cabinet salesman and Ginny's work as mother and home educator for the couple's eight children, evening is the best time for the two to handle their family's credit-card and telephone-service business.

Launched eight years ago, the Vitae Corp. today offers a “Culture of Life” Affinity credit card and long-distance telephone service — and donates all profits to organizations that work to build and support the culture of life called for by Pope John Paul II.

For the Thomases, this means supporting various pro-life apostolates, such as the Billings Ovulation Method Association USA, the Family of the Americas Foundation and One More Soul. Since Vitae's founding, more than $400,000 has been given to life-supporting organizations.

The Couple to Couple League is one of the organizations that have benefited. In July, the Cincinnati-based apostolate received a check for $10,000 from Vitae.

“I've been shocked by Steve Thomas’ generosity,” says Mark Hayden, executive director of the Couple to Couple League. “We use the money to further the work of our organization and for promotion of natural family planning.” In turn, the organization has helped promote Vitae's services through their newsletter and literature.

Publicity has been a recent focus for the corporation. Prior to this year, Vitae had done very little advertising, relying mostly on word-of-mouth recommendation. After considering the possibility of selling the business, the Thomases decided to hang on and ratchet-up the brand building.

“Catholic artist and author Michael O'Brien told a Chicago group in 2003 that the true apostolate is at home with the family,” recalls Steve. “That cemented my feeling. We felt that God was saying, ‘Get it going,’ and we decided to kick the business into high gear.”

So the Thomases took out a loan against their home, created fliers and began advertising in major Catholic periodicals. While it's still too early to gauge the campaign's impact, Steve says they've had a demonstrable increase in interest.

“We're getting more than 50 calls per day, and our online activity has increased by about 500%,” Steve said.

As important as numbers are, the Thomases realize their goal is beyond the money that they raise.

“I really think that the main service we offer is to give families the ability to make the culture of life a way of life,” says Steve. “Vitae takes something as trivial as a telephone call or credit-card purchase and brings value to it. You can save points, or you can help save lives.”

Double Positive

The company's long-distance and credit-card customers find the products a painless way to donate to pro-life causes. John and Jean Gorski of Mokena, Ill., signed up for the long-distance service three years ago. They have used the credit card for four years. Last fall, they used it to purchase a new minivan.

Jean describes using the products as a “double-positive.”

“We're happy to use the products because we know that a percentage of the money goes to pro-life causes that are obedient to the Pope,” she says. “On the flip side, we know that there are many large banks and credit-card companies that give money to Planned Parenthood and other groups that are antithetical to what we believe.”

According to the Washington, D.C.-based Saint Antoninus Institute for Catholic Education in Business, large banks and credit-card companies — such as American Express, Banc One, Chase Manhattan, Mellon Bank, Meridian Bank and Wells Fargo — have a history of supporting organizations that promote and offer abortions, such as the National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood.

Culture Card

The resuIt was Steve and Ginny's work as natural family planning instructors in the Joliet Diocese that led them to found the company.

“We were continually aware of how natural family planning was constantly struggling to obtain funds,” recalls Ginny. “So Steve came up with the idea of starting a culture-of-life credit card.”

Thomas’ first attempt to set up such a card with a small bank met with failure. Eventually, in March 1996, he signed the paperwork with Maryland-based MBNA. Today, thousands of members later, Thomas is considering the possibility of working out an agreement with another institution that might offer a better return.

Father Peter West, a priest associated 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 recently that to build a culture of life we have to do more than just denounce the culture of death,” says Father West. “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,” adds Father West. “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.”

Tim Drake writes from Saint Cloud, Minnesota.