PULPIT: Springs Catholic finds his own way to aid anti-abortion movement

Blue and pink shoelaces are usually simply that: blue and pink shoelaces.

But for David Pico of Colorado Springs, the strands symbolize being anti-abortion.

A lifelong Roman Catholic, Pico, 27, attended anti-abortion rallies as a child with his parents. But as an adult, he’s struggled to find a way to express his belief that all life is sacred.

Pico eventually found his form of expression in blue and pink shoelaces.

In early 2009, Pico, a member of Corpus Christi Parish, thought about creating bracelets with an anti-abortion message. But he nixed it because too many other groups convey their messages using bracelets and wrist bands.

He also didn’t want to go the T-shirt route because it seemed too obvious.

Then, in September, he had a revelation.

And all he had to do was look down at his sneakers.

“Most people wear white or black shoelaces,” Pico told me. “But what if they were different colors? People would look at them and the message would get across.”

Well, not quite. First, Pico had to refine his idea. He’d thought of using blue laces, but then some friends told him it would be nice to sell pink, too, since pink and blue are the traditional colors of baby accessories.

He also got a company to inscribe on the laces a slogan: “Laces for Life.”

Pico says he’s sold about 1,000 blue and pink laces on his website, www.lacesforlife.org.

All the money raised, he said, goes to anti-abortion organizations and crisis pregnancy centers.

He hopes his donations will help offset the drop in donations to anti-abortion organizations due to the recession. Most of his sales have been outside Colorado Springs, but he’s hoping to develop a market locally.

Pico says when he wears his “Laces for Life” around town, they get noticed.

“I’ve had people stop me in the supermarket about them,” he said. “Their eyes are drawn to them, and they almost immediately make a pro-life connection.”

Recently Pico sold a bundle of laces to Students for Life in America, a Catholic anti-abortion advocacy group headquartered in Arlington, Va.

Pico has discovered an added benefit to his “Laces for Life” business — a deepening of his faith.

“This project has given me a sense that God is always there and watching,” he said. “If you do the right thing, God will be there to help you out.”

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For more religion news, go to my blog, The Pulpit, at www.thepulpit.freedomblogging.com.