Candice Keller
MIDDLETOWN — Candice Keller, executive director of the Community Pregnancy Center, was perfectly content to remain in the 88-year-old, three-story building on Central Avenue.
But when the TV Middletown Board of Directors offered to rent the pregnancy center a larger space for a lower price — and the center’s old building sold — well, Keller couldn’t resist.
It was a birthday and Christmas present wrapped together.
On Jan. 22, the Community Pregnancy Center will host a ribbon-cutting at its new location, 1131 Central Ave., Suite 100, on the first floor of the TV Middletown building previously occupied by Digital Visuals.
The mortgage on the house was $360 a month, while the rent on the new site is $150, Keller said. Add that to reduced utilities, and Keller expects to save $9,000 a year.
The pieces just fell into place for Keller. The building sold for $60,000, and Keller took the $10,000 profit and purchased materials to renovate the new building. The remodeling is being completed by volunteer labor, she said.
She had hoped to open the center by today, Jan. 4, but that date has been pushed back until at least Jan. 11. Keller is concerned that no pregnancy center is open right now.
“That really upsets me,” she said.
When the center opens, it will feature larger storage space, additional conference rooms, better parking, be wheel-chair accessible, and probably most importantly, operate an ultrasound machine, a $12,000 gift from the Mariam G. Knoll Foundation.
Previously, Keller said, women who wanted an ultrasound were sent to the Franklin center. Keller said having an ultrasound machine on-site may keep some women from having an abortion.
She said 85 percent of expecting mothers who are considering an abortion change their minds if they hear their baby’s heart beat.
The center saw 1,800 women this year, 1,000 of them pregnant and about 200 to 300 “abortion minded,” she said.
She’s also happy that the center will remain downtown, close to social services and the bus station.
She called the move “a dream come true.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio.com.
About the Author
