Brittany Lynch, Journalist
“It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, father’s would do it.” – Betty White, The Golden Girls.
Like the quote says, being a mother can be one of the hardest jobs in the world, but for some, being a mother wasn’t the first choice, maybe not even the second choice. There are some young women in this world that find themselves alone, scared, and carrying a little person inside their body. For these young women, the only choice they see is abortion but for the caring staff at Cookeville Pregnancy Center (CPC), also known as the Cookeville Pregnancy Clinic, they are here to show that there is more than just one option.
The Cookeville Pregnancy Center first opened its doors in 1988 and has been in the same location for the last 29 years.For all those years, CPC has kept its doors (and lots of stairs) open to expectant mothers who fear they have nowhere else to go, no one who will listen and only one option left to them. The staff of CPC create a safe and supportive environment for young women and no one is turned away. With a smile always on a face, it seems that there is no obstacle they aren’t willing to conquer and no shoulder they aren’t willing to lend for someone to cry on.
Nancy Knowlton, director of CPC since 1995, told UCR a little more about the mission of the center, “Many times, people feel like abortion is their only choice and that may be because they are being pressured by the father of their baby or their boyfriend. So many times, they just feel so pressured by their circumstances that they don’t have a choice. So our job is to help them see that there are other options.”
Being in the same place for 29 years, it’s probably safe to say that it was high time for a change of scenery and that’s just what Knowlton and her well trained staff thought when they began their journey of searching for a new home for their business seven years ago.
CPC is part of the Impact Club of Cookeville that meets monthly to help support non-profit organizations in Putnam County. In December, CPC was chosen as the winner of $20,000! At the time of this donation, CPC had just found their perfect building and when miracles are ready to happen they fall down like rain.
With all of the community pitching in, besides the $20,000, CPC also received two Matching Campaign grants each that were worth $100,000! But that’s not where this story ends.
With this being their 60th anniversary, J and S Construction voted to take CPC on as their anniversary project! What this included was donating: services, materials, labour, architectural services and so much more! J and S also helped by getting in contact with local business who also donated their services!
After all of this, CPC has a new building that is newly renovated, even better, and is completely paid for! The center will be opening later this Spring and will feature an open house to welcome all to its new location on Dixie Avenue!