WARREN Rehab center raises half of funds for expansion

The organization has operated for more than 50 years.
WARREN -- The Children's Rehabilitation Center is nearing the halfway point in its effort to raise $1.5 million to expand its Howland-Wilson Road building.
Board members and a few major donors have pledged almost $700,000 since "Project Love" was launched last year, officials say.
Donors include First Place Bank Community Foundation, Home Savings Charitable Foundation and Ohio Kiwanis Division 25.
"We are extremely pleased with the amount of support Project Love has received to this point from businesses, foundations, service clubs and individuals in our community," said Robert Foster, Children's Rehabilitation Center's executive director. "We are planning to visit many individuals and businesses in the next few months to talk about support for this vital project."
Children's Rehabilitation Center hopes to break ground on a one-story addition in about 18 months, said Dominic Mancini, CRC spokesman. The addition will nearly double the building's size.
Services: CRC offers physical, occupational and speech therapy and day care to more than 500 children each year, regardless of their parents' incomes. It receives funding from United Way and Trumbull County Lifelines.
"The expansion will help us to better accommodate clients and prepare us to handle more clients in the future," Mancini said.
The Children's Rehabilitation Center began as a project by the Rotary Club of Warren in 1951. Two years later, it evolved into the Trumbull County Society for Crippled Children, with participation of the Niles Rotary.
The center moved to Howland-Wilson Road in 1969. The building was last expanded in 1982.