Our Daily Show Interview! Vitality Women's Clinic: Dale Blachford
GODFREY - As Vitality Women’s Clinic prepares for its annual fundraiser, Board Chairman Dale Blachford and Executive Director Jackie Duty shared more about their goals to support individuals experiencing unplanned pregnancies.
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The fundraiser, planned for April 10, 2026, will raise money to provide free and confidential services like pregnancy and STI testing, ultrasounds, and spiritual counseling. The clinic will talk through all options with you but will not perform or refer for abortions. Blachford, who describes himself as “always supportive of life,” noted that he hopes the fundraiser can allow the clinic to expand.
“We want to get in front of people that we can help in many different ways. If part of that help ends up saving a baby, then that’s just fantastic,” he said.
Blachford has been a part of Vitality Women’s Clinic for several decades. In recent years, the clinic has begun offering more medical services, including ultrasounds.
“We’ve found that if we can show a picture of the baby to the mother, there’s a really good chance she might choose life,” he said. “You bring somebody in and they can see the baby — it just changes everything. That’s when we started having a lot more success in being able to save babies.”
Blachford is excited about the clinic’s recent rebranding as Vitality Women’s Clinic and their recommitment to focus on the local community. As part of this, Vitality is introducing an “Ambassadors for Life” program.
Blachford said the organization is not allowed on college campuses. He hopes to work with college students to help them become ambassadors and spread Vitality’s mission.
Duty is also excited to introduce the Grandma Gang, a group of older women who will help with basic tasks around the clinic. But she is especially looking forward to their mail program, where these women will send letters to expectant and first-time parents. She hopes these interactions, which allow the grandmas to “adopt” the parent and give advice, will encourage more parents through those first months of parenthood.
“When I was really struggling, I’d call Grandma and say, ‘What do we do when the baby is crying at 2 o’clock in the morning and I can’t get him to stop crying?’” Duty shared. “Having those words of wisdom and that advice just to help me get through some of the challenges of being a young mother was so valuable.”
Looking forward, Duty and Blachford hope to involve more fathers in their programs, as well. Blachford believes “the biblical way is to have a family, to have a mother and father.” He wants to see more parents come together for their child, and he hopes Vitality can help facilitate this as long as it’s what is best for both parents and the child.
The clinic is hoping to expand their community involvement in the coming months, and events like the fundraiser allow them to do this. Blachford and Duty emphasize that they are never there to “judge” the expectant parent, but to educate and support them in whatever choice they make. They plan to share stories and testimonies during the April 10 fundraiser, and they encourage people to get tickets today.
“We would love to see you guys there,” Duty said. “Experience what we’ve been doing and hear the vision for where we’re going.”
For more information or to purchase your tickets, click here. Vitality will take reservations until Friday, March 27, or until they sell out, whichever comes first.
Blachford added that even if you can’t attend the fundraiser, you can still donate or help Vitality in different ways. For more information, visit the official Vitality Women’s Clinic website.
“Pray for our ministry,” he said. “Pray that God blesses what we’re trying to do and we come up with ways we can reach more people, more women, and save more babies and create more families.”
This Featured Article is sponsored by Vitality Women’s Clinic. To get your business or organization featured on www.Riverbender.com, contact us at sales@riverbender.com.
