Anger management, financial counseling, exercise classes, care for the mentally disabled: These are just some of the many programs offered by Child & Family Services of Eastern Virginia, an organization that began in 1883 as a group of volunteers offering financial assistance to the poor, said Ed Welp, president and CEO.
To herald the agency's 125th anniversary and its expanding array of offerings, on Tuesday it will become known as The Up Center. It also has a new motto, "Understanding people, understanding problems since 1883."
The hope is that the new name will let people know the agency helps more than just children and families, Welp said. Military personnel, veterans, people with disabilities, and senior citizens also benefit, he said.
Another hope, Welp said, is that the name will resolve any confusion about whether the group is a government agency. It is a nonprofit that receives about 70 percent of its funding from government contracts, he said. The other 30 percent or so, he said, comes from client fees, insurance reimbursements, corporate and individual contributions and grants.
The United Way of South Hampton Roads, the largest single contributor, provides about $1 million annually, he said.
In 2004, Family Services of Tidewater, the Norfolk-based organization that began in 1883, joined forces with Portsmouth's Child and Family Services to become Child & Family Services of Eastern Virginia, said Dia DuVernet, the agency's executive vice president.
Since that time, she said, the center's budget has grown from about $4 million annually to about $9.5 million a year.
Welp said the growth came mainly from expanding existing programs and adding new ones.
The number of people helped by the agency has since doubled, Welp said, to 10,000 clients.
The center is based in Norfolk and has branches in Franklin and Portsmouth. A branch in Suffolk opened in early December, and a second Norfolk location is expected to debut in February.
Cheryl Ross, (757) 446-2443, cheryl.ross@pilotonline.com
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