history

Family Services has a unique history, begining in the early 1900s and stretching to the current millennium.

	In 1905, "Miss Annie" Grogan, a telephone operator who carried the commitment and conviction to serve others, founded Associated Charities in Winston.
	In 1923, "Miss Annie" helped establish a Community Chest (forerunner of the United Way) and Associated Charities was one of 5 charter agencies to be funded.
	In 1936, after the Depression and governmental reform, Winston and Forsyth County began to take over emergency relief and Associated Charities moved toward family rehabilitation. Counseling services were offered as hasty marriages of the war years and layoffs in defense-related industries after WWII brought a rising rate of family disruption.
	In 1940, the agency name changed to Family Service Agency of the Associated Charities. The agency assumed primary responsibility for handling adoption requests and finding temporary foster homes for abused and neglected children. The Children's Division was established and in 1943, the name of the agency changed to Family and Child Service Agency of the Associated Charities.
	In the 1950s, the children's program grew and a community survey indicated the need for the agency to continue emergency relief. Other social service agencies merged with the Agency, and counseling became more publicly acceptable.
	In 1958, Family Services moved into the newly established James Gordon Hanes Community Center on Coliseum Drive.
	In 1965, the Agency was tapped to launch Head Start, a program to prepare underprivileged children as young as 3 with the socialization and other skills they would need for kindergarten.
	In 1967, the new name Family Services, Inc., became the name that has remained through today.
	In the 1970s counseling gained recognition as a way to strengthen families. Programs that focused on the entire family and new modalities such as group therapy became more common.
	In 1984, the Agency officially acquired the Battered Women's Shelter, as well as the Rape Response program (which began as a separate agency in 1978). Following a successful capital campaign in 1989, the shelter was enlarged and renovated. These programs, plus an abuser treatment program became the core of our family violence programs.
	In the early part of this century, CONTACT Hopelines merged with Family Services, Inc. expanding our services and use of volunteers. The Ways to Work program, which allows families to maintain employment by securing inexpensive bank loans for their transportation needs, also became part of the agency.
	In 2005, the Agency celebrated its 100th Anniversary.
	In 2006, 2nd Century Capital Campaign was launched to acquire funds for construction of a new building at the city's Southeast Gateway.
	In 2008, Family Services relocated to our new innovative and environmentally-friendly building at 1200 S. Broad Street in Winston-Salem. In September of 2009, the US Green Building Council recognized this facility as the first LEED-NC Silver facility in the county.