Child and Family Services Rebrands as Waypoint

As Child and Family Services evolved over the years, since opening its doors in 1850 as the Manchester City Missionary Society, it has changed its name a number of times. Its most recent moniker has lasted 50 years, but people kept mistaking the nonprofit for a government agency and the board of directors felt it no longer reflected the breadth of services provided and clients served.

So after a couple of years of focus groups, surveys and hand wringing, as well as input from clients, staff, donors, its partners and the community, Child and Family Services revealed its new name and brand at  a November event filled with pomp and circumstance. The agency is now known as Waypoint.

Borja Alvarez de Toledo, president and CEO of Waypoint, says the board had been contemplating a rebrand for the past decade. “The name does not reflect anymore who we are,” he says. While the organization provides many services, the fastest-growing program is support to senior citizens, helping more than 9,000 in 2018.

Waypoint also provides early childhood and family supports including prenatal services and support services for children ages three and under who have developmental delays. It has a program to help children with chronic medical conditions and a host of intervention services for families at risk. It also owns Camp Spaulding, a youth summer camp, and offers adoption services, human trafficking response services and foster care recruitment. The Manchester-based agency has 300 employees in 16 locations across the state.

Feeling there was no name that could encapsulate all 28 programs provided by the agency, the board and leadership team wanted to rebrand with a name that gave a sense of the organization. “Life is a journey, and our agency touches people’s lives at different points in their journey,” Alvarez de Toledo says. “A waypoint is an intermediate point or place at which a course of action or path is changed. Just as we rely on clear signs to guide us on unfamiliar roads, Waypoint is a beacon to those who need our help negotiating life’s challenges. We help you find your way.”

Alvarez de Toledo says many people would mistake Child and Family Services for a government agency and upward of 30 percent of the calls it received were people trying to report child abuse or neglect. It was also confusing to some donors who wondered why a government agency was asking for money, he says. “It really is going to help us position ourselves in a different way. The new name allows us to realign who we are today.”

For more information, visit waypointnh.org.