Richie McFarland Center and Waypoint to Merge

 

The Richie McFarland Children's Center (RMCC) in Stratham and Waypoint in Manchester, providers of early intervention services for children with developmental delays or disabilities, will merge on Jan. 21, 2022.

 

"The long and short of it is we believe in the power of partnership and know there is great success in collaboration," said Borja Alvarez de Toledo, president and CEO of Waypoint.

 

The oldest children's charitable organization in NH, Waypoint has joined forces with other community service providers during its 170 years.

 

"This merger will enhance our efficiencies and effectiveness," said Alvarez de Toledo, "and will build our capacity for serving children and their families throughout our communities."

 

RMCC's executive director of 24 years, Peggy Small-Porter, has long considered a merger. Now, after two years of careful and extensive research with members of the RMCC board of directors, she felt it was time to merge with Waypoint. "We serve the same population, share the same high standards of practice, and have deep respect for one another's teams," she said.

 

"We also share the desire to do more for the families we serve," she adds, pointing to the greater range of specialties in the larger team of therapists, and Waypoint's diverse array of services across the lifespan.

 

Both organizations say a merger supports a holistic approach to helping families. "Early intervention for any child is most successful when therapies are individualized around each family's specific priorities and needs," Small-Porter said. "The merger streamlines access to Waypoint programs that can directly reduce outside stressors and enable parents and caregivers to focus greater attention on their child's needs."

 

Once the merger is complete, early intervention services will continue to be housed at RMCC in Stratham, as a program of Waypoint. The namesake of Richie McFarland will remain. Moving forward, other Waypoint services will be available under the same roof.

 

Small-Porter added, "We can be, and will be, better together."