Agency
History
Family Service Association....founded in 1888
Follow this timeline to learn about the history of Family Service Association
1888 Members of the Fruit and Flower Mission of Fall River convene a meeting to establish a group of community churches and charities to serve families as an organized social service agency in Fall River.
1899 The agency was formally incorporated as the Associated Charities of Fall River. Major responsibilities included providing nourishment to children with tuberculosis and aid to the blind.
1917 Associated Charities assists the Red Cross in providing help to American forces in World War I.
1918 The agency formally changes its name to Association for Community Welfare.
1930 The agency's work is greatly compounded by the need for relief to families caused by the nationwide depression. Food and clothing was distributed to poor families within the community.
1935 The agency formally changes its name to Family Welfare Association of Fall River.
1936 The Family Welfare Association of Fall River collaborated with the federal Works Progress Administration to provide work relief for unemployed persons.
1937 The Association becomes a member of the newly formed Council of Social Agencies, coordinating community-wide welfare services.
1938 The Association celebrates its 50th Anniversary with a visit from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. (CLICK HERE to see the letter sent by Mrs. Roosevelt's secretary.)
1944 The Association joined forces with the local office of Veterans' Services to provide assistance to returning service men.
1946 The agency formally changes its name to Family Service Association of Greater Fall River, Inc.
1947 Family Service Association becomes a member agency in the newly-formed Community Fund of Greater Fall River, Inc.
1963 Family Service Association is 75 years old. Donald J. Emond becomes Executive Director of Family Service Association. He continues to serve as agency President and CEO to this day.
1969 Family Service collaborates with the Sophia Romero Trust to develop the RATE (Romero Aid To Elderly) Program, offering counseling, companionship and protective services to elders.
1973 Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a nationally renowned expert on death and dying, conducts a community seminar on Dying and Human Dignity sponsored by Family Service.
1978 The Adult Family Care program begins at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Family Service Association starts its own program that year. It remains the largest adult foster care program in Massachusetts.
Family Service Association joins with Bristol Elder Services and other community agencies to start ABCDE (A Better Christmas Dinner for Elders).
1985 Family Service Association acquires its new headquarters at 151 Rock Street, Fall River. That same year, the agency receives a Mental Health Clinic license from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Family Service contracts with the City of Fall River to create a stress management and peer counseling program for police officers.
1986 The Family Service Association Middle Street Day Care facility opens at St. John's Episcopal Church in Fall River, serving 100 children.
1988 Family Service Association celebrates its 100th Anniversary. The agency acquires an additional location at 215 Bank Street, Fall River.
1990 The agency begins a period of tremendous expansion and growth, offering the community a full menu of specialized elder care programs, counseling, children's day care and other services.
1991 Family Service Association receives a license as a Substance Abuse Clinic from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
1992 Family Service Association develops Violence Prevention and Peer Mediation Services at Fall River's Middle Schools.
1995 The Home Assistance Program and first Family Service Adult Day Health Program are started.
1997 The Bristol County court system collaborates with Family Service to begin the Divorcing Parents Education Program.
1998 Family Service Association launches its own Internet web site.
2001 Family Service Association continues to provide high quality, professional social services at 21 sites throughout Southeastern Massachusetts
1888 William Henry Harrison is elected President.
1896 The first public showing of a motion picture in New York City.
1901 Theodore Roosevely becomes President after the assassination of William McKinley.
1917 The United States enters World War I.
Agency
History
1933 One out of four Americans are out of work at the height of the Depression.
1937 The Golden Gate Bridge opens in California.
1939 World War II begins.
1941 Japanese forces attack Pearl Harbor.
Agency
History
1963 President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas.
1969 Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon.
1974 President Richard M. Nixon resigns.
1981 The Center for Disease Conrtol names a newly discovered illness, Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease -- AIDS.
Agency
History
1988 A bomb destroyed Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people on board, including 189 United States citizens. .
Agency
History
1995 O.J. Simpson is acquitted of two charges of murder.
