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Mission Statement

Family & Children's Service of Ithaca is dedicated to providing affordable, professional services that support children, families, and organizations in finding solutions to the challenges of life today.

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Family & Children's Service offers a wide variety of noteworthy funds to donate to.

The Spero Family Fund for Child Psychiatry

The Spero Family Fund for Child Psychiatry is the new name of Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca’s endowment for child psychiatry to honor Jim & Ceil Spero and their family. The Speros have been loyal and dedicated supporters of the agency for many years and have generously advanced our mental health initiatives, especially children’s mental health & psychiatry. The naming of the fund commemorated the Spero’s 60th wedding anniversary at a celebration held on June 28, 2008 at the home of Jim Johnston & Linda Mack.

The Speros shared the reason why they support the work of Family & Children’s Service:
“We lived through the devastation of having one of our children become mentally ill. This is a tragedy that often tears families apart. We were fortunate enough to find support in many places that helped us deal with the problems and even become a stronger family. Our 60 years together were made smoother because of the help we received. As a result of this first-hand experience, we understand and appreciate the wonderful work that the staff and Board of Family & Children’s Service are doing every day, year after year. We are proud tohave our name used in connection with the fund for child psychiatry.”

The endowment for child psychiatry began in 2005 in order to bring child psychiatry services to the agency and ensure that our community can retain this essential resource for children and families now and in perpetuity.

The James G. Johnston Fund for the Uninsured

The James G. Johnston Fund for the Uninsured was created in 2002 to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Jim Johnston's leadership at Family and Children's Service and to ensure the agency can continue to honor our commitment to serve all those who seek mental health services. Gifts to the fund enable Family & Children's Service to afford to serve clients who are uninsured or underinsured.

The Helen Searle Fund

Shayle Searle established the Helen Searle Fund in 1996 in memory of his wife, Helen, a former board president and long time supporter of Family & Children's Service. The fund supports a sliding-fee-scale for our Senior Services Program.

The Robert E. Hamlisch, MD Memorial Fund

The Robert E. Hamlisch, MD Memorial Fund was created to honor the late Bob Hamlisch, Family and Children's Service's former medical director of 17 years. The fund covers expenses for the Hamlisch Memorial Lectureship that brings guest speakers to the Ithaca community for free, public lectures on mental health issues. Bob dedicated his life to helping people with his compassion, humor, and warmth and he had a tremendous and positive impact on the lives of the people in our community, particularly those who were most vulnerable and least able to access mental health services.

The Ruth Pettengill Society

The Ruth R. Pettengill Society was created in 1999 in order to recognize those individuals who have remembered or made arrangements to remember Family & Children's Service of Ithaca in their estate plans with a legacy gift. Such gifts can be made through bequests, charitable remainder trusts, life insurance policies, pensions, and other planned giving methods. Ruth Pettengill served as the agency's Executive Director for 21 years until her retirement in 1972. She was a passionately committed human service professional with a true dedication to Family and Children's Service's mission.