March 29, 2015 – Barium Springs, NC – Two of the Southeast’s most historic and prominent child welfare organizations have teamed up and now fall under a new umbrella name. Last April, Barium Springs and Grandfather Home for Children merged, making the combined agency one of the largest child service providers in North Carolina. Over the past year, Barium Springs and Grandfather Home operated together, but under two separate names. On Monday, March 30, the two agencies will begin operating as one cohesive organization under the name “Children’s Hope Alliance.”
“Since our merger became effective on April 1, 2014, we have been evaluating everything about our combined agency,” said Children’s Hope Alliance President and CEO, John Koppelmeyer. “It makes sense for us to operate under a unified name. While I love the name ‘Children’s Hope Alliance,’ this was a tricky process to navigate. Barium Springs and Grandfather Home are two historic organizations with very proud heritages that date back to the turn of the 20th century. As a matter of fact, they have a combined history of more than 220 years serving children in need.”
In order to keep the historical significance of Barium Springs and Grandfather Home intact, both historical campuses will keep their names. The campus in Barium Springs will know be known as the Barium Springs Campus of Children’s Hope Alliance, and the campus in Banner Elk will be known as the Grandfather Home Campus of Children’s Hope Alliance.
“The name, Children’s Hope Alliance, encapsulates the mission of the agency which is to provide a safe, healing journey for hurting children and families-creating hope now and in the future,” explained Koppelmeyer. “The name is also a reference to the historic merger of 2014, a creation of an alliance, a group of people joining together to work toward the common goal of providing hope for children in need.”
Much time and attention were given to the details of the new logo as well. The new logo features a modern take on the pinwheel, a symbol of child abuse prevention. The alternating colors of the pinwheel create the outline of an orange cross, which is symbolic of the earliest roots of both agencies, as being founded out of the Presbyterian Church. The cross also represents the fact that Children’s Hope Alliance recognizes that faith is part of the healing journey for the children and families served by the organization.
The colors were also deliberately chosen to reflect the mission of Children’s Hope Alliance. Orange encourages warmth and happiness as well as aiding the recovery of grief, and teal creates emotional balance, alleviates feelings of loneliness and opens the door to spiritual growth.
For more information about Children’s Hope Alliance, visit www.ChildrensHopeAlliance.org.
About: Children’s Hope Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a long history of child advocacy and welfare dating back to 1891. The mission of Children’s Hope Alliance is to provide a safe healing journey for hurting children and families – creating hope now and in the future. In 2014 Children’s Hope Alliance helped over 3,600 children in almost 70 counties through their more than 20 specialized service programs. All of services provided by Children’s Hope Alliance create hope for hurting children and families in three ways – healing the hurt for children and families that are troubled, abused or neglected; providing a safe home for children through group homes, therapeutic foster care and adoption; and encouraging a healthy start through educational, prevention and developmental programs.
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