Effective August 1, Newburyport Youth Services (NYS) will absorb the Greater Newburyport Families Club (GNFC), as the two organizations will commence operations as one entity this fall. The new NYS organization will now host programming for families with children of all ages from birth through high school.
The GNFC has faced many financial challenges in the past few months, with restrictions on social gatherings because of COVID-19 and the power of social media as a tool for parents and families to make new friendships and find information without organizations like GNFC.
With the shared mission of providing services, support, and events for families in the Greater Newburyport Area, these two long-standing organizations’ consolidation will benefit both organizations as well as the community. NYS, which currently serves the needs of school-aged youth and their families, will now expand its offerings to serve families with babies, toddlers and preschoolers, too.
“We are so excited about this partnership which will allow our members to continue to be involved in the community even as their kids get older,” says GNFC Co-President Heather Fontaine.
“For over 20 years, the GNFC has created lifelong friendships for children and parents,” says Wright. “We are excited to have found a solution that will be so beneficial to not only the organizations, but also the entire Greater Newburyport Area.” The GNFC is happy to have found a way to continue to provide services the community has come to expect, like kids events, adult outings, and consignment sales.
NYS distributes two events and recreation catalogs per year for families in Greater Newburyport communities. Activities for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families will first appear in the Fall Activity Guide, available in September.
“As we expand our offerings to younger children, we really want to continue the long standing tradition of creating opportunities for new parents to connect,“ says Andrea Egmont, NYS Director. “Expanding to programming to connect parents will be fun for us as well!”
NYS will be initiating a new family membership with offerings for younger children and their families. The cost will be $25 a year, but current GNFC members will be automatically signed up to receive the first year for free.
The GNFC members-only Facebook page will be opened up to the community as a new resource for local parents looking to connect and ask questions. Their public Facebook page will also be gradually taken over by NYS.
Email president@greaternewburyportfamilies.org or aegmont@cityofnewburyport.com with any questions, or visit greaternewburyportfamilies.org or northshoreyouthandfamilyservices.org.