A Long Lifeline

The social service nonprofit Family Lifeline celebrates 140 years helping Richmond residents in need, plus more of the week's health news

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It’s not every nonprofit that has its own beer, but then few social service agencies get to mark 140 years in business.

Family Lifeline has been helping Richmond residents in need since 1877.

The agency, which provides a full range of social services, from working with families with infants and newborns to helping isolated older adults, also has a beer named in its honor: Health, Hope & Hops, courtesy of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery.

The brewery will play host to 140 Fest, a celebration of Family Lifeline’s 140th anniversary, to be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30. The event will be presented by Family Lifeline Young Professionals.

Beer sale proceeds during the event will benefit Family Lifeline.

Reinvention has been a constant in Family Lifeline's decades of service to the city, as the nonprofit has constantly changed with the times. It traces its origins to The City Mission, which was established in 1877 and served as a soup kitchen and homeless shelter. It was known as Associated Charities in 1905, morphed into Family Services Society in 1928, then was known as Family & Children Services from 1963 until 2001, when it became Family Lifeline. Over the years, the organization has helped Richmond residents deal with recessions and The Great Depression, wars and their aftermath, and social upheaval.

It’s all about “being nimble,” the ability to remain relevant, according to Amy Strite, president and CEO.

Today, the agency provides health and educational resources and in-home visitation for a range of family needs. Its outreaches include child abuse prevention, care-giver respite, home visitation to at-risk families, and work with older adults and people with disabilities.

Strite says the agency last year worked with 1,380 families, serving 2,717 individuals.

About 85 percent of its budget goes to its services; 15 percent is spent on administrative needs and fundraising.

Family Lifeline also marked its anniversary with a new look to its headquarters on West Broad Street, a festive mural created by artists Mickael Broth and Andre Shank. The mural incorporates words — such as home, hope, compassion, family and community — that reflect the work of the nonprofit.

HEALTHY DEVELOPMENTS

A roundup of the week’s health and medicine news

  • Get on a bike and ride to a restaurant for a deal on your meal during Bike Restaurant Week, Sunday, Sept. 17, through Thursday, Sept. 21. The event will feature 21 restaurants and is sponsored by Sports Backers’ Bike Walk RVA, a program that encourages safe and connected places to walk and bike across metro Richmond. Guided bike rides also will be offered in the inaugural event. Click here for a full schedule.
  • The renovated Level III neonatal intensive care unit at The Women’s Hospital at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital is set to open in October. The 21,000-square-foot unit is on the third floor of the facility and will be open for tours as Doctors’ Hospital plays host to its 30th annual reunion of neonatal intensive care unit “patient graduates” from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
  • Pediatric cancer research at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU has received a $250,000 Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant. The award was announced Tuesday and will support the work of Seth Corey, who holds the Children’s Hospital Foundation endowed chair in pediatric cancer research. The Hyundai Hope on Wheels program in September will award 40 research grants nationally, valued at a total of $8.5 million.
  • The eighth annual Massey on the River is set for 6 p.m. Sept. 22 on Mayo Island. The fundraiser for the VCU Massey Cancer Center will include brews, wines and cider from Steam Bell Beer Works, Hardywood, Stone Brewing and Buskey Cider. Three Sheets to the Wind will perform, and food will be available courtesy of Deep Run Roadhouse. The event also includes a silent auction. Tickets are $50.
  • Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital has a new chief medical officer, Eugene Christian. He assumed duties in August and came to Richmond after working five years as chief medical officer and vice president in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the Central Division of Carolinas Healthcare System.