[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5149]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE FAMILY SERVICE OF MORRIS COUNTY

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 12, 2013

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
organization Family Service of Morris County, located in Morristown, 
New Jersey, which is celebrating its 200th Anniversary.
  The organization was originally formed in Morristown in 1813 as the 
Female Charitable Society and was then comprised of only seventeen 
volunteer members from the parish of Presbyterian Church, who sought to 
serve women and children in need for the first one hundred years of its 
existence. These volunteers began by providing service to the 
``deserving poor'' of Morristown, whose needs were left unfulfilled by 
New Jersey's inadequate Poor Laws. This included many women and 
children left behind by male victims to the War of 1812. However, over 
the next one hundred years the needs of the community changed.
  For the centennial celebration in 1913, the Female Charitable Society 
changed their name to the Bureau of Social Services, and expanded their 
services to males, as well as the entirety of Morris County. The 
organization worked to centralize various charitable groups, and over 
the coming years adapted to not only developments in social work, but 
also to the ever-changing dynamics of families and their needs.
  In 1943, the agency merged with the Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Children, becoming Family and Children's Service of Morris 
County, and in 1947 adopted its current name, Family Service of Morris 
County.
  Today, what was once a seventeen member female-oriented organization 
now employs one hundred professionals, four hundred volunteers, and 
aids about seven thousand people per year. The Family Service of Morris 
County still adheres to the same mission as they did two hundred years 
ago--``to strengthen the community by empowering individuals and 
families to meet and overcome life's challenges.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
Family Service of Morris County, their Board Members, professional 
staff and so many volunteers, as they celebrate their Bicentennial 
Anniversary.

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