Family Service is now Families First in Burbank
Joyce Rudolph
A three-year journey was completed for the Family Service Agency as
officials unveiled a new logo and announced its new name -- Families
First in Burbank.
The agency’s new name and logo, featuring a dove carrying an olive
branch along with the letter B and number 1, reflect its top priority
of helping families in need.
“This new image better reflects our vision and mission, said
Laurie Bleick, executive director, during the first Tennis Ball
dinner dance at The Castaway on Friday.
“It is an image that speaks directly to the values of each board
member, each staff member and each corporate community and individual
supporter of our cities youth and families,” she said.
The agency, which started in 1953, provides counseling for victims
of domestic violence and counseling in anger management, depression
and conflict resolution for students in the Burbank Unified School
District.
This was the agency’s first fundraiser of back-to-back events.
There was a dinner dance Friday night and Celebrity Tennis Tournament
Saturday at the Burbank Tennis Center.
The preliminary total raised from the weekend’s events was
$70,000, Bleick said.
Proceeds from both will go to the agency’s counseling programs and
securing a larger facility, said Kermit Floyd, president of the board
of directors.
“We get up to 1,000 calls a month from women in domestic violence
situations,” he said. “We have less than 2,000 square feet in the
present building and we set a goal to raise enough funds to
transition to a 6,000-square-foot building. You made it happen.
Without the guests, donors and the city, tonight wouldn’t have been a
success.”
Steve Starleaf, general manager of the tennis center, was chairman
of the tournament and his sister, Joyce Starleaf, a member of the
agency’s board of directors, was the chairwoman of the dinner. Both
events offered silent auctions with prizes donated by local merchants
and supporters.
Cartoon Network’s Brian Miller and Zita Lafebvre covered the
expense to hire artist James Winters to create the logo three years
ago.