Welcome to the Newton Community Service Center (NCSC) website. We hope you’ll be a frequent visitor, and we invite you to check back in the next few months to see the site change to reflect the many exciting developments at NCSC.

You may already know that NCSC is the largest community-service agency in the area. Annually we serve thousands of individuals and families of all ages and diverse backgrounds – economically, culturally, ethnically -- from Newton, Waltham and surrounding communities. If you know our organization, or have benefited from our services, please help us spread the word. And don’t forget to say hello and tell us about your experiences at NCSC through our contact tab; we plan to use many of those stories for our upcoming centennial celebration.

There may be a few things you don’t know about our agency. For example,

• Our founders, residents of West Newton Hill, created the center as a place to provide educational and support services to the sons and daughters of their domestic help.
• NCSC has maintained the founder’s vision of providing services based on family and community needs to individuals of all social, ethnic and economic backgrounds, regardless of ability to pay.
• Our clients today range in age from three months to 100 years.

Our services have always contained empowering activities to help individuals help themselves, because we believe that by transforming and enriching the lives of individuals in a multitude of ways, we can be the catalyst for building a stronger community. We offer:
• Center-based services for children, teens, young adults, retirees and elders.
• Home-based programs in child care, pre-literacy training, and family guidance.
• School- or recreation-based programs in child assault prevention education, summer camp and teen explorers’ academies.

As we prepare for the next 100 years, NCSC is building the programs, systems and facilities to best address the current and projected needs of our constituents. The year 2005 marked the beginning of a new era for NCSC. After six months as the Interim Executive Director, I was appointed Executive Director by the NCSC Board of Directors in November. With over 30 years experience as a leader in not-for-profits, I have been working closely with the staff and Board to develop new systems and accountability standards, to augment the organizational structure, and to formulate a strategic plan that will guide NCSC into the future. In early 2006, we will finalize and implement this plan to serve as a guideline to individual program policies, as well as a reaffirmation of our agency’s mission:
To strengthen individual, family, and community life through educational programs and a network of support services that promote social, emotional and physical wellness, and continuity of care for all ages.

We look forward to sharing more with you about our plans. Please feel free to contact me or visit us anytime! And please, join us on our journey to become the “true center” of the community.

Bill

William H. Garr
President & CEO
617-969-5906, x116
bgarr@ncscweb.org