Lilliput Families Is Now Wayfinder Family Services

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Mar 15, 2023, 12:24 ET

CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif., March 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 7^th, Councilmember Porsche Middleton, Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce representatives Al Gonzalez, Tony Gariano, Jarrod Little, Rene Larscheid and Diane Ebbitt and representatives from the offices of Senator Roger Niello, Assemblyman Josh Hoover and Supervisor Sue Frost celebrated Wayfinder Family Services with a ribbon cutting ceremony at Wayfinder's Citrus Heights office.

Members of the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce, elected officials gather for a ribbon cutting ceremony with Wayfinder Family Services staff and leadership.

Wayfinder Family Services board member John Nicolaus and Wayfinder supporter GiGi Rayford joined members of the Wayfinder leadership team, Carol Ramirez, vice president and chief program officer, Tanya Fontenot, associate vice president of programs and community mental health and Doni DeBolt, associate director of development, to welcome the group.

The ribbon cutting celebrated that as of this year, Lilliput Families, a children and family services agency founded in Sacramento, California will be known as Wayfinder Family Services. In 2020, Lilliput merged with Wayfinder, a statewide nonprofit human services organization which provides family, foster care, adoption, kinship, residential, mental health and disabilities services. Lilliput's families will not be impacted by the name change; its Citrus Heights office and all existing satellite offices in Northern California will remain open. Wayfinder's main office is in Los Angeles, California.

"We are so proud of Lilliput's legacy as a trailblazer in inclusive adoptions and kinship services, and even more excited about our future as one organization: Wayfinder Family Services," said Jay Allen, Wayfinder's president and chief operating officer.

Wayfinder Family Services was founded in 1953 as the Foundation for the Junior Blind. Its programs initially provided children who are blind and visually impaired with equitable opportunities for recreation and a chance to build independence. Since that first year, when the organization served 15 children through a storefront location, it has grown and evolved into an essential pillar of support statewide for people of a broad range of ages and abilities. Wayfinder now annually serves more than 21,000 children, youth and family members across California.

"With a combined history of over 100 years, there is no organization better poised to tackle the complex needs of some of California's most vulnerable children, youth and families. We believe in the potential for each and every one of them and are here to help them build a better future," continued Allen. "Through strategic mergers and thoughtful expansion of our programs, Wayfinder has responded to changing and unmet needs in our state and emerged as a trailblazer and leader in our field. I am incredibly proud of every chapter in our evolution and looking forward to continuing our work in building a just, equitable future for those with disabilities, children in foster care, adoptive and kinship families, those who have experienced trauma and many, many more," said Allen.

About Wayfinder Family Services

Wayfinder Family Services is the place to turn for people facing the greatest challenges. The organization provides expert, individualized support and services to children, youth, adults and families—from people with vision loss and developmental disabilities to children in need of temporary shelter, foster care and adoption.

SOURCE Wayfinder Family Services