As its mission to deliver healing and hope to children and families has expanded across the country and around the globe, Salina-based Saint Francis Community Services today announced the rebranding of its organization as Saint Francis Ministries, complete with the new URL of www.SaintFrancisMinistries.org. The new brand includes a new logomark representing a dove in flight, ringed in a circle of inclusiveness and directing people toward Saint Francis. The colors of golden yellow and blue reflect the warmth of hope and healing and a sky of limitless possibilities.

Celebrations of the new brand are occurring statewide today in Saint Francis’ offices in Colby, Concordia, Dodge City, El Dorado, Emporia, Garden City, Hays, Hutchinson, Junction City, Kansas City, Liberal, Manhattan, Newton, Salina, Wellington and Wichita.

“We never considered dropping ‘Saint Francis’ from our name, as the saint’s concern for those in need personifies who we are,” explained The Very Reverend Robert N. Smith, Dean, President and CEO. “Saint Francis Ministries better conveys who we are today, an organization rooted in the Episcopal faith, born of mission and breathed into life through action. We do more than pray, we roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty, doing what needs to be done to transform lives and systems in ways others have thought impossible.

“Many people hear our name and think of us primarily for our foster care and adoption services, but today Saint Francis Ministries is far more than that,” Smith continued. “Every day in one or more of our facilities, we are helping survivors of child sex trafficking, adults with disabilities, refugees and immigrants, people wanting to break addictive behaviors, families trying to stay together, and children touched by trauma. We are expanding globally, encompassing a wider community of partnerships, and venturing to create new services where we see unmet needs. Saint Francis Ministries is only the beginning of greater things to come.”

Saint Francis Ministries geographic and programmatic scope includes:

Kansas. As one of two state contractors, Saint Francis Ministries provides foster care, adoption, family preservation and kinship services to more than 3,700 children statewide. Saint Francis operates 23 facilities in 16 Kansas communities. Among its unique programs are a secure care facility for chronic runaways in Sedgwick County; a refugee resettlement effort in Sedgwick County; a state-of-the-art psychiatric residential treatment facility in Saline County; and a therapeutic, restorative program for survivors of child sex trafficking, also in Saline County.

Oklahoma. Saint Francis provides recruitment, training, certification, and supervision of foster homes in 52 Oklahoma counties throughout eastern and central Oklahoma, serving more than 150 children. Saint Francis operates offices in McAlester, Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Nebraska. With offices in North Platte and Grand Island, Saint Francis provides foster care services to more than 160 children statewide.

Texas. Saint Francis provides recruitment, training, certification, and supervision of foster homes in 29 Texas counties, including Taylor (Abilene) and Wichita (Wichita Falls), and counties in the north and west central regions of Texas. Currently, 15 children are currently receiving services.

Mississippi. Operating under the name of Saint Francis Bridgeway in Picayune, and Saint Francis Cheshire in Gulfport, the organization offers supervised, shared and supported living, as well as supported employment for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). Job discovery, placement, coaching and training is a hallmark of these programs.

Central America and China. Since 2015, Saint Francis Ministries has expanded its ministry to include comprehensive programs serving children and families in El Salvador and Honduras as well as strengthening the field of child welfare in China through its participation in the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Professional Fellows Program.

“As we announce this rebranding effort, we are also celebrating our 73rd anniversary of serving children and families,” Smith said. “We’ve undergone several name changes over the years, but at our core, we have never wavered from our primary mission which is to provide healing and hope to children and families. We have more than 1,300 employees carrying out this mission, and we know their efforts make a difference every single day. Our new name reflects our vision for the future, our hope for those we serve, and our passion to develop new avenues of service that we haven’t even realized yet.”

For more information, see www.SaintFrancisMinistries.org