Cray Youth & Family Services has spent thirty years working to “make life better for kids” in New Castle and Lawrence County. Now, taking a new approach, we are working to improve the community in which our children live. Cray understands the critical role community plays in the healthy development of children. When our community fails, it fails our children. Since 1984, Cray has provided services and programs to at-risk kids in the hope that they could become productive members of our community. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts and the progress individual children and families have made, the demand for our services continues to increase. The number of struggling people our community produces is outpacing the ability of social services to help. We need to build a stronger community.
And so, Cray has made the decision to expand our attention from “Making Life Better” for our kids and families to “Making Life Better” for our community. The Confluence is just one of the ventures established to strengthen and improve our community while providing needed programming revenue to support the at-risk kids ad families that we have traditionally served.
Cray chose the name “The Confluence” from more than 200 contest submissions from the community. Confluence is defined as an act or process of merging. “We see this coffee house as a place where the community can come together,” says David Copper, Executive Director of Cray Youth & Family Services. “The name just makes sense.”
Envisioned as a place that fosters a sense of community, residents can come together and engage at The Confluence. Mr. Copper believes one of the keys to revitalizing the New Castle area is to have a vibrant downtown, one with places for people to meet and come together. “Our agenda is simple. With a philanthropic opportunity, we plan on setting ourselves apart from the average coffee house by incorporating and assisting the surrounding community.”