Roxburgh's Health Camp, like its counterparts throughout the country, is now known as Stand Children's Services, in a rebranding aimed at ''making a stand'' for the country's most vulnerable children, its chief executive says.
The change of name after 93 years was announced by Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett yesterday.
The Roxburgh-based facility will celebrate with an open day from 11.30am-2pm today. Stand chief executive Dr Fiona Inkpen said the new name and visual identity better reflected the work the organisation now carried out.
''We've been growing and evolving and we've moved from a health service, based in a town, offering residential respite care, to a specialist social service covering the wider area, involving families, teachers and communities.
''The new name, Stand Children's Service, Tu Maia Whanau, reflects the breadth and depth of our service and highlights that we're standing strong for vulnerable children.''
The camps would be known as ''children's villages''.
The service based at Roxburgh covered all of Otago and Southland, she said.
''We've invited everyone to make a stand with us, to make a difference to children who are vulnerable because of the environment in which they are raised and their own complex needs.
''We know what we do does make a difference so we have to think boldly about issues that affect vulnerable children.''
The core work of the service, supporting children aged between 5 and 12 and their families would continue, Dr Inkpen said. Stand Children's Services chairman Wayne Chapman, of Whangarei, said the preparatory rebranding work was done free by branding firm Insight.
''We don't have a figure on paper yet for what the final cost will be, but it'll be paid from returns from our investments; in other words, not by the taxpayer.''
