Located on the second floor of the old Recreation Centre in Mission, BC, Mission Community Services Society was launched in 1972 by Mr. Barbara Wightman (Assistant Director/Secretary) with a mandate to provide services more effectively to persons served and to develop new programs that served the needs of the community. They started with programs like Emergency Transportation, Meals on Wheels, a Workshop Activity Centre and Family Life Groups. Phyllis Hickson, R. Lyons and Mrs. Barbara Wightman who headed up the committee. Programs that followed included an Emergency Baby-sitting Service, Tutorial Assistance, Parents Anonymous and Carefree (a program for pre-school handicapped children). There was also a program, which was held in conjunction with the library, in which volunteers took books to people with limited mobility, hospitals and nursing homes. Mission Community Services moved its offices to the local hospital which had been closed in 1965 and operated from this location until building its head office in 1999 where it currently sits on second avenue in Mission. Since its inception in 1972, Mission Community Services has maintained a focus on helping fellow community members who need assistance to cope with the realities of life. What started out as neighbours helping neighbours 37 years ago has evolved into an organization that operates 25 different programs and while the programs may have changed, the focus has not. Mission Community Services is about helping, plain and simple.
