This Spring, Lutherwood announced an exciting milestone in our organization’s history;
we are changing our name to Starling Community Services.
Why Change Our Name?
Lutherwood has grown. We started 54 years ago as a Lutheran Church of Canada vision to support 10 “troubled” youth at a time when the term “children’s mental health” did not really exist. Today, we have grown into an independent, multi-service agency that annually supports about 18,000 people with diverse backgrounds and identities.
While we remain proud of our heritage, in our conversations with grass roots organizations, community leaders and staff, we realized that we needed a new name that builds on this foundation of success and also reflects our welcoming, equitable, and accessible services.
Why Starling Community Services?
‘Starling’ was chosen as the birds work together for protection, warmth, food, and shelter, and they are adaptable and resilient. The root word ‘star’ represents guidance (stars) and quality (gold star). And ‘community services’ was added to provide a more descriptive aspect to the name.
Still “Caring People. Strengthening Lives.”
During the renaming process, we heard from many who asked us to keep our tagline as
it is a powerful statement that represents us well. Even some clients have pointed to it as
representative of who we are and what we do. It also forms a connection to our history…
so we kept it.
Our Staff are Our Brand
While the visual elements of our brand (name, logo, and colour scheme) represent a
refreshing change, the essence of our brand – our client-focus, service, and values – remain
the same. Our staff are the reason people continue to come to us for support. And they will
help our new name take flight as they continue their great work in the community.