A social services agency in the Quad Cities is 125 years old on Monday, but because of the pandemic will postpone a public celebration until next year.
Spokesman Steve Gottcent says Friendly House in Davenport provides a variety of services for children, seniors, and families, and serves more than 9,000 people every year.
"We want to make a difference here, not only in Davenport but in the Quad Cities. Obviously Davenport is a bit of a higher focus just because that's where we are immediately. But we want to continue to work to identify the needs of people in our local community and do what we can to offer, not just needs to help them survive, but to help them thrive, and help take the next steps forward in their life."
Friendly House was founded in 1896 by the Reverend Ned Lee in the Bucktown district of downtown Davenport as the People's Union Mission. In 1911 the name was changed to Friendly House, and soon afterwards ( 1913 ) moved to Third and Taylor streets where it stayed until 1993 when it moved to its current home at 12th and Myrtle streets.
