Former Association for Handicapped becomes Easter Seals

Friday, Aug. 30, 2002 | 2:53 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: August 31, 2002

A name change will mean a greater number of services for Southern Nevada's handicapped population, representatives from Endeavor said this week.

Beginning Sunday, Endeavor, formerly the Nevada Association for the Handicapped, will become Easter Seals of Southern Nevada, bringing the resources of the national organization to Clark County. The move will align all of the group's operations with Easter Seals, Vince Triggs, executive director of Endeavor, said.

Having the Easter Seals reputation behind the group should enhance its fund-raising power, Triggs said.

"If you have an Endeavor envelope and an Easter Seals envelope, which are you going to open first?" he said.

Endeavor will cease to exist following the formation of the local Easter Seals chapter, but its 120 full-time employees will keep their jobs, he said, likening the change to a fast-food franchise.

"There's actually no structural change whatsoever," Triggs said. "We've just become an Easter Seals affiliate. Actually, what we're hoping in the long-term is that we'll grow."

The program will continue to provide child care for the developmentally disabled, employment counseling and assisted living options for those who need it.

Currently, the group provides services for about 1,500 disabled Southern Nevada residents, he said.

"We looked at this long and hard and all we could see are positives," Triggs said.