Wellspring’s roots began in 1968 when five downtown congregations (Emmanuel Lutheran, First Presbyterian, St. John’s United Church of Christ, Trinity English Lutheran and Wayne Street Methodist) plus the YWCA joined together to bring it to life. At its inception, the main purpose was providing summer programs for youth who lived in Fort Wayne’s West Central neighborhood. Pastors Bill Moody of First Presbyterian and Arnold Pierson of Trinity English Lutheran played key roles in the formation of the program. Initially, the agency was called West Central Neighborhood Summer Program but was later changed to West Central Neighborhood Committee. In 1989, members of the board voted to change the name to West Central Neighborhood Ministry. In June 2004, the name was changed to Wellspring. One reason for the modification was that the organization was serving a much broader population base than just the West Central area. From the early years, the organization quickly expanded to offer a variety of programs focusing on food and clothing insecurity, and the educational, social, physical and recreational needs of at-risk individuals. In 2020, Wellspring directly impacted the lives of over 20,000 clients throughout Allen County – the most ever in this organization’s history.