NATCHEZ — Saturday will mark 200 years since a group of eight Christian women in the Mississippi territory got together to found the Female Charitable Society, today known as Natchez Children’s Services.

Back in 1816, a year before Mississippi was granted statehood, problems including the Indian Wars and the yellow fever epidemic created a number of orphans. These eight wives of community leaders and plantation owners sought to help educate and house these children, and the orphanage was opened in 1821.

“On March 12, 1816, these women gathered and formed a constitution, raised the money and called themselves the Female Charitable Society,” Natchez Children’s Services Director Nancy Hungerford said.

On Saturday at 3 p.m. the first 200 years will be celebrated at First Presbyterian Church, 117 S. Pearl St. A children’s choir will perform, and there will be a presentation on the organization’s history.

There will be an open house following that at the Natchez Children’s Service office at 806 N. Union St. until 6 p.m.

“We want to honor the 200 years that we have been blessed to have, as well as look forward to the next century,” Hungerford said. “We continue to save lives, as per our mission statement, ‘One child at a time.’

“Everyone is welcome to come. We’ll be providing refreshments and giving people an opportunity to see how we are helping children today.”

Today, the organization no longer houses children, and has not since 2009. Ever since the Olivia Y lawsuit in 2004, the state’s Department of Human Services has been moving away from taking children out of homes.

“The goal today is prevention, not reacting,” Hungerford said. “We want to keep these children in a home environment, with their parents, extended family or in foster care.”

The center has always changed with the times, as is evident in its titles over the years. In 1825 it became the Natchez Orphan Asylum to focus directly on its mission. In the 1860s it was renamed Protestant Orphan Asylum to distinguish it from the two orphanages maintained by the Roman Catholic Church, D’Evereux Hall Orphan Asylum for boys and the older St. Mary’s Orphan Asylum for girls. It became the Natchez Protestant Home in 1928, an updated term from asylum.

In 1985 it became the Natchez Children’s Home to reflect its non-sectarian status. In 2005, it added services to the end of the title to emphasize that it’s mission extended beyond residential housing. And finally, the home was dropped in 2015 to better match its outpatient model of services.

“We have always been flexible and adaptable with the times in the way we have delivered services, and that’s why we have made it 200 years,” Hungerford said.

Now it is all about providing services, which include a children’s advocacy center, therapeutic services and victim’s advocacy. The non-profit also works with the Mississippi Children’s Home Services based in Jackson, which helps them provide other services.

There is an outpatient clinic, a family preservation program, preschool day treatment for youth 4-5 years of age with a diagnosis for severe emotional disturbance, and a telemedicine service to help area children reach doctors in Jackson.

“We’re trying to keep children from having to live in a children’s home,” Hungerford said.

Another reason that the children’s service center is still around is how good the community has been to it with its time, talents and treasures, said Hungerford. Volunteer groups, such as Roving Volunteers in Christ’s Service, which has been coming for 15 years, and Boston University’s alternative spring break program, are present at this time.

RVICS will be at the center all month, this week helping with upkeep at the entrance. Boston University students are giving up their spring break this week to help Waterproof farmer and volunteer Buddy Miller with the garden.

“I think what they do here is very important,” said BU student Luke Daly, of Long Island, N.Y. “What happens in early childhood is key in how you might develop as a person.

“Too many kids suffer from abuse or the effects of poverty. They need someone to be there for them to make sure everything is going to be all right. I’m happy to help these folks do their work.”