MAY 2025

Dear Friends,

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” While its origin is the subject of debate (Chinese Proverb? Lao-Tzu? Maimonides?), we’ve adopted this principle for our Horizons transitional housing program.

But maybe there’s more to it. After all, many facing housing insecurity know how to fish – that is, they can identify their barriers to stable housing and know what’s needed to overcome them. That might not be enough. In his book Born a Crime, comedian and television personality Trevor Noah added, “…and it would be nice if you gave [them] a fishing rod.” 

So, perhaps the real goal is to not only to teach – but to equip – our Horizons program participants to fish their way through life. Maybe we need to help fill their tackle boxes, too.

The fishing adage is a reminder that while delivering formal programming on financial literacy, budgeting, tenant responsibilities and other topics is imperative, it isn’t enough. We also need to provide unhoused individuals and families with a safe place to live and grow, as well as the resources – community relationships, soft skills and more – that they can tie to their line when encountering the churning waters of life long into the future.

With gratitude,

Amy

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The countdown is on! We are excited to share that LHM Foundation will be opening the doors of the Horizons transitional housing facility to unhoused individuals and families in January 2026. While we have much work to do over the next seven months, we are grateful to the many donors, volunteers and community partners who helped us reach this milestone, and who continue to support us as we move forward.

With our opening day now set, renovations are in full swing. While the important roof and brickwork repairs might not be readily apparent, everyone will see that the building's lobby is getting a refresh to create a welcoming environment for all who enter.

Our friends at Warfel Construction have also demolished a wall in the dining room to give program participants more room to spread out. We were happy to discover that the building's prior owners left us with a little Christmas spirit, as Santa Claus keeps a watchful eye on the work!

What’s next? Furniture! LHM Foundation has been awarded $25,000 through the Dauphin County Local Share Municipal Grant (Gaming Grant) program. These funds will go toward furnishing our first ten transitional housing units, each with a bed, chest of drawers, table and chairs, microwave and minifridge, with additional pieces as necessary in family units. We’re grateful for this award from the Dauphin County Commissioners.

We are honored to announce that The Hershey Company has made a naming gift to LHM Foundation!

The Hershey Company is bringing its more than 130-year legacy of making a difference in communities and in people's lives to the Horizons transitional housing program by sponsoring our employment and education success space. This key area in our facility is where program participants will access technology, mentorship and other resources to make their employment and education goals a reality.

Thank you to The Hershey Company for its transformative investment in our South Central Pennsylvania community!

LHM Foundation’s core values – Generosity, Integrity, Valued Relationships and Empathy – are represented by the acronym G.I.V.E. And no one embodies that sentiment quite like LHM Foundation’s hospice clinical team. They have cared for dozens of patients since January 2024, providing compassion, support and even light during the end-of-life journey.

As we’ve said countless times, LHM Foundation was born out of a desire to identify, implement and sustain solutions for unmet needs in our communities. That sentiment runs through all we do. We have never wanted to supplant or replace the good work of others. Instead, we seek to fill gaps in care for those in need. Over the past 18 months, we have learned that there is an overabundance of quality hospice providers in our area. As a result, LHM Foundation has determined that it will cease hospice operations in mid-June, after carefully transitioning each of our patients to another provider.

While this was a difficult decision, it is heartening to know that, thankfully, families are not struggling to find skilled and compassionate caregivers to provide hospice support. We are proud to stand by our promise to devote our resources towards fulfilling unmet needs in our communities. As the “I” (integrity) in our core values represents, we will do the right thing… even when it’s difficult.

Beam Teams in action! Our Beam Team volunteers always enjoy serving lunch in the "Kingdom Kafe" at Bethesda Men's Mission. We appreciate the good work that Bethesda Mission does in our area and the opportunity to interact with its guests during mealtime.

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

CATHY WITMER

Meet Cathy! Even nonprofit organizations committed to doing good in our community need a team to keep an eye on financial checks and balances. As LHM Foundation's Controller, Cathy Witmer does just that... and more!

Cathy is also committed to giving back outside our office walls as a member of our Beam Teams. "When not spending team with my family and friends, or cheering on the Hershey Bears," Cathy says, "I enjoy spending time helping others."

As a valued volunteer, Cathy has loaded boxes of food into cars at food banks, provided companionship to hospice patients, picked up litter during highway cleanups, packed kits for those in need, and so much more. “It has always been very rewarding for me to help others when I can,” says Cathy. “It brings me great joy to assist others with simple tasks or just listening to them. Many people need someone to just listen, and I love being able to do this. The smile on their face brings joy to my heart.”

Thank you, Cathy. You truly are a bright light at LHM Foundation!

To learn more about ways to support LHM Foundation's work, please contact:

Amy Foerster, CEO

717.219.3638

amy.foerster@lhm-foundation.org

Ellen Abbott, Dir. of Development 717.569.3807

ellen.abbott@lhm-foundation.org

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