APRIL 2026

Dear Friends,

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I want to share a bit about the moms who have brought their children to LHM Foundation’s Horizons transitional housing program.

Of the 16 adults currently enrolled in the Horizons program, six are joined by children. In fact, we are home to a total of 12 kids, ages 2 months to 16 years. (My heart nearly burst the first time I walked into our dining room with all of them there together!)

Behind these cheerful, chatty munchkins are amazingly resilient moms. Whether they’ve left volatile relationships or the chaos of constant couch-surfing, they came to us driven by love to find safety, security and stability not only for themselves, but for their children.

While they might not realize it yet, these women have passed their strength on to their children. Upon entering our building for the first time early this month, one young girl exclaimed, “This place is like frickin’ Disneyland!” Not quite, but as Walt Disney himself said, “A chance to change your fate? Only you can do that.” And that is exactly what these moms are doing.

With gratitude and best wishes for a happy Mother’s Day,

Amy C. Foerster, CEO LHM Foundation

Join us for the first annual dinner benefiting LHM Foundation!

Saturday, September 12, 2026 | The Country Club of Harrisburg
See the May newsletter for information about ticket sales.

Speaking of the kids in the Horizons program, April provided several opportunities to engage their interests, with adults joining in the fun as well!

We had a famous fluffy-tailed visitor in early April. (Adding to the special moment, the long-eared guest of honor was one of our adult participants in disguise!) Although the rainy day kept us indoors, our youngest children also enjoyed an easter egg hunt in the dining room and chapel.

As the weather improved throughout April, we explored opportunities for the kids to get outside, adding a basketball hoop and soccer goal to our 15-acre campus.

While we were initially motivated by wanting to help the kids burn off energy, hearing the laughter accompanying one of our single men shooting hoops with them was a bright spot in the month.

Finally, Earth Day provided an opportunity for the young ones – and the young at heart – to dig in the dirt. We planted tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, peanuts and herbs outside the dining room – the beginnings of a kitchen garden that will grow alongside the community it supports!

Mention LHM Foundation or our unique code (50322) when donating clothes at any CommunityAid store. LHM Foundation gets paid for every pound donated!

DID YOU KNOW?

MEALS AT HORIZONS

LHM Foundation provides Horizons program participants with three meals each day, seven days a week. That’s a lot of food!

Although participants are not required to eat in our dining room – The Sunflower Café – they are encouraged to do so. The meals are free and, even more importantly, the dining room is a place to build community. In fact, this month we watched as a child who had just moved into our building with her mom and siblings walked into the dining room and recognized another child from her classroom at school. Instant connection!

During the first four weeks of April, LHM Foundation’s dining services staff and volunteers served 240 breakfasts, 472 dinners, and provided an additional 235 “grab and go” lunches to program participants. But where does that food come from?

We get most of our items from three valuable community partners. The Midwest Food Bank and Bethesda Mission Food Bank both supply food free-of-charge, and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank provides milk, eggs, proteins and more at a discount. But because we want to serve balanced meals with as many fresh ingredients as possible, we also need to purchase certain items at retail stores and rely on food drives organized by donors.

We are excited to see activity at The Sunflower Café continue to grow with our program enrollment!

POWERED BY PARTNERS!

M&T BANK

Financial literacy programming – with topics from budgeting to credit-building and beyond – is an important component of the Horizons transitional housing program.

This month, Gavin Leader, Branch Manager at M&T Bank’s Linglestown location, discussed the importance of budgeting with Horizons participants. Gavin’s practical approach spurred a lively discussion, with Gavin and attendees exchanging budgeting pointers. Thank you, Gavin!

Thank you to our friends at Mid Penn Bank, who volunteered their time on a lovely spring day to support LHM Foundation’s Horizons transitional housing program. By staining decks and picnic tables, they helped to create outdoor spaces to foster community in the warmer months ahead!

While we’re celebrating volunteers, please welcome Wendy Fellinger as LHM Foundation’s new Volunteer Coordinator!

Building on her more than three decades of experience as an educator in urban school districts and as volunteer coordinator for a local nonprofit focused on food insecurity, Wendy is enthusiastic about this new opportunity to connect people and purpose!

Interested in joining our Beam Teams? Sign up at lhm-foundation.org/volunteer. Contact Wendy Fellinger, Volunteer Coordinator, at wendy.fellinger@lhm-foundation.org or 717.402.6317 with questions.

Thank you, Beam Team volunteers!

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

MINDY McDONALD

Meet Mindy! Mindy McDonald is always on the move, whether she’s exercising, traveling, or keeping up with her three busy grandchildren.

Reflecting on growing up with an architect father whose firm operated out of their home, Mindy says, “I learned early on to love new projects and adapt to the challenges and successes that are part of change and building something new.”

That passion shines through in Mindy’s work with LHM Foundation, where she volunteers regularly at the Horizons transitional housing program’s Resource Desk. “For me, it is so fulfilling to be part of the start of LHM Foundation and to see it and the courageous participants we serve meet and exceed their goals. I am grateful to be part of that journey!”

And we are grateful for Mindy’s energy, adaptability, and heart.

Thank you, Mindy!

Spot a lighthouse on your travels? Share it with us!

Although our work is depicted by the beam emanating from a lighthouse’s lamp, the entire lighthouse still holds a special place in our hearts! Friend of LHM Foundation, Alyssa Foerster, sent us this photo of the Ned’s Point Lighthouse in Buzzard’s Bay, near Mattapoisett, Massachusetts.

It cost $5,000 to build the lighthouse in 1838. Named after Ned Dexter, a local farmer, it was constructed with locally-sourced stone from nearby beaches. The 32 steps inside the lighthouse are cantilevered to the outside wall – they’ve stood the test of time without any mortar!

The Great Blizzard of 1888 significantly damaged the original stone keeper’s house, which was replaced with a wooden structure. Although the lighthouse was deactivated in 1952, it was reactivated in 1961 with its current 6-second isophase (the lantern’s equal time of light and dark). The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Send your lighthouse photos to info@lhm-foundation.org. Include the location and any information you wish to share!

YOUR GIFT CAN TRANSFORM LIVES

Support individuals and families working toward financial stability and housing security in LHM Foundation’s Horizons transitional housing program.

A generous donor is matching dollar-for-dollar the first $3 million raised!

DONATE TODAY

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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