12 ways you made a difference for LCCM guests in 2020

2020 has been a year like no other. Early on, we admit the pandemic had us worried. But the community rallied around the guests at Lebanon County Christian Ministries by partnering with us to ensure no one went hungry or without shelter during what is arguably the most difficult and uncertain year of our lives.
We thank you so much for your support.

​Now that it’s Christmas, we thought this would be a good time to tell you 12 ways you made a difference for guests of LCCM.

1. Food distribution

​Thanks to your support, LCCM was able to distribute a total of 354,051 pounds of food in all its food programs. That includes providing 1,721 vouchers for emergency food orders to households in Lebanon County.

2. Free noon meals

Your support made it possible for LCCM to serve 51,363 free noon meals. Before the pandemic, LCCM served an average of 130 free noon meals daily. Every day since the start of the pandemic, it's been anywhere between 150 to 283 meals. Our guests include men, women and children of all ages.

3. Volunteers

The scope of volunteer involvement at LCCM is breathtaking. Our volunteers served 40,612 hours in all programs. When the pandemic began, LCCM also saw a surge in new volunteers, who worked alongside of our veteran volunteers, and all worked tirelessly to serve many people.

4. John

Your support has made it possible to provide a daily meal to people like John, who was laid off from his job at the start of the pandemic. “It’s a big deal,” he said. “It’s had a very big impact.”

5. Vanessa 

Vanessa used the food pantry at LCCM one time in the past, and that was after the birth of her son 15 years ago. But when she and her husband were both laid off at the start of the pandemic, she turned to LCCM again to feed her family of five. “God has been good to us,” she said. “I just feel hopeful.”

6. Shelter

Because of you, LCCM's FRESH Start Emergency Shelter & Resource Center was able to provide 4,204 nights of stay to 126 guests.

7. Hurdles to Housing fundraiser

COVID-19 changed a lot of things, including how we fundraise. Our traditional event could not be held in person, so we instead created a virtual experience called Hurdles to Housing. Between a barbecue fundraiser and the virtual f​undraiser, families and church teams raised $10,000 for the shelter! 
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8. Mindy and Jayvion

Mindy says FRESH Start helped bring order and stability to her life so that she could create a better life for her 2-year-old son. "I really didn’t have a support system growing up, so having that here was very, very special to me," she said.

9. Kelsey and AJ

​Kelsey says the staff at FRESH Start provide her the compassion and accountability she needs while she secures child care, a job and housing for her and her 3-year-old son, AJ. 

10. Clothing bank

Thanks to your in-kind donations, LCCM was able to provide 19,567 clothing items, including coats, hats and gloves, to 845 adults and 620 children in Lebanon County.

Community support

So many churches, businesses and organizations went above and beyond to help LCCM this year. There are too many acts of compassion to mention here, but we'll provide one example. Strickler Insurance employees who volunteered at LCCM's noon meal couldn't help but notice we didn't have a dishwasher, so they held a fundraiser and bought one!

12. YOU CHANGED LIVES

When the pandemic hit, we admit that we worried. But you showed us we had no reason to. God provided everything LCCM needed through the hands and feet in our community - you. Because of you, lives were changed.