 In October, Doris wasn’t sure what she was going to do. The government delayed the release of SNAP (food stamps), and at the same time it announced that the federal heating assistance program, LIHEAP, would be delayed by a month. Doris lives on a fixed income with her teenage granddaughter in an old farmhouse - and had an empty oil tank. “Everything just came up at the same time. No heating oil, no food, no nothing,” she said. “I just prayed to the Lord. I always believed that if I keep myself on a straight line, He’ll keep a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food on the table.” At the time, Doris put $150 toward heating oil, but it only provided 45 gallons. That’s when she thought of Lebanon County Christian Ministries, where she regularly shops at the Market on 7th for supplemental groceries. Because of your support, LCCM was able to help hundreds of people like Doris get through a difficult time during the government shutdown. You can help bridge the gap for our neighbors by becoming a monthly donor. Monthly giving provides stability for nonprofits, especially in times of uncertainty. LCCM also operates the upLIFT Lite program, which provides qualifying households with utility payment assistance for water, oil, propane, and electric. The upLIFT Lite program usually requires households to apply for LIHEAP prior to our crisis funding assistance. But in the absence of the LIHEAP program, LCCM made a temporary financial commitment to bridge the gap of funding during the delayed funding period. For comparison, LCCM spent just $885 on heating oil assistance in November 2024. In November 2025, that number skyrocketed to $21,169 due to the crisis. Doris came in for a short interview with upLIFT Lite staff and received heating oil in a matter of a couple of days from her heating oil company. Shortly after receiving oil, Doris was able to get back on her feet when her SNAP benefits were restored and she was able to apply for and receive a grant from LIHEAP to cover heating costs for the rest of the winter. “I just thank God for organizations like you,” she said. “You got me through the roughest time that I’ve had. When you think there’s no hope, there is hope out there because of people like you.” key findings among uplift lite guests 605 people participated in upLIFT Lite between the time it launched in September 2024 and December 2025.
Staff conducted reassessments with these guests 3 months later. Of the 20 percent of households staff were able to reach, those saying that they were more than 30 days behind on utility bills decreased significantly from 70% to 43%, according to LCCM's 2026 upLIFT Lite report. Significantly, food security rose from 28% to 44%. upLIFT Lite staff worked hard to ensure these guests knew about LCCM's Market on 7th. In the initial survey, 41% used the Market on 7th. In the three-month follow up, that number rose to 59%. Because you of you, we can provide households with multiple services to prevent evictions, provide food security, and provide referrals to community resources.
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 Ashley, left, and LCCM upLIFT coach, Lesvi Vazquez, celebrate after Ashley received her GED. Ashley came to Lebanon County Christian Ministries a year ago looking for help with food and a water bill. Little did she know at the time that this encounter would lead to getting her GED and becoming certified as a phlebotomist. That encounter with LCCM’s Market on 7th charitable food pantry, and upLIFT lite, LCCM’s utility payment assistance program, led to enrolling in the long-term upLIFT coaching program with coach Lesvi Vazquez. “I was just trying to find a way to get back into financial stability,” said Ashley, a single mother of two girls, ages 11 and 4.
Working with Lesvi gave her the motivation to tackle each small step one by one, and she credits conversations, logistical planning and resource sharing by Lesvi with helping her to succeed and stay on track.
“Overall, with the whole program and going to school, I learned to be a little more humble and patient. I have more confidence in myself because I wanted to give up a million times on this journey,” she said. Shopping with Lesvi for food at Grocery Outlet, LCCM’s upLIFT partner, gave Ashley the opportunity to learn how to budget appropriately and stock up on items. “I learned how to budget. I was calculating in my head all the time,” she said. “Shopping with Lesvi was just like hanging out with a friend.” As Ashley begins to plan for the next phase of life, she has some advice for the next group of upLIFT members. “Just have faith and keep showing up, no matter how you feel,” she said. “God is always there. No matter how down you feel, or don’t think you have enough food for the night or how you’ll feed your kids, or how to deal with your emotions. Just show up. Do not give up.”  FRESH Start staff from top, clockwise: Wenda Dinatale, Director of Operations, Amanda Zearfoss, Jay Wimmer and Chris Lopez, Support Service Coordinators. Running a 24/7 shelter for those experiencing homelessness takes a lot of logistical planning. Throw a significant snowstorm in the mix and now it becomes vastly more complicated. But that’s what the staff of the FRESH Start Emergency Shelter & Resource Center did the weekend of January 24-25 when the city of Lebanon received roughly a foot of snow. Preparing for a major snowstorm requires a lot of foresight, especially with 10 guests ranging in age from one year to 58 years old. “We come up with Plan A and Plan B of what we need to do,” said Wenda Dinatale, director of Shelter Operations. “The first thing you start doing is to make sure guests have food and have their medications. We look at a Plan B if we lose any electric.” Want to help your community in a meaningful way? FRESH Start is looking for overnight volunteers to stay at the shelter. Volunteers would arrive by 9 pm, be briefed by a staff member, and then it's lights out for guests at 10 pm. Volunteers can stay awake or sleep in a secured location within the shelter. Shifts are over around 7am when the morning staff arrive. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, please click below to apply today!  Preparation for the staff started days before. Who needs medication? When are they going to get their groceries? Have guests contacted their employers? And of course, how are staff going to get here? “They depend on us to be here,” said Jay Wimmer, support services coordinator. “If it’s not staffed there’s a huge problem. We all take it seriously.” Three of the four staff members live in town, and one even walked to work and home that weekend. Another staff member trying to leave the shelter needed help digging out her vehicle from the snow. One had to park in an alley way and “skated his way” to the shelter carefully. Staff also shoveled and helped a neighbor dig the vehicle out of the snow with a couple of neighborhood kids. Some guests were concerned about what would happen if electric did go out, but shelter said reassurance and safety of guests were their top priority. This was the first significant snowstorm FRESH Start planned for since moving into the single site location at the Chestnut Street Community Center two years ago. The previous model of FRESH Start was rotational among churches in Lebanon County, which meant more transportation of supplies and guests in poor weather conditions.
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April 2026
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