By Caitlin Bauer
Eagle Staff Writer
MIDDLESEX TWP — When Beverly Kurtzrock moved to Saxonburg in 2008, she and her husband were in need but didn’t know where to turn.
A friend referred her to the Lighthouse Foundation, where she was able to receive services and now volunteers at the food bank.
“When you go there, you feel a sense of warmth from everybody,” Kurtzrock said.
The Lighthouse has helped thousands of people like Kurtzrock since it was established 25 years ago.
“It’s rebuilding lives; that’s what it’s all about,” said co-founder the Rev. Richard Morledge, pastor emeritus of the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown in Richland Township.
The Lighthouse was created in August 1985 as a mission outreach of the church. Within a year, it became an independent nonprofit organization.
The organization’s name was one of several suggested during a staff meeting, said the Rev. Vern Borchert, Lighthouse director of special projects.
“The name was perfect,” he said. “We wanted to be where the light overcomes the darkness in the community.”
Borchert served as executive director from 1985 to 2008, when his son, the Rev. Dan Borchert, took the position.
In its early years, the Lighthouse was run out of the former Richland Restaurant in Bakerstown. By 1991, the organization moved to its current site in Middlesex Township.
The Lighthouse now serves more than 6,000 clients each year in northern Allegheny and Butler counties.
It offers about 15 programs, including a food bank, a furniture and appliance warehouse for those in need, and computer classes to teach basic skills at no cost.
Additionally, the Lighthouse is the sole provider of transitional housing for young adults and families within its service area.
The Penny House in Middlesex Township serves men, and the Blanchard House in Butler serves women, all ages 18 to 21. The foundation also maintains five townhouses for single-parent families in Butler. The transitional housing programs offer guidance and structure to clients who must actively be seeking employment or enrolled in a program to make them more employable.
The organization now has seven full-time employees, three part-time employees, and between 50 and 65 active volunteers in its various projects.
“It fulfills you; I’m very blessed,” said Kurtzrock, who has volunteered in the food bank for about two years. “They’re very good people, and they always make sure God is involved in our blessings and prayers.”
People from all walks of life give their time, from civic groups and clubs to students and other individuals.
“It’s like a community,” Kurtzrock said.
Volunteers are always appreciated, but ultimately, the Lighthouse’s greatest need is financial, Dan Borchert said.
The Lighthouse operates on public funding and private donations from more than 1,500 individuals, faith-based organizations and community groups.
First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown is still the Lighthouse’s largest funding source, Vern Borchert said.
The annual budget is about $800,000, and the Foundation is running about $100,000 short this year, Dan Borchert said.
The most difficult part of the job is turning people away, he said.
“When you get 50 calls a day and you know that you can’t help them all, when you have to tell people, ‘I want to help you, I really do, but I can’t,’ that kills you,” Dan Borchert said. “These people all deserve to be helped.”
Despite the challenges, the reward lies in seeing people’s lives change for the better, Vern Borchert said.
“Seeing some of these people who were headed for death or jail now doing well, raising a family, paying taxes — that’s the greatest joy,” he said.
The staff will continue the Lighthouse’s work in the same tradition, Vern Borchert said.
“We have a great young staff; they’re going to change things,” he said. “They’ve got the same heart we had 25 years ago.”
“We just hope it will live on for a long time,” Morledge added. “Twenty-five years is a nice milestone, but it’s only the beginning.”

1302 East Cruikshank Road at Route 8

Butler, PA 16002

724-898-4673 ext. 34 or 724-586-5554 ext. 34

davemiller@thelighthouseonline.net

Classes Start Week of Monday, September 13, 2010

Classes meet once a week for 6 weeks (Total of 12 Hours of Training)

Classes are free we do ask for a voluntary one time donation of at least $5

Week 1: Sept. 13-18 Week2:Sept. 20-25

Week 3: Sept. 27-Oct. 2 Week 4: Oct. 4-9

Week 5: Oct. 11-16 Week 6: Oct. 18-23

Excel with Ray Johnson  !!Class Is Full!!

Monday, September 13, 2010 10am-Noon

Computer 1 with Ralph P.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 9am-11am

Computer 1 with Ralph P.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 1pm-3pm

Computer 2 with Ralph P. !!Class Is Full!!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 9am-11am

Computer 2 with Ralph P.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 1pm-3pm

Digital Photography with Regis !!Class Is Full!!

Thursday, September 16, 2010 10am-Noon

Microsoft Word with Sandy !!Class Is Full!!

Thursday, September 16, 2010 1pm-3pm

Computer 1 with Laura and Tim

Friday, September 17, 2010 9am-11am

Computer 1 with Chandima

Saturday, September 18, 2010 10AM-Noon

Wheels of Work Robbed

Last October, on a beautiful sunny day, the Blanchard House was reopened after a devastating fire closed the home for 18-21 year old homeless young women a year before. Many volunteers and staff worked tirelessly to create a warm and welcoming environment for the many residents sure to pass through the doors for years to come.

Proverbs talks about the cleansing affect fire can have in life “Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith”(Proverbs 25:4). While the Blanchard house fire was not something any of us would have ever planned or chosen to happen, God can use every circumstance for the better! Because of the fire, we were able to completely renovate and update the house, making it a wonderful place for our residents to live and work on goals of employment, permanent housing and education. Along with our new beginning, we got new residents and a new Resident Manager, a fresh start for everyone!

The Blanchard House is a wonderful place for these young women to gain stability, clarity and support to help them through what is sometimes a rough transition in life.  Many times, these young women are fleeing domestic abuse, or are trying to maintain a lifestyle free from the shackles of drug and alcohol dependence.

Since the re-opening, The Lighthouse has started a partnership with the First Methodist Church of Butler focusing on mentorship and relationship building with women of the church and our residents. While the partnership is in its infancy, we anticipate a great response for everyone involved. We have a wonderful Christian, resident manager, Victoria, who has really taken her job seriously and our young women are flourishing under her guidance.

Tori came to us in March of this year, and has impacted the program tremendously. While maintaining full-time employment at Kids Count, a co-ed group home in Butler, she spends an enormous amount of time building relationships with our residents. She holds monthly house meetings, sends out a newsletter to residents, hosts one-on-one dinners with each girl as often as she can, and schedules movie nights for bonding time. Her approach to her job as resident manager is one of support, love, accountability and encouragement. And the results show that her approach is working…

Presently all four residents are employed, working towards educational goals and are paying their program fees consistently.  Elizabeth * came to us in December of last year after fleeing abuse in her home. She is a full-time student at Butler County Community College, where she was honored as a Deans List student this past spring. She hopes to become a nurse in the next few years. She also is working 30 hours a week at a chiropractor’s office to off set the cost of her education. Elizabeth has her driver’s license and a car and is doing amazing things at the Blanchard House.

Katrina* was referred to the Lighthouse after experiencing traumatic family conflict in March of 2010. She also struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for a few years. She is currently doing very well as a full-time student at Slippery Rock where she is pursuing her career in social services. She is also working full-time at McDonalds.

Katie* has been with us for less than a month, after living at Safe Harbor for four months. Originally from New York, she came to the area and was ‘couch surfing’ until she was accepted in the Blanchard House program. Immediately after moving in, she obtained employment at K-Mart and is pursuing full-time employment with benefits. Her goals include continuing her education in Computer Information Sciences, joining the Job Corps and getting her drivers license.

Marie* has been living at the Blanchard House since it reopened. She is working full-time at Giant Eagle, where she has recently applied for an assistant manager position, and part-time at a local pub in Butler. She expects to attend BC3 part-time in the fall. Marie came to us after staying at Safe Harbor, our emergency housing facility in Butler.  Marie recently obtained permanent housing and will be moving on from our program in the next month!

As you can see, the Blanchard House has experienced a re-birth in the best possible way. Your continued support of the Lighthouse and our Transitional Housing program enables us to support women like these every day. Self-sufficiency doesn’t seem that far off for these hard- working girls. We ask that you keep each of them in your prayers, and continue to keep all of our staff and volunteers in your prayers as well. I heard a quote once, “The great use of your life is to spend it on something that will outlast it…” and that is what we all hope to do.

In Him,

Dan

2010 has been a difficult year for many people and organizations. And this has certainly been the case here at the Lighthouse. The summer is always a time when donations decrease. But this year we are entering the summer months with no cash reserves and an ever increasing line of credit.

Over the past 25 years our generous supporters have never let us down. You have allowed us to continue to do the work that God has called us to do. And once again I am asking for your support to help us make it through the year without cutting services.

We are cutting costs in every way possible by reducing telephone expenditures, air conditioning cost, combining trips to save gasoline and postponing needed maintenance. The bleak reality is that if we can’t turn things around in the next 45 days we will have to start implementing changes that will impact the lives of hundreds of people who look to us for help to simply survive. None of us want to do that.

The Lighthouse has shined its comforting beam of hope into the dark lives of hurting families in northern Alleghany and Butler County for twenty-five years. Now in these difficult economic times, the needs are greater then ever. So many good people are depending on us. We must not let them down.

We have been “at the brink” before, and you have always seen us through. I am asking you to help make this happen once again. Furthermore I urge you to continue praying for the needs, specifically the financial needs, of the Lighthouse. Would you consider making a generous gift to the Lighthouse above and beyond what you normally give? I am asking you to keep the hope going!

~Dan

Eagle Staff Writer

PENN TWP — The Rich-Mar Rotary Club celebrated its 40th anniversary Tuesday at the Butler Country Club.
The club also celebrated its history of service by donating $40,000 to the Lighthouse Foundation in Butler.
The two organizations have worked together since the Lighthouse’s founding in 1985, and Rotary officials couldn’t think of a better way to honor their motto of service to others by giving donations to the foundation.
The Lighthouse offers services to low-income families in northern Allegheny and Butler counties. It helps more than 6,000 people with transitional housing, a food pantry, rent or utility assistance, and a free taxi service.
Mark Vincent, a past president of the Rotary and a supervisor for Middlesex Township, has volunteered at the foundation for six years and teaches personal finance and computer classes there.
He said the organization represents the purest kind of service to the community, which is why the Rotary donates to it.
“It really is a great Butler County organization,” Vincent said. “It’s a local organization, and the bulk of donations there actually go to help people every day.”
The Rev. Dan Borchert, the executive director of the Lighthouse Foundation, said the Rich-Mar Rotary has been extremely generous and helpful for 25 years. He also said without the annual donations provided by the club, the Lighthouse Foundation’s financial health would be a “very different story.”
“This is our 25th year, and they’re going on their 40th year, and they’ve been there for us since the beginning,” Borchert said. “They do help us in so many, many ways. I’m amazed at their generosity. This latest donation comes at just the right time, too.”
But the total amount won’t be donated now, Vincent said.
The club donated $10,000 this year and will do so in each of the next three years.
The club typically raises about $10,000 each year from a Thanksgiving 5 kilometer race.
The club has pledged all the proceeds from the race for the next three years to go to the Lighthouse Foundation. If that sum isn’t reached, he said, the club will make up the difference.
Jack Kimbell, the general manager at the Treesdale Golf and Country Club, took over as president of the Rotary Club on Tuesday.
The club will host its largest fundraiser of the year with a golf outing at Treesdale on June 28.

(Published in the Butler Eagle, Sunday June 20)

I take this opportunity to share a way in which you can help us provide services to people in need in Butler and northern Allegheny Counties. At the same time and in a very meaningful way, you have the opportunity to express sympathy, esteem or appreciation to relatives or friends.

With fondness and warm memories we reflect on the lives of a loved one who has passed away. We also can honor a friend or relative who is still with us and want to give a gift that will be a living legacy. Please consider a  memorial or honor gift to the Lighthouse in memory of or in honor of someone you care about and wish to remember in a very special way.  Such life-giving contributions offer a very tangible and personal way for you to demonstrate your feelings for the individual and to participate in the development of social service programs for our community.

I am enclosing a self-addressed envelope for your convenience.  To make your honor or memorial gift, simply fill in the enclosed envelope and mail it along with your check.  I will send a letter notifying the person or persons you designate.  The amount of your gift will not be disclosed.  What a pleasant way to acknowledge the impact someone you love has made on your life. When you give in their honor to the Lighthouse, their impact continues to touch the lives of the numerous people we help through the food bank, transitional housing, and the many other programs we support and handle.

As you celebrate Memorial Day this year, I encourage you to make a commemorative gift to the Lighthouse either in memory of or in honor of a friend or loved one.

In Him,

Dan Borchert

Many of you have been asking about the status of Kaufman Drive Phase II. I thought I would take a moment and give you an update on the project. As many of you are aware, trace amounts of arsenic were found at the site where we were going to build. It had been determined by the Department of Environmental Protection that, while the area is safe for human habitation, it unsafe to move the soil.

We have spent hundreds of hours searching for another possible site that will meet our needs and be within the funding criteria. This will allow us to do what we so desperately want to do: help more homeless families.

As I sit here and write this article, I am very hopeful. Thanks to a great partnership with Hosanna Industries, I believe we have identified a solution that will allow The Lighthouse to fulfill this dream. Without the help of Hosanna Industries, there would be no hope for this project. Before I make any official announcement there are a couple of hurdles that need to be worked out.

Currently we have twenty-six families on the waiting list to get in the current Kaufman Drive apartments. Twenty-six families that we know would benefit from being at Kaufman Drive. That is why we will not give up, and why The Lighthouse continues to need your support.

We exist to help people. We are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal. Please continue to pray for God’s wisdom and God’s resources through God’s people.

Dan Borchert

“We are very pleased to receive this kind of support from the Butler retail community,” said Lighthouse public    relations director, Jaime Carter. “This grant comes at a perfect time, as we have seen community needs grow significantly in these past few months.”

Paul Glossman, Butler TJ Maxx store manager presented the check on    Wednesday, March 17^th.  “We were excited to present this grant to The      Lighthouse Foundation because we know how much good they do in the    community,” said Glossman. “Many of our employees have been helped through their many programs and services, so this is especially meaningful to our store, and our corporate TJX Foundation.” Thanks TJ Maxx for this generous gift!