Rochester Elks foundation donates $2,500 to Lydia's House of Hope

From left, Jerry Skidds, Exalted Ruler, Theresa Tozier, Executive Director, Seeds of Faith; Amy Paquette, Executive Assistant/Office Assistant, Lydia's House of Hope and Norman Gervais, Elks National Foundation Chairman (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - The Rochester Elks made a donation of $2,500 dollars to Lydia's House of Hope on Wednesday.

The donation was made possible by the Elks National Foundation's Gratitude Grant Program, which awards grants ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 as the ENF's way of saying thank you to every Lodge that meets the National President's per-member goal for giving to the ENF.

Gratitude Grants must be used to support local, charitable activities such as hosting a community clean-up day, purchasing supplies for a homeless shelter, or organizing a school literacy fair.

On hand at the Lodge to receive the donation from Exalted Ruler Jerry Skidds and ENF Chairman/Lodge Secretary Norman Gervais, was Amy Paquette, Executive Assistant/Office Assistant for Lydia's House of Hope and Founder / Executive Director Theresa Tozier. Theresa spoke to Lodge members about how her programs got started in 2002 - it was a simple desire to "help the homeless." Her original initiative was known as "Seeds of Faith".

Lydia's House of Hope was born in 2017 near downtown Somersworth. It is a privately funded, 25 resident transitional housing program for homeless women and women with children. Residents voluntarily enroll in a 365 day transformational, life changing program, where hands on life and work skills are taught. The program is a unique and highly effective approach to teaching hands on skills to those who are willing to do the work to change their lives. Residents attend classes in everything from parenting and coping skills to nutritional cooking and financial literacy.

Other projects of the Seeds of Faith organization include Grace House (established in 2021) and a new project is being planned which will be known as "Paul's Place", a transitional home for men. There are also plans for a working café and bakery just down the street from Lydia's House. This will give the house residents an opportunity to earn a paycheck. For more information on these programs, visit www.seedsoffaithnh.org and www.lydiashousenh.org For more information about the Elks organization, please visit www.elks.org