On Saturday, Sept. 25, Loft Community Partnership (LCP) located at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 222 N. George St., Millersville, will celebrate its one-year anniversary as an official nonprofit organization by opening its doors to all Penn Manor residents. The goal of LCP is to alleviate poverty within Penn Manor School District by creating a centralized location for residents to attain various services, including food, clothing, toiletries, referrals for transportation, and other services in the areas of finances and education. To accomplish this goal, LCP aims to partner with agencies within Lancaster County and help them to meet the needs of families within the district.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., there will be tours of LCP while board members and volunteers explain how the organization operates. The idea of the open house is to replicate what the weekly food distribution looks like, stated community liaison Deb Meckley. "We want to let people know this goes on every week in their neighborhood," she said. "It's a celebration and a public relations event."

Refreshments will be provided at the open house. Meckley mentioned that she is most looking forward to educating people on the statistics of how many families LCP has served and how many pounds of food the volunteers have distributed. "I feel like when people's lives are going well and they aren't interacting with those who are financially struggling, they might forget about those in need," stated Meckley. "People should come out to know what we're all about."

For those who participate in an organization within the PMSD, LCP strongly encourages them to attend the open house to connect. "Our goal isn't to do all of the work ourselves," explained Meckley. "Our goal is to connect with other organizations so we're all aware of each other. We can support each other and refer one another. It's all about making connections to community members and community organizations."

During the open house, LCP will take the time to recognize and thank its volunteers. "To our volunteers, I say thank you," said Meckley. "We couldn't do it without you! I'm really, eternally grateful for the support we've gotten thus far, and (I) encourage people to get involved in the community."

LCP provides the community with several services. Every Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m., LCP hosts a food distribution for residents within Penn Manor. During that time, volunteers also hand out Power Packs to families whose children qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch at school. On the second Wednesday of every month, LCP partners with Hettie's Hope Chest to distribute free diapers to young mothers within the community. On the third Wednesday of every month, LCP provides Penn Manor residents with toiletries and cleaning supplies, courtesy of the Penn Manor Education Association. LCP is also home to a clothing bank, which currently operates by appointment only.

For more information, visit http://www.loftcommunitypartnership.org, email loftcp@gmail.com, call 717-723-8180, or search for "The Loft Community Partnership" on Facebook.