Lighthouse Family Retreat: Hamilton Mill Day of Service

Meet Matt Payne.

Matt works for Lighthouse Family Retreat, a faith-based nonprofit that exists to serve and support families facing childhood cancer. In addition to hosting restorative retreats for the whole family, Lighthouse provides a variety of resources to guide families through one of life’s most challenging journeys.

With a nonprofit like Lighthouse, there are countless tiny details that go into providing the support these families need, and those details require lots of helpers. So, when Matt reached out to us for help, we were more than happy to step in.

Last February, on a very rainy Sunday, we asked you to serve.

We did not expect what would happen next—and neither did Matt.

As part of our FOR Community series, we asked that you grab lunch after church at a local restaurant to benefit our community, and then, if your schedule allowed, pop back into Hamilton Mill for a service day benefitting Lighthouse Family Retreat. Given the weather and the busy time of year, we expected around 50 people to attend.

Over 150 of you came to serve. Our tables were overflowing with your friends and family—all there to serve our community. With smiles on your faces, you worked all afternoon to cut and laminate more than 1,700 bag tags that will be used for resource kits each family receives when they attend a Lighthouse retreat.

You also prepared over 450 birthday cards for children in hospitals battling cancer and for the siblings of those children, who often miss out on celebrating their birthdays due to doctor appointments and hospital stays.

“I was blown away by the outpouring of love and service from the Hamilton Mill community,” said Matt about the experience, “We invited them to show up and serve, and they did in abundance.” 

Be Rich makes it simple to be FOR our community. Thank you for the ways you Give Serve Love.