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."