In the heart of Northeastern Pennsylvania, two organizations with deep roots in service have joined forces to expand their reach and strengthen their impact. Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center, each with nearly five decades of dedicated work serving the region’s most vulnerable residents, formally merged in August 2025, creating a unified nonprofit that now serves more than 25,000 unique individuals annually.
The partnership brings together two missions that have always shared common ground. Friends of the Poor, co-sponsored by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), has long provided food security programs, emergency assistance, and community support to families facing hardship. Catherine McAuley Center, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas (RSM), has focused on housing stability, emergency shelter, and pathways out of homelessness. Together, they now offer a comprehensive continuum of care that addresses the interconnected challenges of poverty, hunger, and housing insecurity.
The merger represents more than an administrative consolidation. It reflects a shared conviction that collaboration multiplies impact. By combining resources, expertise, and networks, the unified organization can respond more nimbly to community needs, reduce duplication of services, and steward donor investments more effectively. Staff from both organizations now work side by side, bringing their distinct strengths to a common table.
At the helm of this new chapter is Dr. Meghan Loftus, who serves as President and CEO of the merged organization. Under her leadership, the nonprofit has maintained its commitment to treating every person who walks through its doors with dignity and respect, a principle that guides everything from program design to daily interactions.
The work continues to grow. Throughout the holiday season, the organization hosts multiple events distributing groceries, prepared meals, and toys to tens of thousands of people across the region. Year-round programming includes pantries with food, clothing, and personal items, a furniture bank, rental assistance, case management, and shelter services that help individuals and families stabilize their lives and move toward self-sufficiency.
For the IHM and RSM congregations, the merger embodies their founding call to serve those in need. For the broader community, it offers a model of what becomes possible when mission driven organizations choose partnership over competition. In a region facing persistent economic challenges, Friends of the Poor and Catherine McAuley Center stand together, united in purpose, expanded in capacity, and unwavering in their commitment for the common good.
Working together makes our community stronger. If you have a cause near to your heart and want to make a difference here in Northeastern Pennsylvania and beyond, please call us at the Luzerne Foundation or visit www.luzfdn.org for more information.
Do you want to make our community better? So do we. Let’s do it together.
Because of you and for you, we are… Here for good. ™