Tower Family Fund makes Transformative $2 Million Gift to Harborlight Homes’ Capital Campaign to build The Lighthouse Center, Beverly, MA

BEVERLY — Harborlight Homes is honored to announce a significant milestone in its mission to support the community’s most vulnerable populations with a generous $2 million donation, directed by Mrs. Mollie Byrnes and the Tower Family Fund. The gift will support the capital campaign to build The Lighthouse Center at Anchor Point, Beverly, MA. This transformative donation underscores a profound commitment to promoting economic mobility for struggling families, supporting children to thrive, and breaking the cycle of poverty.

The Anchor Point campus will be comprised of three buildings: two affordable apartment buildings, one of which is completed and occupied, and the second is under construction (both offer a combined total of seventy-seven two-and-three-bedroom homes) and The Lighthouse Center (TLC), to be built via the capital campaign. The Lighthouse Center at Anchor Point is an innovation to create the bridge between stable housing and economic mobility, educational advancement, and improved health outcomes. Just steps away from the affordable homes, The Lighthouse Center reaches beyond housing to offer robust resources, onsite, meeting families where they are to impact the trajectory of parents’ and children’s lives. Services include on-site childcare, educational offerings, and more. TLC is the boldest manifestation of the supportive services Harborlight Homes offers, embedded in the belief that proximity to services and educational opportunities correlates to higher participation outcomes and success.

For The Tower Family Fund, this contribution is a testament to a firm belief in the effectiveness of collective action, and solutions driven by the community. Their generosity establishes a benchmark for philanthropic leadership, inspiring others to unite in backing meaningful causes.

“I am happy to help a solid, wonderful organization put a roof over more citizen’s heads,” said Mrs. Byrnes. “I especially admire the fact that so many wonderful and useful services will be located at this project so close to the affordable homes, to make it easier for the residents to access them. When I toured the project and saw the plans for The Lighthouse Center, I was utterly amazed at how well done and beautiful it is – very well thought out.”

Andrew DeFranza, executive director of Harborlight Homes, states, “This idea, indeed this entire project, is the embodiment of Harborlight’s mission. The housing we are building at Anchor Point is critical to family stability. The Lighthouse Center is all about answering that question – what is next? Providing accessibility, opportunity, learning, and community is essential to helping all families and their children reach their full potential.”

The gift of the Tower Family Fund will be directed toward creation of the TLC facility which will promote several important initiatives for families in need:

• Affordable on-site childcare – in partnership with Pathways for Children
• Adult educational programs such as GED/ESL
• On-site job skills and certificate programs in collaboration with North Shore Community College, and other institutions
• Financial and credit counseling
• Public health nurse access
• Community gardens, sport courts, and walking paths
• Classrooms and meeting spaces
• Skill building for income growth and asset building
• Children’s afterschool activities
•  Teen / adult mentoring
• And much more

This game-changing gift expands critical programming space. With this commitment, we are invigorated and inspired in this final stretch of the campaign, confident the goal will be met.

“We are closer to our goal than we have been in over two years, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Mrs. Byrnes and the Tower Family Fund,” stated DeFranza. “The confidence and trust Mrs. Byrnes has invested in Harborlight Homes, and this project, still overwhelms us. It is as humbling as it is transformative.”

Harborlight Homes invites community members, stakeholders, and partners to celebrate this milestone and join in advancing the mission of The Lighthouse Center. Through collaboration and shared commitment, we can build a future where everyone has access to safe housing, supportive services, and the opportunity for a brighter tomorrow.

For more information on Harborlight Homes and The Lighthouse Center, including how to support this mission, please visit hhlighthouse.org