Our story
A community that decided not to look away
People Helping People Foundation began in 1998 with a simple conviction: when a neighbor is hungry, housed badly, or frightened about money, the answer is not a lecture — it is a meal, a bed, and a person who will sit with them. More than twenty-five years later, that conviction has not changed. Only the reach has.
Our mission
At People Helping People Foundation, our mission is to empower individuals and communities in need. We believe that by working together, we can create lasting change and improve the quality of life for everyone.
We are a faith-based organization, recognized under 508(c)(1)(a). That structure keeps us close to the work and answerable to the people we serve. We are not a government agency, and we are not a business. We are neighbors, volunteers, and staff who have chosen to make the well-being of other people our actual job.
What that looks like day to day is unglamorous and necessary. Sorting produce before it spoils. Making up a bed for someone who has nowhere to go tonight. Finding a coat in the right size before the cold arrives. Sitting with a person long enough that they can finally say what is really wrong.
And when something sits outside what we do, we do not send people away. We connect them with the organization, agency, or congregation that can help, and we follow up to make sure they got there.
At a glance
- Who we serve
- Neighbors in need, wherever they are — no membership, no fee, no conditions.
- What we provide
- Food, shelter, clothing, emergency assistance, counseling, and referrals.
- How we are organized
- A faith-based organization, recognized under 508(c)(1)(a).
- Where we serve
- Nationwide, through our own programs and partner organizations.
In her own words
Why We Do This
From Donna Moore, who founded People Helping People Foundation in 1998.
Why do we do this?
We have seen so many people struggling to just survive day to day.
We figured there should be someplace somewhere that could help locally but there wasn’t much help available.
We decided to start the help that was tremendously needed by so many people.
So thats when People Helping People Foundation was created by Donna Moore in 1998.
We want to help everyone that needs Helping.
Our history
More than twenty-five years of showing up
People Helping People Foundation began in 1998 as a local effort — neighbors helping neighbors, one household at a time. There was no building to speak of and no budget worth mentioning. There were people who needed help, and people who refused to walk past them.
In 2000, that work grew beyond the neighborhood it started in and became a nationwide ministry. The same conviction that carried us through those first local years carried us outward: that a person in a hard season should not have to find their way alone, and that the help they receive should leave their dignity untouched.
Since then, we have kept growing — adding food assistance, shelter, clothing, emergency aid, and counseling as the needs in front of us grew. Through every season of that growth, the foundation has stayed what it was at the start: a faith-based organization, recognized under 508(c)(1)(a), answerable to the people it serves.
More than twenty-five years in, we are still growing. Not because we set out to build something large, but because there have always been more neighbors to reach.
1998
It starts locally
People Helping People Foundation begins close to home, serving neighbors in need face to face.
2000
The work goes nationwide
Two years in, the mission expands well past its own community — same conviction, far more neighbors.
Today
Still growing
More than twenty-five years of continuous service, and the work keeps widening to meet what people actually need.
What guides us
Four things we will not compromise on
Dignity first
Nobody is a case number here. People are served in a way they would be glad to tell their family about.
Faith, freely offered
We are faith-based, and our faith is why we serve. It is never a requirement to receive anything from us.
Practical help, fast
Groceries, a bed, a coat, a listening ear. We would rather act today than promise something later.
Together, not alone
We work alongside other organizations and churches so no one falls through the gap between us.
Come see the work for yourself
The best way to understand People Helping People Foundation is to stand in the room with us. Volunteer for a shift, come to an outreach day, or simply reach out and ask.