[email protected] / April 24, 2026

Spotlight for Beacon of Hope Shelter

Finding Home and Hope at Beacon of Hope Shelter

Beacon of Hope in Fort Dodge was built to fill a gap that once left men with nowhere to turn. Founded in 2010 by Steve Roe, the shelter began with a clear purpose. “Our local community didn’t have anything for men,” says Brian Bidleman, executive director of Beacon of Hope.

What started as the purchase of an old Masonic temple quickly became something much larger. With support from local churches and community members, the building was transformed into a 54-bed shelter that now serves men from across a wide rural area. For many, it is the only option. Beacon of Hope is not designed to be just a place to stay. “We really like to call ourselves a restoration center,” Bidleman says. While emergency beds are available, the focus is on longer stays that give residents time to address the issues that brought them there.

At the center of that process is faith. The shelter operates as a Christian-based organization, where residents are invited into daily services, Bible studies, and ongoing conversations about purpose, accountability, and change. “We share Jesus with them twice a day,” Bidleman says. “We want them to stay long enough to get it.”

The goal is not just stability, but transformation. Staff work with men through addiction, mental health challenges, and repeated cycles of homelessness, encouraging them to slow down and confront the deeper reasons behind their circumstances.

The shelter’s approach is shaped by the people who run it. Bidleman and his leadership team bring decades of sobriety and firsthand experience with homelessness. “We’ve actually physically lived through or experienced” many of the same struggles, he says, allowing them to speak with credibility and understanding.

That lived experience, combined with a faith driven mission, creates an environment rooted in both accountability and compassion. “We tell our guys we love them almost every day,” Bidleman says. “It’s important to feel loved.”

Since stepping into leadership in 2022, Bidleman has worked to strengthen the organization while staying grounded in its core purpose. Plans are underway to expand services, including the development of a women and children’s shelter, extending that same model of faith centered care to more people in need.

At its core, Beacon of Hope is about breaking cycles and pointing men toward a different path. “Our whole goal is to really keep them from being a revolving door,” Bidleman says.

For Bidleman, that mission is clear. It is about more than providing a bed or a meal. It is about meeting people where they are, and walking alongside them, a change that is possible through both support and faith.

To help learn more or support them, visit their website.

Download the PDF.

[email protected] / April 8, 2026

Spotlight for the Baby Fold

From One Home to Many: The Enduring Mission of The Baby Fold

In 1902, Nancy and Alan Mason settled in the Bloomington-Normal area in search of a better place to raise their children. Wanting to give back to the community that supported her family’s success, Nancy later chose to leave her home, through her will, to the active and retired deaconesses of the local Deacon Hospital. These deaconesses, church women devoted to service, had already become known for caring for the community during a devastating epidemic, a time when abandoned and orphaned children filled the streets along the East Coast.

That single act of generosity helped lay the foundation for what would become The Baby Fold, an organization built on compassion, adaptability, and an enduring commitment to children and families in need. From its earliest days, The Baby Fold responded to the most urgent needs of its time, offering shelter, care, and stability to vulnerable children when few other resources existed.

Today, that same spirit continues to guide the organization’s mission. Sam Guilory, Vice President of DPR (Development and Public Relations), emphasized how the legacy of The Baby Fold has remained rooted in growth and change.

“The Baby Fold continually has been evolving to meet the emerging needs of the community,” Guilory said. “Because if we didn’t experience that evolution, we wouldn’t be around today, and we wouldn’t be around for another 125 years down the road.”

As the community has changed, so has The Baby Fold. What began as a response to orphaned and abandoned children has expanded into a network of services that support mental health, family stability, and child welfare.

“Today, the Baby Fold is a state leader in trauma-informed services, in providing life-critical wraparound programs to children and families. On average, today, we are serving around 1,200 kids and families every single year, and that spans across 22 counties here in Illinois” Guilory explains. Through each transformation, the organization has remained focused on its original purpose, providing hope, care, and opportunity for those who need it most.

Looking ahead, The Baby Fold’s future plans focus on three priorities: people, places, and programs. The organization is investing in its staff through training and flexible career paths that help prevent burnout and retain experienced employees. It is also reevaluating its physical campuses while expanding in-home services to reduce barriers for families and better steward resources. Program development will continue to evolve through community needs assessments to ensure services align with changing demands.

As Guilory explains, “People, places, and programs, that’s really the name of the game for our future.”

More than a century later, Nancy Mason’s legacy lives on not just in a building or a bequest, but in an organization that continues to adapt, serve, and strengthen the Bloomington-Normal community, one child and one family at a time.

To learn more about this incredible organization, visit their website.

Download the PDF.

Terri Braun / March 20, 2026

Check out The Principia

If you’re looking to take a different approach to education, check out The Principia today! It blends academic excellence with Christian Science-based character education, offering programs from preschool through college, along with a variety of opportunities for lifelong learning.

Terri Braun / February 26, 2026

Check out Citygate Network

Citygate Network is an important organization that exists to equip ministries to transform lives from suffering to flourishing through the gospel. Visit its website to learn more and see how you can support its mission to alleviate poverty, eradicate homelessness, overcome addiction, reduce mental health challenges, and empower life transformation.

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Featured Client Los Angeles Mission

Los Angeles Mission is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing emergency services, rehabilitation programs, and long-term support for individuals experiencing homelessness. Since its founding in 1936, it has remained committed to offering food, shelter, education, and faith-based guidance to help people rebuild their lives.