Lily Glenn’s NH GIVES for The Chase Home

My name is Lily Glenn, and I’m the Development Director at The Chase Home in Portsmouth, NH. I have the privilege of seeing the impact of community support firsthand.

Having an office right next to the front door, every day I see it in the pride of a young person showing off new summer clothes that help them feel confident, and in the excitement, the joy they bring back from programs and activities they may never have had the opportunity to experience before. These seemingly small moments can make a lasting difference.

One of my first days at The Chase Home, a 16-year-old resident was telling me how excited she was about going to the beach. As we talked, she shared that before coming to The Chase Home, she had never seen the ocean. Thinking she was from way up in northern NH, I asked where she grew up; she said Rochester. 

Growing up on the Seacoast, I could not imagine never swimming in the ocean or watching the waves on a sunny fall afternoon. When a family lacks reliable transportation, faces limited access to public transit, or must choose between buying clothes that fit their growing children and putting food on the table, even the idea of a beach trip often becomes out of reach.

Spending the summer in residential care is not ideal. Every child deserves to be at home in a safe, loving family, and reunification is the goal we work toward every day at The Chase Home. Until that is possible, community support helps ensure that young people have their basic needs met while also opening the door to experiences, memories, and opportunities they might not otherwise have. That conversation was a powerful reminder that community support does more than provide necessities... it helps create positive childhood summer memories that everyone deserves to enjoy.