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Lois R. Shea

Senior Writer and Communications Officer





Latest Posts


Annie Day, manager of Families In Transition Adult Emergency Shelter in Manchester. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Everyday superheroes showed up when their communities needed them most

It was April of 2020. Everyone who could was working from home, going to school from home, grocery shopping curbside and staying away from crowds. Annie Day decided to take a new job: She would manage the Families In Transition Adult Emergency Shelter.

Three-year-old Rawson Phillips at the Country Day School in Colebrook with (clockwise from left) teacher Katelyn Ryder, and parents Morgan and Devon Phillips. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Early childhood care is critical infrastructure

Devon and Morgan Phillips could do their work in emergency medicine during the height of the pandemic in 2020 because their children's early childhood center was there to care for their kids. Early childhood education is critical infrastructure that benefits everyone in our communities.

Pictured (left to right): Lidia Yen, Maggie Fogarty, Anthony Harris and Grace Kindeke of the American Friends Service Committee. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Showing up on the side of justice

In an era of new complexities, tensions and awareness, the New Hampshire program of the American Friends Service Committee has been unwavering and expansive in its dedication to mission, working on a towering array of issues — from racial equity to immigrants’ rights to economic justice.

Bear-Paw Stewardship Coordinator Rue Teel (left) and Executive Director Katrina Amaral explore the Dearborn Forest in Raymond with Teel’s dog, Tilda. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Keeping open space open

As people took to local trails in record numbers during a global pandemic, they discovered that much of that open space had been conserved and access to it provided by small land trusts like Bear-Paw Regional Greenways.

Director and senior coach Khaleel Shreet at the New Hampshire Duet Program, a nonprofit which helps people enroll in and complete online degrees at Southern New Hampshire University. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Helping people achieve their American dream

Khaleel Shreet is director and senior coach at the New Hampshire Duet Program. “Through my education, I was able to transform my whole life,” he says. “I feel privileged to enjoy the life I have with my wife and daughter and I look forward to helping others reach their potential.”

Eileen O’Grady, a Report for America fellow and the education reporter at the Concord Monitor. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Local news matters

A conversation with Eileen O’Grady, a Report for America fellow and the education reporter at the Concord Monitor. A grant from the Charitable Foundation is helping to support her position.

Jarvis Green at JAG Productions in White River Junction, Vt. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

JAG Productions shows why art matters

Anyone who has ever struggled to explain the importance of the arts might try this, from JAG’s mission:

“…to catalyze compassion, empathy, love, and community through shared understandings of humankind through the lens of the African American experience…”

William Tuthill and his husband, Greg Anderson. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Supporting LGBTQ youth

Mentoring partnership between Big Brothers Big Sisters and Seacoast Outright gets help from the Respect for All Youth Fund.

Stories of perseverance + ingenuity

The latest issue of the Foundation's Purpose newsletter is now available online. Read about how Girls, Inc. adapted its operations to help girls during remote learning; how nonprofits are helping people manage mental health challenges; a partnership to strengthen mentorship for LGBTQ youth — and much more.

Tym Rourke during initiative launch. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

We’re not saying “goodbye,” Tym

After 13 years at the Charitable Foundation, Tym Rourke to join national healthcare consulting firm to advance health equity and integrated behavioral healthcare.

State House, Concord, NH. (Photo by Cheryl Senter.)

Giving to boost civic health

Robust civic health is vital to community problem-solving, trust, engagement, a sense of belonging — and so much more. Here are some suggestions for ways to give to help nurture the civic health of our communities.

Health screenings being administered in India. (Courtesy photo.)

Giving suggestions to help with pandemic relief in India

India is struggling with a severe second wave of coronavirus that has infected millions, killed more than 250,000 and left the country’s health-care system under extreme stress. Relief organizations are rushing supplies, medical equipment and medical staff to help.