Our History

Funded entirely by donations from individuals and churches in the Allegheny Lutheran Conference, The Allegheny Lutheran Home at Hollidaysburg welcomed its first residents in 1950. Expansion came quickly when, just a year later, construction began on independent living cottages on the Hollidaysburg campus. For children, the first Growing Years Early Learning Center openedin Bedford in 1978. Centers were later opened in Altoona, Claysburg, DuBois and Johnstown. In addition, Head Start programs for low-income families and children with disabilities in Bedford and Fulton Counties were provided as part of our service to the community. Other community services now include:

• Pre-K Counts programs located in Bedford and Johnstown
• Kid Stop, which provides summer, before-and after-school care and activities for school-aged children in Bedford and Johnstown
• Family Centers of Bedford/Fulton Counties, which in 1992 introduced resources and education services to families who are expecting a child or have a child who is not yet in kindergarten

The Hillcrest Apartments were built on the Hollidaysburg Hickory Commons campus in 1984 to provide additional options for seniors seeking independent living. In 1991, as programs and services continued to expand, The Allegheny Lutheran Homes and Lutheran Social Services – Allegheny Region merged to form ALSM (Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries). As the Rev. Dr. Daun McKee, president and chief executive officer at the time explained, each word in the new title was chosen with care:

• Allegheny denotes the specific geographic area in which we have social ministry responsibility in the church.
• Lutheran identifies us as a recognized ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Allegheny Synod).
• Social signifies that our proclamation is through services of healing and performing acts of love for others.
• Ministries because serving and helping others is a Christian way of life, and these acts of ministering to others are at the very heart of the Gospel.

The Oaks at Pleasant Gap, a continuing care retirement community, opened in Centre County as a 40-bed personal care home and cottage duplex in 1995. Additional independent living cottage homes have been built on the campus, along with apartments for seniors. The Lutheran Home at Hollidaysburg was rebuilt adjacent to the original building in 2004 as a state-of-the-art skilled nursing facility. The health care center provides 46 beds for residents with both short-term rehabilitation and long-term nursing needs. The campus also offers independent living apartments and cottages. Realizing the need for rental assistance for seniors with fixed incomes, ALSM constructed Lutheran Commons at Berlin Pike in Somerset County in 2010. The project was financed through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Lutheran Commons at Pleasant Gap, a rental assistance complex in Centre County, was also constructed through a HUD grant. As ALSM looks to the future, we will continue to seek opportunities to serve our communities and touch even more lives through a ministry of love, compassion and mercy in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.