By Rev. Bill Donaldson, Founder and President

Our story began on September 29th, 2017, when eight individuals, some of whom had never met, gathered in Rockingham, VT for a weekend retreat in the glorious beauty of nature. In just two days, this group became a family. There was a connection that was undeniable and wonderful.

Just days after returning from this amazing weekend, I was driving to my office in Westport, CT and noticed several lawn signs displaying an anti-hate message. Then, in the center of town, a group of individuals was carrying a banner with yet another anti-hate message - with hate being the most prominently displayed word. This group was obviously protesting against recent horrific events and bringing attention to what they don't want to see. But is this the most effective way to respond?

Going through my head in that moment was a story about Mother Teresa. According to the story, she was once invited to attend an anti-war demonstration. She replied, "I would never do that, but if you ever have a pro-peace rally, I will be there." I couldn't shake the feeling that I needed to do something. But what? 

I knew that fighting against what we don't want isn't effective. How well has the War on Drugs worked? How about the War on Terror? Is the anti-hate message going to be effective at driving out hate? I don't believe so. We need a positive message of what we want to see in the world. So if we don't want hate, we must want LOVE. Suddenly the idea to flip the message to "Love has a home here" came to me and that was that!

Love Has a Home, Inc. was born from a desire to bring more love into the world, but not in my wildest dreams did I think we would be headquartered just two years later at a 60-acre nature-based retreat center and be in charge of running events! Exactly how I landed there is another story, but suffice it to say this caused a slight change in our mission. Now we could embody our message in a physical space and provide the pubic with an opportunity to experience what “Love Has a Home Here” actually feels like.

Our programs and events are focused on providing oportunities for connection - to self, others, nature and Spirit. We see this as a critical piece of the puzzle to bring about a more peaceful, compassionate and loving world.

In 2024, we find ourselves in a phase of growth and evolution. And as our mission and outreach expands, we hope you, having found us out here, will join us in the journey.