IMPORTANT CLEAN UP TIPS AND INFORMATION FOR CLEAN UP

Click Here for a Printable PDF sheet with Links to resources

Family to Family Connection

Request from Southern District LCMS:
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10
Working to rebuild lives takes time, resources, and patience. Thousands of families living in the Hurricane affected areas of the South are facing enormous challenges as they begin picking up the pieces of their homes, careers, schools, churches, and neighborhoods. In the midst of this rebuilding, the emotional fabric of family life can be stretched thin. In addition to providing for basic needs, Christians have an opportunity to reach out in brotherly love to families through service, giving, and prayer specifically aimed at nurturing family relationships and strengthening family faith life. Nurturing the core of a family through Christian care and concern helps families as they deal with the incredible challenge of rebuilding their material lives and dreams.

Younow have the opportunity to directly serve families impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Family-to-Family is designed to help nurture, uplift, and embrace Lutheran families across the Gulf Coast region. Families are encouraged to become involved in this faith-to-action opportunity.

Here's how you can become involved in family-to-family care and service:

• Contact Kathy Wendling kathyw@southernlcms.org or Diane Stafford dstafford@southernlcms.org at the Southern District LCMS Disaster Relief Office or 225-752-5590

• A Family Profile will be provided to you with contact information. These profiles were developed by the family themselves and list not only basic needs and information, but also share personal interests, special traditions, family devotional practices, and individual family activities.

• Contact the family and provide whatever level of support you are comfortable providing.

Knowing these important pieces, you can contribute not only to the basic needs of the family, but also assist them in nurturing family bonds and relationships. For instance, a family might share that before the Hurricane, one of their family pastimes was to enjoy movie night with popcorn. In addition to sending them needed school supplies and household goods, you might consider including a positive DVD and a new popcorn bowl. Providing opportunities for these hurting families to rebuild lives includes nurturing their hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.

Interested families (or even congregations/schools/organizations) then adopt a family and work to fulfill the family's "wish list" by sending requested items directly to the family in need.

Please consider being involved in Family-to-Family. For more information, or to indicate your interest in a family, contact the office or email Kathy Wendling or Diane Stafford members of the Southern District Relief Office at kathyw@southernlcms.org, dstafford@southernlcms.org.

Immanuel DeKalb Sunday School Children Remember Children Affected by Katrina

From Linda Hursh, Immanuel Lutheran Church, DeKalb

Dianna,

Just wanted to let you know how our project went to send shoe gift cards, socks and shoelaces to Bayou Grace. We saved the children's Sunday School offering until this week. We collected $260.00, socks and shoelaces. That purchased 13 Payless gift cards of $20.00 each. We have sent them off to Courtney and Elaine at Bayou Grace this past week. We included a picture of most of the children in our Sunday School and a short note. Thank you for your help in connecting us to this project!

Linda Hursh

Tool Wish List for Atonement Base Camp in Louisiana

Since September, thousands of people have worked at the Atonement Base Camp as volunteers helping to muck out houses and bring hope to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. You can only imagine the hope and relief this brings to home owners to know that they are receiving all this help through the Christian community.

The Base Camp provides room and board for the volunteers and provides the tools and equipment the volunteers use.
Now that a number of homes have been mucked out and sanitized, they need to start rebuilding and help people move back into their homes and resume a normal life.

As you can imagine, with constant use, the tools wear out or accidentally get left behind on a job, and they need to replenish their tool supply.

If you or your congregation can aid in collecting these tools to donate to the camp or would like to contribute to a fund to purchase the needed tools contact Lutheran Church Charities. LCC will assist you in getting the tools to the base camp. We can send them down with Teams that are going to the camp or with the semi trailer loads of donations.

For the Atonement Base Camp list of tools needed, Click Here

Click to donate to the Atonement Tool Fund

Quilts and Blankets of Care Needed for the Gulf States
A few weeks ago, the LWML women of Trinity Lutheran Church in Marseilles, IL made 80 quilts to be given out to Katrina survivors in the Gulf States through LCC.  They invited people from the community to help them and had a tremendous response. They donated the quilts to Lutheran Church Charities to transport and hand them out to people through our churches in the Gulf Sates. I sent out an email to the churches asking who could use the quilts to hand out in the Name of Christ. I was overwhelmed with the response and the number of quilts/blankets needed. We could easily use three times the number!

So here is an idea if you or a group you know would like to get involved in Helping to Make A Difference in the Name of Christ.

Blankets of Care
Individually, your family, or with a group, make blankets that will be handed out through our churches in the Gulf States to show we haven't forgotten and still care, and most of all that God Cares!

How to Make Blankets of Care in seven easy steps!
1. Purchase supplies needed. Each 58-by-54-inch blanket requires 1.5 yards of fleece. Also needed: fabric scissors and measuring tape.
2. Host a blanket-making event, using the no-sew pattern below.
3. Print your name, church name, or group name and Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" on an 8.5-by11-inch washable fabric sheet. Then cut and iron or sew labels onto each blanket.
4. Write a brief note letting receivers know they are cared for and remembered in prayers.
5. Tuck the blanket and a personal note into a package.
6. Deliver them to Lutheran Church Charities and we will send them down with our weekly groups of volunteers going down to do relief effort OR contact us for a church name they can be sent to.
7. That's it! Each blanket takes about two hours to make and costs approximately $9. Then let God work through your effort and through our churches in the Gulf States to bring a Message of Care and Warmth in the name and compassion of Christ to an individual or family in need because of Katrina.

If you would like to participate in this project, let us know by emailing me at TimHetzner@LutheranChurchCharities.org If you are planning on hosting a party, let us know so we can tell others who may want to participate.

Thank you

Serving Together, Serving Christ, so we can serve others IN HIS NAME
Tim Hetzner
President
Lutheran Church Charities

For Blanket Directions, click here.

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Car needed for Katrina Family

through Prince of Peace Palatine and Concordia San Antonio TX
This family, Kevin, and Lynnar along with their 7^th grade son Kyle, lost everything they had when Katrina hit their home in one of the more poverty stricken areas in New Orleans.  The members of Concordia have taken this family in and have provided a home, which they are in the process of furnishing. Kyle has enrolled and is going to the school at Concordia. The family is still in need of a reliable car. If you are able to donate a car to help this family please contact LCC at 866-455-6466 or e-mail - TimHetzner@LutheranChurchCharities.org

Cars/Vans Needed for Families
Do you have a car or van that still has some life left in it? Consider donating it to LCC. There is a constant need for reliable transportation. Your donation of a car or van can help families to get back on the road to financial stability. Your donation can Make A Difference in someone’s life. If you have a running vehicle to donate contact LCC at (866) 455-6466.

New Tax Laws in 2005 governing Car Donations: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=131660,00.html

These new laws DO NOT affect donations made to Lutheran Church Charities. They only affect donations of cars made to organizations which sell the vehicles. All vehicles that are donated to LCC go directly out to families or individuals through our congregations. NO vehicles are sold.

FURTHER HURRICANE ASSISTANCE FOR SCHOOLS

We have received requests from St. Paul in New Orleans and Faith in Harahan for tuition assistance for students whose parents are not yet employed.  Tuition for one child is approximately $3000. 

If each of our elementary schools, early childhood schools, and high schools could contribute $385 we'd be able to sponsor 17 students. 
Would you consider making this commitment? 
Please call Dick Blatt at Lutheran Church Charities (866-455-6466).  Thank you for your consideration.

Opportunities for YOU to get involved

If you have scheduled events or have other opportunities regarding the Relief Efforts, please e-mail us at LCC@LutheranChurchCharities.org

The Body of Christ responds by creating ways in which YOU can serve to aid those impacted by Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing aftermath. Below are some of the things that have been sent to us thus far. We share them here for your review.

LCC needs Volunteers for LOCAL projects here in Northern Illinois over the next few weeks.  If you plan to volunteer for the efforts in the Northern Illinois area, Click Here...

For those wishing to provide Housing for Displaced Families, Click Here...

GAS fund / Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort - which is a desperate need with the high price of gas. Volunteers going down have paid for their own gas. We are needing gas for trucks and for vehicles down there that go out and deliver items. To donate click here and check Gas Fund.

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Elgin:

Good Shepherd has a unique opportunity to help people from New Orleans. Karen Crow - one of our teachers - has a close friend (a Lutheran School Teacher) who with her family has lost everything in the flooded area of New Orleans - she - other teachers - the school itself has suffered a major loss. Our church staff is suggesting that we adopt that school and staff and help them any way we can - through prayers - offerings - care packages. Look for more information in an e-mail or this weekends news.

From Pat Monroe, Iowa District West LCMS, Missionary to the Deaf

If there are any deaf-related needs: homes for deaf families, re-building of deaf schools or interpreter needs etc. You are welcome to use my name and email address, and I will try to pass on to appropriate deaf related agencies, organizations, churches and individuals to fulfill those needs. 128 North 40th Street, Council Bluffs, IA 51501, 402-435-9663 Cell, 712-323-3913 Home Iowadeaf@aol.com pat.monroe@idwlcms.org

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church - Houston TX

They are a site housing displaced people. To help to financially support their efforts, visit their web site at http://www.gdlc.org/