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News You Can Use June 2016

Fun with Samples in Choice  Pantry  LCS received a large donation of lentil  casseroles -  ready to cook and packed with protein - but clients  kept passing them by on the shelves. To show  clients how delicious they are, LCS staff cooked up  a batch and pantry volunteer Sam donned a chef's  hat to pass out samples as people shopped.  Sometimes All You Need is a Helping Hand When Luz arrived at the LCS offices looking for a church she was staying with her son after moving from Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, her living situation was not what she had hoped and she needed help collecting paperwork and finding a place to live. Assistant Program Director Jean Washington drove her to the Social Security office and the Wilmington Housing Authority before bringing her back to the office to get some groceries. When Luz came the following week for more food, it was with good news; she had picked up her Social Security card, learned how to navigate the bus system and, best of all, had found an affordable apartment! "Sharing Way" Path Coming  LCS is pleased to announce the "Sharing Way"  personalized brick project. Created to help offset  the cost of additional waterproofing needed at  our headquarters, the bricks will also help  beautify the front of the building once the  waterproofing is complete. Bricks can be  purchased for $150 with 3 lines of up to 20  characters (spaces and punctuation included)  each of custom text. Click here for the online ordering form. Walk Run Organizers Needed We're looking for people interested in helping to organize this year's 25th Annual Hunger Walk Run. If you'd like to represent your church, company, or organization at our planning meetings (two 1-hour meetings to be held between now and the Walk) please contact Steve Tindall at x. 105 or by email.

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Our Contact Information Lutheran Community Services 2809 Baynard Blvd. Wilmington, DE 19802 302.654.8886 www.lcsde.org

News You Can Use - April 2016

From Lutheran Community Services                          

Editors: This information is prepared for church newsletter editors, secretaries and pastors. Your help in getting the word out is appreciated and will help LCS achieve its mission of “Sharing God’s blessings by helping others in need.” Comments about timing or content are welcome. Contact Steve Tindall (stindall@lcsde.org). 302 654 8886.

Gimme Shelter Golf Tourney May 20!

This year’s Gimme Shelter Golf Tournament is set for May 20, and 100 golfers are being sought. The 2016 event takes place at Ed Oliver’s Golf Course in Wilmington on May 20, and will feature a shotgun start. If you are interested, contact tournament director Larry Friday at

302 438 1290 or fridayla@msn.com. Many registrants are from area Lutheran and non-Lutheran churches, but you don’t need a church to register. All Are Welcome! Go to www.lcsde.org to download a form. The golf tournament benefits LCS’s homelessness prevention programs.

Walk Run Plans Begin for September 17

The annual LCS Walk Run Against Hunger will take place in Rockford Park on Saturday September 17. Lutheran and non-Lutheran teams alike will participate and vie for fundraising honors, prizes, and free T-shirts. If you are interested in getting involved or helping to organize this year’s event, contact Steve Tindall – stindall@lcsde.org or 302 654 8886 x105. Again, all are welcome. The Walk Run Against Hunger benefits LCS’s emergency food programs.

And Don’t Forget This Year’s Breakfast – May 4

Each year over 300 people gather at the Dupont Country Club for LCS’s annual Room at the Table Free Fundraising Breakfast. Each Lutheran Church should have a Table Captain. If you are interested in attending, contact your Table Captain, or Steve Tindall at stindall@lcsde.org, or 302 654 8886 x105. The breakfast raises money for LCS’s general/operating funds.

Home Repair Program Lauded

In a recent letter to Program Director Aaron Ballett, one of our home repair clients said it was “difficult to adequately express my gratitude and appreciation” for LCS’s assistance with her plumbing repairs. What’s more, she gave a thank you and a nod to the repair specialist “for his pleasant professionalism and awesome plumbing skills.” What an endorsement! This program is designed for senior homeowners most of whom are low income and definitely in need.

News You Can Use - October 2015

For Your Church Newsletter

From Lutheran Community Services                   

Editors: This information is prepared for church newsletter editors, secretaries and pastors. Your help in getting the word out is appreciated and will help LCS achieve its mission of “Sharing God’s blessings by helping others in need.” Comments about timing or content are welcome. Contact Steve Tindall (stindall@lcsde.org). 302 654 8886.

Hunger Walk Run Results

While funds will continue to trickle in, as of Tuesday, September 22, 2015, the amount raised at the annual LCS Hunger Walk Run was $38,538.27.  You can expect that number to continue to rise and reach approximately $40,000, which is $10,000 less than last year’s $50,000-plus effort. In any event, it was a wonderful day for a great event, which a lot of people thoroughly enjoyed – while they helped raise money for the LCS pantry system.

The church that brought the most people and got the award for the greatest turnout was St. Mark’s. Their group totaled 38 people. The second greatest turnout was a tie between Faith and Grace, which each brought 21 people. Third place in the greatest turnout category was also a tie, between Concordia and Good Shepherd, which each brought 18 people. The church that raised the most money was perennial winner Grace, with $13,727.27. The church which raised second most money was St. Mark’s with $6,697. Third place in terms of money raised went to St. Paul’s with $3,047.  The church that had the greatest participation was Concordia, which brought a number equal to 10.98% of their congregation. Second greatest participation went to Faith, with 8.43% of its congregation, while third went to St. Mark’s, with 7.42%.

The individual winner for the greatest amount raised was perennial winner (just like Grace, where she attends) Jan Hufnal. She raised $5,895 – breaking her own record set last year when she raised $5,130.  The adult raising the second most ($3,072) was James Nichol, from St. Mark’s. Third place went to Cheri Simons, from St. Paul’s, who raised $2,195.

Youth fundraisers were led by Dan Luettgen from Grace, who – following in Jan’s footsteps – raised $3,896! Hope Munson from Grace was second with $1,030. Third place in the youth fundraisers category went to Rachel Ierien,of Good Shepherd who raised $405.

The Youth Run 5K Race Against Hunger provided lots of excitement, as always. The girl’s winner was Jillian Boettler, who came in with a time of 31:44. Second place in the girl’s category went to Megan Derrickson (34:00). Third place went to Riley Keller (34:37). The boy’s winner was Josh Fickes with a time of 21:15. Second place for the boys went to Dan Luettgen (23:17), and third went to George Smallwood with a time of 45:32.
We want to extend our greatest appreciation to DJ GREEN, for answering our last minute post on
Facebook.  On September 16 we founded ourselves in the dire need on finding a DJ for the event. He was gracious enough to come and provide the even with great music and entertainment.

News You Can Use - May 2015

For Your Church Newsletter

From Lutheran Community Services  - By Steve Tindall                       

 Editors: This information is prepared for church newsletter editors, secretaries and pastors. Your help in getting the word out is appreciated and will help LCS achieve its mission of “Sharing God’s blessings by helping others in need.” Comments about timing or content are welcome. Contact Steve Tindall (stindall@lcsde.org). 302 654 8886.

Board Calls for Cuts

The LCS Board of Trustees has indicated that we need to cut program expenses because the operating income of the agency has not increased enough to meet the demand. This makes things like annual giving and the Room at the Table Breakfast more important than ever. The staff is currently examining all of our service practices for efficiencies so that we can minimize the impact of the cuts on services. Meanwhile, we are confident that within a year we can restore services to previous levels, and create new programs. Planning continues on the new choice pantry we want to start at the new building at 2809 Baynard Boulevard, and a new food program at Faith Lutheran Church in Bear.  According to Jean Warren, “The new building funds are entirely separate with a separate account not connected to our funds for operations.”

Homelessness Prevention

We used to call our back rent and mortgage programs “Housing Services,” but too many people mistook us for a shelter, so we have renamed the program “Homelessness Prevention.” Here’s a story about one of our clients. Because of a mix-up in paperwork, Denise got behind with her rent beginning in 2012 but didn’t know about it till this year. She came to LCS in April in desperate need of help with her back rent but only half expecting to get help because her situation was so dire. When she came in, her total back rent was several thousand dollars, but the staff listened and decided to do what they do best:  help people. Denise was able to raise $2800 from friends and family. LCS chipped in a $500 grant and facilitated an additional $600 from Immanuel Church. In this way, in just two days, LCS was able to assure that Denise stayed in her unit. And she said, “I am more than thankful. I truly am, and I hope and pray that all involved with helping me will be greatly blessed. Peace and Love to you all.”

Volunteers Wanted

Volunteer Coordinator Cher Frampton tells us that LCS needs volunteers, specifically for Zion and St. Stephen’s pantries, and for a volunteer photographer. Call Cher at 654 8886 x107.

The Zion and St. Stephen's Pantries are in need of pantry workers for all shifts.

St. Stephen's is open Monday - Friday from 9am to 12pm and is located in St. Stephen's Lutheran Church on 1301 N. Broom Street in Wilmington. 

Zion is open Tuesday - Thursday from 9am to 11am and is located in Zion Lutheran Church on 2101 Lancaster Ave (Rt. 48) in Wilmington.

Duties include stocking, bagging food, accepting food shipments/donations, answering phone, greeting clients and getting their pantry orders. 
Volunteers must be 15 years or older and be able to lift a minimum of 10 pounds. 

We are in need of a Volunteer Photographer to cover our various fundraisers, special events and to produce photos for our materials in print and in social media. You must have your own digital camera, have some knowledge of photo editing, and ability to email images. Knowledge of Adobe products a plus but not mandatory. Must be age 18 years or older and have your own transportation.
For a schedule of our fundraisers dates and times visit our website at www.lcsde.org to see if you can commit to this years line up. This position is perfect for the very serious amateur photographer who is looking for a job to enhance their own portfolio while giving back to the community at the same time.

News You Can Use - November 2014

For Your Church Newsletter

From Lutheran Community Services   - By Steve Tindall               

Editors: This information is prepared for church newsletter editors, secretaries and pastors. Your help in getting the word out is appreciated and will help LCS achieve its mission of “Sharing God’s blessings by helping others in need.” Comments about timing or content are welcome. Contact Steve Tindall (stindall@lcsde.org). 302 654 8886.

Best Ever Walk Run Results - $52,129.00!!!

5....4...3...2...1.... GO!

What an outstanding Walk Run. The weather and crowd were wonderful; and the money raised surpassed all previous records -- $52,129! The previous high was last year’s $46,172.  Why such good results? Because of the excellent effort put forward by all 277 participants, combined with record-breaking fundraising by some real pros. The person who raised the most was perennial favorite Jan Hufnal, with $5,405, a record. The second place adult was James Nichols who raised $3,000. Third was Fred Melton who raised $2,150. The best story about fundraising, however, belongs to a youth fundraiser – Dan Luettgen from Grace who raised $4,625 another record. Other youthful fund-raisers are Hope Munson in second place with $422, followed by Rachel Ierien, who raised $370 for third place. But remember, the real winners are all the thousands of hungry families that receive LCS food as a result of the funds raised at this event!

St. Marks - Winner for the Most People and
Highest Percentage of their Congregation

Now for the churches. Given the performances of Hufnal and Luettgen, Grace was an easy first place in the fundraising department with $15, 378. St. Mark’s was second in that race with $12,934. St. Mark’s with 70 participants was a shoo-in for winning the largest turnout trophy. They also took home the trophy for having the highest percentage of congregational participation with a hefty 13.78% participating.

DuPont came out in force and to Live United.

The most exciting part of the event was the 2014 Youth Run Against Hunger. Among the boys, first place was taken by Nathan Hawk who finished the 5k in 21:11. He was followed by Dan Luettgen (23:35) and Ben Swift (25:59). The first place girl finisher was Phoebe Swanson who handled the course in 28:19. Second place among the girls was claimed by Megen Derrickson who finished in 33:46 with Riley Keller close on her heels to take third in 33:47.

Thank You to All of the Volunteers who came out to help that day!

Financial Literacy Update

LCS refers all its homelessness prevention clients to Clarifi, a nonprofit provider of financial literacy training. Last year only about 10% of our clients were taking advantage of this option. But virtually all need it, so LCS strengthened its partnership with Clarifi and changed how the program was administered. The result? So far in 2014, 78% of homeless prevention clients have had financial literacy training under the program.

News You Can Use - September 2014

For Your Church Newsletter  - Prepared by: Steve Tindall

From Lutheran Community Services      September 2014

Editors: This information is prepared for church newsletter editors, secretaries and pastors. Your help in getting the word out is appreciated and will help LCS achieve its mission of “Sharing God’s blessings by helping others in need.” Comments about timing or content are welcome. Contact Steve Tindall (stindall@lcsde.org). 302 654 8886.

Register Yourself and Your Dog for the Walk Run Online

No, the Annual Hunger Walk Run has not “gone to the dogs,” but we are making accommodations this year so that owners can register their dogs for the first time. This should prove to add some entertainment to the event and at the same offer dog owners an opportunity to raise more money in sponsorships, because sponsorships for the dog are attributed to the human owner that registered it. The best way to register is to do it online at our website:  www.lcsde.org.  Make sure that when you are registering you click the box that indicates the registration is for a “Canine.” This year’s Walk Run will be held at Rockford Park on Saturday September 20, 2014.  Registration starts at 8:00 for the 9:00 start.

Capital Campaign for New Building

LCS’s home of 30-plus years on Rodney Street has been sold, and LCS is going to be moving across town to a new location at 2809 Baynard Boulevard. The building we have acquired, with financing through the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, is two stories high, built of brick, with a total of 6,000 square feet. Renovations are set to start in September and should be finished by March. Until then, we will continue to be located at 1304 Rodney Street. Benefits of the new building are many, and they should take LCS to new levels of service and commitment to the community.

New advantages include a “choice” pantry, where people needing food can have a role in deciding what they get. We also plan to construct a community garden to create a seasonal source of fresh produce for our low income clients. Additional space will be devoted to client interview rooms where they can discuss their needs in private, and to a volunteer center to help manage the many volunteers that support us. To make this all happen, LCS has recruited a Capital Campaign Committee composed of 17 talented community leaders. The committee meets monthly and has been charting strategies to raise the $1.6 million needed to complete this project. While we are in the quiet phase of the campaign now, concentrating on leadership donors, a broader community-based campaign will begin in early 2015.