News You Can Use

For Your Church Newsletter    - by Steve Tindall

From Lutheran Community Services            April 2015

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.

Building Almost Complete

Progress has been steady on the renovation of the new LCS headquarters building on Baynard Boulevard in Wilmington.  According to contractors, it should be completed April 1

Homelessness Prevented

Linda had been homeless for quite some time.  She stayed at relatives’ houses, on friends’ couches, in motels, in short- and long-term shelters.  Not having a mailing address and a working phone made it difficult for people to reach her, so she often used the phone at Lutheran Community Services to talk to 211 – the information helpline – for screening and the next temporary housing placement.  Linda is 63. Her husband, a veteran, passed away. Linda receives his VA pension so is able to pay a subsidized rent in an ongoing manner …if she were able to work out the logistics involved in finding a place to move in to and communicating with them.  With LCS’s help, Linda was able to meet these challenges. LCS was able to provide her with the security deposit she needed for Sacred Heart Village, a low income apartment community, where she lives today in her own place.

Capital Campaign Donors May Be Eligible for Tax Credit

Larger donations to the LCS Capital Campaign may be eligible for Delaware’s Neighborhood Assistance Act Program. Under the program, individual and business donors with an income tax liability in Delaware (and who reside in Delaware) can get a 50% tax credit for campaign donations made during calendar year 2015. Application should be made as soon as possible on or after July 1, 2015. This is not a deduction but a direct credit taken off the bottom line of your tax bill to Delaware. The NAA tax credit equals 50% of the qualified contribution up to a maximum eligible contribution of $100,000 annually per taxpayer, resulting in a maximum annual tax credit of $50,000 per taxpayer. The minimum contribution by an individual or family is $2,500 for a tax credit of $1,250. The minimum contribution by a business is $10,000 for a tax credit of $5,000. Contact Steve Tindall (302 654 8886 x105 or stindall@lcsde.org) for assistance.

LUTHERAN COMMUNITY SERVICES (DE) – 2014 Report to the Congregations

The continued strong support of individuals, our sponsoring congregations,  foundations and government agencies has allowed Lutheran Community Services to continue to carry out our mission of “Sharing God’s Blessings by Helping Others in Need.” 

The need for a safety net for people less fortunate than ourselves has not abated, and we have found that a great many people in Delaware continued to request help with basic necessities of life – food, shelter, and kindness.

In 2014, we selected  Growing Together as our annual theme, because it helps us describe how people are changed by services offered with the love of Christ, how volunteers grow through their service, and donors are enriched in their giving. Once again in 2014, we have provided close to 90,000 incidents of service: 

• Services: food, homelessness prevention, smoking cessation vouchers, clothing and more.

• Distributions occur regularly in 15 locations.We have been grateful for the work of over 400 volunteers.

• Some new volunteers have used their experience with us to launch themselves into new jobs.  

• One of our sponsoring congregations is offering food during evening hours; something we have dreamed about.

• Every applicant for financial assistance has been offered free financial counseling with our partner agency, Clarifi. The number of people making use of this service increased by 60%!

• Throughout the year we have continued to offer nutrition education and classes in conjunction with the UD Cooperative Extension Service and a Shop Rite nutritionist.

• During the growing season many healthy veggies are donated by individuals. This year, one of our farmer friends planted a whole crop of corn just for donation!

You have probably heard that we have acquired a new building on Baynard Boulevard in Wilmington, and that renovations have commenced, with a hoped-for move-in date of late spring 2015 – just a few months away.  Meanwhile, the contractors are busy installing a new roof, new systems, new windows (including a stained glass one), walls, paint, carpet – in short everything. 

Recent photos taken this week of construction at the new building. Lot's of progress is being made!
Click on photos to enlarge.

The Capital Campaign Committee has been hard at work, and at this time, 80% of the funds needed have been pledged or received. Please join us in our push to the goal if you haven’t already. The move is destined to help us continue Growing Together to serve even more people in need with excellent services, accessibility, privacy, dignity, and, most importantly, the love of God.

We had wonderful support for our operating expenses through the annual Walk Run, which set records again in 2014, as well as our Gimme Shelter Golf Tournament (another record breaker) and our annual Room at the Table breakfast. Our challenge now is to maintain our flow of regular contributions, which go toward the everyday operating costs of the agency, as we ask for additional gifts to cover the expenses of our construction project. We hope that this spirit of giving continues in 2015.