Lafayette Urban Ministry -- Newsletter.JULY2004

LUM Camp2004 -- Where Creativity Ran Wild!

Nine-year-old Shalonda Williams said it was the best week of her life. "I made new friends. We painted pictures and learned tons of goofy songs. We went to chapel every morning and swam every afternoon. I'd been waiting for LUM Camp for months, and now that it's over I'll remember it forever."

What else but LUM Camp can have that kind of wholesome impact upon a child? Through 35 years, over 2,500 local children have participated in LUM Camp and been touched by it magic. This year's edition of LUM Camp was no different.

LUM Camp 2004 was held the week of June 14th at Pine Creek United Methodist Camp in Warren County. Sixty-four campers, 25 counselors, and over 30 program leaders were in attendance. The campers came from families who've received services from LUM during the past year. They included 8, 9, and 10-year-old boys and girls.

Along with all the great traditional summer camp activities such as morning chapel, horseback riding, campfires, and sleeping in cabins, there were many outstanding enrichment sessions centered around our 2004 theme: "Where Creativity Runs Wild." This year, LUM Camp included "hands on" presentations on:

The Peace Table with David Lewis
Front Window Mural with Susan Ulhrig
Dance with Joyce Pedigo and Susan Flynn
42nd Royal Highlanders
Sisters of Thunder performance
Interactive Theater with Vanessa Bowers
Improv. with Civic Theatre Improv Troupe

The children produced paintings that are now on display at the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette. They learned about neighborhoods and the histories of their own homes! They watched jugglers from Purdue juggle fire and swords. And thanks to the Black Belt Academy, they even got to break boards with their bare hands and feet. It was a week of fun, learning, and growth for each child.

The LUM board and staff are grateful to each individual who volunteered at LUM Camp 2004. You've touched the lives of our community's neediest children in meaningful and poignant ways. Most of all, we wish to thank each LUM Camp contributor for your friendship and generosity.

Thank you, 2004 LUM Camp donors!

Hunger Hike 2004

Presented by Bison Financial Group

An annual event to help feed the hungry

Sunday, September 19

1:00pm Registration at Riehle Plaza in downtown Lafayette
2:00pm Hike begins
3:00pm Party time!

There are lots of ways to participate!

Collect sponsors and donations. Bring the money with you on the day of the hike!
NEW-- ONLINE DONATIONS! Get friends and relatives to donate online! Tell them to provide your name to get credit for their donation! Tell them to go to: www.lafayetteurbanministry.org/hike.html
Print out registration/collection forms from the Web!
Organize a group of friends, family, or co-workers and participate as a group!
Make a donation to the hike!

Fun! Prizes! Awards!

For more information contact:

Lafayette Urban Ministry 423-2691
www.lafayetteurbanministry.org

Food Finders Food Bank 471-0062
www.food-finders.org

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church 743-4652
www.sttoms-purdue.org

LUM Emergency Homeless Shelter Needs

Overnight Volunteers
Help provide a safe and caring overnight shelter for the homeless in our community. Volunteer one evening, or as many evenings as you'd like from 8:30pm to 7:00am (includes 5 hours of sleep). Our next training session is scheduled for Thursday, July 29 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. You do not need to pre-register for training.

Meals for the Homeless
Provide meals for 50 homeless men and women at the LUM sheltera great project for those who love to cook!

Supplies Needed (bring to LUM M-F, 8:15am4:30pm) ·

Institutional sized cans of chili
Coffee
Pre-sweetened powdered juice mix
Tooth brushes, toothpaste, and razors
Laundry detergent
Automatic dishwasher detergent

Contact Joyce Boehm for more information: jboehm@lafayetteurbanministry.org or 423-2691 ext. 22.

LUM now accepting credit card and online donations

Effective immediately, you may now contribute to LUM's important work by using your credit or debit card, or by sending an electronic check. Just fill out and return the required information on a LUM reply card or contribute online at www.lafayetteurbanministry.org.

You may of course continue to contribute to LUM by check or cash, or you may arrange to have monthly contributions automatically withdrawn from your checking account. Whichever way you decide to contribute, your gift is still tax deductible, and will still go to the LUM program you designate.

Thank you for your continued friendship and support of the children and families served by the Lafayette Urban Ministry.

Briefly Noted

Fresh, washed garden produce may be brought to the St. John's/LUM Food Pantry (6th and Ferry Streets) on Mon. Tues. Thurs. or Fri. mornings between 9:00am and 9:15am for distribution that same morning. Please don't bring produce to the LUM office or the St. John's Church office. Thanks!

Welcome Rita Tillett! Rita has been hired as LUM's new Director of Youth Programming. She is a 2001 graduate of Grace College and Theological Seminary in Warsaw, IN. She directed the Albemarle County Afterschool Program in Charlottesville, VA, teaches an English Conversation class at the International Center at Purdue, and leads weekly youth programs and bible studies at First Christian Church in Lafayette. Rita begins work on August 1 with responsibility for LUM's Afterschool and RESPECT Programs.

Dates to Remember

Sat. July 25 Dignity-U-Wear distribution 9am3pm
First Christian Church.
Thurs. Aug. 19 Afterschool Program begins fall semester
Tues. Sept. 7 LUM's new Clemente Project begins classes
Sun. Sept. 19 Hunger Hike, 1:00pm Riehle Plaza
Thurs. Nov. 25 Greater Lafayette Community Thanksgiving,
Noon at Central Presbyterian Church
Sat. Dec. 11 Jubilee Christmas

Life begins with a promise and ends with a memory

...which leads many of us to wonderif our lives were to end today, what would they have meant? What difference did we make? What legacy did we leave? The fact is by including the organizations and causes you care about in your estate plans, the impact of your life can be felt and remembered for generations.

Many people feel they lack sufficient assets to include a charitable gift in their will. They assume the joy of philanthropy is a privilege of the wealthy not everyday people like themselves. Not anymore. Today, people of all ages and backgrounds are discovering that they, too, can leave a legacy. Here are seven things you can do to leave a legacy

Prepare a will. Only 40% of those who pass away have one. Without a will, you may lose control over your belongings.
Leave a gift in your will to the Lafayette Urban Ministry. Leave a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your assets.
Consider using assets for your gift. These include but aren't limited to stocks, bonds, CDs, real estate, vehicles, art and jewelry. Such gifts may even provide tax savings.
Name LUM as the beneficiary of your pension plan or IRA. Doing so can avoid estate and income tax that might otherwise be due on your plan.
Name LUM as beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy.
Remember loved ones with memorial gifts to LUM in their honor.
Encourage family and friends to remember LUM in their wills.