Lafayette Urban Ministry -- Newsletter.OCTOBER2004

Hunger Hike 2004 raises over $41,000!

This year's Hunger Hike, held on September 19 and presented by Bison Financial Group, was a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together for some exercise, fellowship, and fun while supporting anti-hunger programs here and abroad.

It was a great day for hiking! We had beautiful weather and a record crowd. Enthusiasm was in abundance as people gathered. Sailor Jack joined Chester Cheetah in costume as the Frito Lay mascots. Keith Austin of WGLM pumped up the crowd, and announced door prizes. Special additions included massages, which were available even before the hike.

We had over 500 walkers, gave out all the Hunger Hike water bottles, and even ran out of t-shirts!

The Purdue Crew Team, under the leadership of Coach Dave Kucik, was the Grand Marshal for the Hike once again, leading the walkers on the 7-kilometer hike while carrying their 32-foot shell the entire way!

Everyone enjoyed the route along the Wabash Heritage Trail, which was divided into two loops to accommodate different fitness and time commitment levels. All returned to the plaza to enjoy refreshments, clowns, free massages, balloons and live entertainment by the Hot Club of Colfax. Also new this year, Bison Financial Group provided hot dogs for all the participants.

With an outstanding corporate campaign, we will surpass last year's total by $10,000. Thanks to all who walked and supported the hike.

Proceeds from the walk provide important financial support for LUM's anti-hunger programs, Food Finders Food Bank, and St. Thomas Aquinas' relief efforts in Haiti.

Thank you very much to the volunteers who helped plan Hunger Hike 2004 and to those who helped with the many tasks on the day of the hike, especially those from PSUB, Phi Delta Theta, and AKD. YOU ARE FANTASTIC!!!

Congratulations to the teams who brought in the most donations! Prizes included trophies, pizza parties, miniature golf outings, and certificates.

Top Adult Teams

1st Place: Arni's ($1,327)
2nd Place: St. Tom's ($772)
3rd Place: The Book Club Group ($705)

Top Individual -- Darek Bulenski ($1051)

Top Youth Teams

1st Place tie: St. Tom's and WESSO
3rd Place: BOSS
4th Place: Faith Presbyterian

Golden Sneaker Award --Purdue Crew Team ($1179). Also winners of the Most Online Donations!

Special thanks are offered to the sponsors of this year's hike, particularly our presenting sponsor, Bison Financial Group, who has made a substantial 3-year commitment to Hunger Hike, and our three major sponsors: Tate & Lyle, Lafayette Community Bank, and Vectren

Other sponsors included:

Bison Financial Group

Tate & Lyle

Lafayette Community Bank

Vectren Foundation

Cargill, Inc.

Eli Lilly and Company

Caterpillar Inc.

Sam's Club

Great Lakes Chemical Corp.

WGLM- Soft Rock 106-7

WLFI TV-18

Journal and Courier

Cinergy PSI

Lafayette Copier Sales and Service

Meijer

Pay Less Super Markets

Scholer Corporation

Soller Baker Funeral Homes

Wintek Corporation

ConAgra Foods

Titus Well Drilling, Inc

Bar Barry Liquors

Curves

L.S. Ayres & Co.

Elevators Mutual Insurance Co.

Rutledge Towing & Recovery Inc

Dog-n-Suds

John Boes Water Care

Quality Connection- NECA/IBEW

Lafayette Printing

Myotherapy Family Massage Center

Smith Sounds

Sundance Sign & Tees

Media Art Design Works. Inc.

Walking with trust, hand in hand
by Mary Anderson, Acting Executive Director

Every afternoon about 3 o'clock, shortly before the vans arrive to discharge the children for our After School Program, the bright yellow school bus stops in front of our office.

The driver toots her horn, and someone from the LUM office goes out to greet a very special little boy. Because he is in special education classes, this student is transported by the school district and not our LUM vans. He stands on the top step of the bus with his book bag in one hand, and holds out the other to whichever LUM staffer is there to help him down the steps. With his hand in theirs, he walks confidently down the three steps of the bus, up the stairs to the LUM office and straight for the corner of the waiting room where he watches a Sesame Street video until the vans arrive with the other children.

He watches his video quietly until Rita or Amy comes for him. Picking up his book bag, he again tucks his hand into the adult's and walks upstairs. He is full of trust that the adult greeting him will help him with the steps, that his special video will be there, that he will join the other children for their activities, that mom will come and take him home. His trust is heart-warming.

So I've been thinking about trust and the many and varied ways in which we see trust in our daily work at LUM.

We see twelve people each morning, who trust that LUM will help them through their immediate financial crisis. We see 25 children every afternoon whose parents trust LUM to provide the highest quality child care while they finish their workday. We see 46 people each night who trust that the doors will be open, dinner will be ready and a welcome will be extended. We saw more than 500 Hunger Hikers trust that their dollars would help put an end to hunger locally and globally. People lining up for the St. John's/LUM food pantry, parents calling about Jubilee Christmas, volunteers calling about Thanksgiving dinnerall trust that LUM will be there for them.

It is a trust that is not taken lightly by the LUM staff. We are keenly aware of the trust that our clients place in us. At the same time, we know the trust that volunteers, donors, and our board members and member churches place in usthat their gifts will be wisely used and their direction wisely followed.

For over 32 years, low-income families have trusted that LUM would be there for them. We have been, and we are, and we will be. Some things have changed and programs have come and gone, but our commitment to being a place of trust, comfort and help is constant.

While the social safety net that should be in placewelfare, food stamps, Trustee Assistance, Social Security, housing subsidieshas some major "holes" in it, LUM's corner of that safety net is tightly woven and secure. Because of the great gifts of time, talent and treasure given by our volunteers and donors, we remain a place of trust for those in need.

You will hear a lot from us in the next few months. There will be more newsletters, opportunities to help with Thanksgiving and Christmas, appeals for support of the general LUM budget and special programs, legislative outlooks and eventually an annual report wrapping up 2004. We trust you will read and consider all these mailings, and find what touches your heart. Our clients can continue to trust in LUM because we continue to trust in the community that supports us with such love and generosity.

Whether it is the little boy at the top step of the school bus, or the client with the utility disconnect, or the parent struggling to feed a hungry family, they are trusting in LUM trusting in YOUto be there. Thank you for being there for them.

Spotlight on LUM Volunteers...

Pattie Wollenburg volunteers as a LUM front desk receptionist every Tuesday afternoon between 1:00pm and 4:30pm a position she has held since February 2004. She enjoys working with LUM's staff and helping LUM to help others. Pattie says the most difficult part of her job is when three phones are ringing and the copy machine jams! Pattie's husband Bob works for Smith Barney in Lafayette. They have five children and a 10-month-old granddaughter Abby who lives in Zionsville. Pattie is a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

Eric Sherer is a 4th year graduate student in chemical engineering at Purdue who has volunteered for the past 2¹/2 years as a LUM Weekend Shelter Coordinator. Eric spends 3-4 nights each month supervising volunteers, serving guests, and making sure the shelter operates in a warm and welcoming way. His favorite part of the job is getting to know the guests on a first name basis. He says it's hard at times for a college student to give up a weekend night, but when he leaves in the morning, he knows he's done the right thing. Eric is a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in West Lafayette.

Lois Sargent has been a St. John's/LUM Food Pantry Volunteer since 1991, working one morning each month. She says she volunteers because she likes knowing she is making a real difference in the lives of children and families who are hungry. Her only regret is that she doesn't have more to give. Lois is a member of First United Methodist Church in West Lafayette where she serves on the church board and many committees. Lois has four children and seven grandchildren and is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her first great-grandchild in early December!

Wes Tillett volunteers often in LUM's Afterschool Program. He realizes the time he spends at LUM is important to both the children and their families. LUM's Afterschool Program allows mom and dad to finish their workdays confident that their children are well cared for in a safe and educationally stimulating environment. Wes is Youth Minister at First Christian Church in Lafayette and married to LUM Afterschool Program Director Rita Tillett!

Celeste Heinz is a Purdue PhD candidate in English Literature. She has been volunteering each Wednesday morning since June 2004 as a LUM volunteer advocate. Celeste interviews and helps families that are facing eviction, utility disconnect, or prescription drug emergencies. She enjoys coming to LUM because it gets her off campus for a short while each week. It also gives her a glimpse into why people are poor. "Most people we help really do play by the rules, but that's not always a guarantee that life will be comfortable." Celeste is from LaCrescent, Minnesota.

Who is my neighbor?

In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus teaches that it's not enough to merely feel sorry for a neighbor in need. Our concern must be backed up with concrete actions.

The priest and the Levite may have felt sorry for the man who lay beaten along the side of the road, but the real neighbor was the Samaritan who stopped to help the man by tending to his injuries. Christian faith requires us to be a neighbor to those in need. Each day, people who are beaten down by poverty and injustice come to LUM seeking help. Won't you make some time to serve those in our community who are less fortunate?

Call 423-2691 or go to www.lafayetteurbanministry.org and click on "volunteer."

Jubilee Christmas 2004

The community's largest Christmas assistance program for low-income families will continue this year, as Lafayette Urban Ministry hosts Jubilee Christmas.

On December 11, thirty-five of Lafayette Urban Ministry's member churches will organize Jubilee Christmas "shopping" sites. Parents of nearly 1,500 children from 570 families will select free toys and gifts for their children at 22 toy stores set up by those congregations. But these churches cannot do it alone. Your help is needed now! Here is what you can do:

Make a cash donation that will help purchase hams, food certificates and gift certificates.
Consider a Jubilee donation in place of gift exchanges at your club, organization or business. Send a check equal to the cost of an office party, or make a contribution in honor of a friend or co-worker.
Donate new, unwrapped toys or new clothing items for infants and children, newborn through twelve years of age. Encourage others to do so as well.
Donate gift wrap, ribbon, bows, tape and gift tags so that parents can wrap their gifts before taking them home.

Jubilee provides a way for parents to be heroes with their own children at Christmas-time. If your church is participating in Jubilee, take your gifts directly there. Also contact your church's site coordinator if you are interested in volunteering on Jubilee Day. You may also bring donations to LUM's office, 525 N. 4th St., Lafayette, before noon on December 9.

19th Annual LUM Community Thanksgiving Celebration

Thanksgiving Day
Thursday, November 25
12:00noon-2:00pm
Central Presbyterian Church
31 N. 7th St

Planning for the traditional LUM Thanksgiving Day Celebration is in full swing! We expect over 700 people to attend this day of food, fellowship, and entertainment.

The generosity of many volunteers and contributors makes this celebration a huge success. Volunteers are needed on the day of the event to help with set-up, welcoming guests and volunteers, serving food and drinks, cleaniing up, and much more.

LUM has begun the sign-up for donations of food and drinks. Pies are needed, as are side dishes such as corn, cranberry sauce and salads. Butter, gravy, coffee and tea are also welcome. A complete list of needed donations and volunteer opportunities can be found on the LUM website at www.lafayetteurbanministry.org. You can even sign up online!

What a joy it would be to celebrate Thanksgiving Day together with you. You are invited to join us!