July 2004

LSS Senior Companions and Foster Grandparents make huge contributions to the quality of community life in Minnesota. Here are six stories of seniors who are changing lives every day as they work with frail seniors and school children.  Click here to read more!

Teenagers without a home find a place to sleep sometimes on a friend's couch, or under a bridge, or even, literally, on the street. The Wilder Research Center estimates that on any given night in Minnesota 660 "unaccompanied youth" are without permanent shelter. Over the course of one year, 10,000 Minnesota youth experience homelessness.  Click here to learn more!

Ask Robert (Bob) Krenelka why he gives to LSS, and his answer is immediate: "I got to know LSS sometime ago when Clifford Fox visited me. He gave me all the details about LSS, so I felt confident that my gifts would benefit others."   Click here to read more!

Local fundraising plays a role in many LSS programs across the state. So when 15% State of Minnesota budget cuts hit the Senior Nutrition programs last year, ingenuity among the staff and volunteers emerged in many places.  Click here to learn more!

Roberta Anderson comes into the Baxter office with a smile on her face, ready and willing to help us serve low-income families who need energy assistance, especially during the coldest months. She helps the staff stay on track with computer data entry, working directly with families by phone and welcoming walk-ins facing immediate need  Click here to read more!

Question: How do you attract the attention of prospective volunteers who are attending a volunteer fair? Answer: Get them involved in a game. Question: What if you don't have a game? Answer: Invent one.  Click here to find out more!

Up until last year, Kim (not her real name) was living the American dream. She was married, she had three great kids, and she lived in a nice house in a quiet suburb of Chicago. But last year that dream started to fall apart.  Click here to learn more!

Like most other LSS donors, Leslie and Carl Nelson support other organizations, in addition to LSS and their church. Carl is a Mason and member of the Scottish Rite. In April, Carl and Leslie visited the LSS office on Como Avenue to share their enthusiasm for a new childhood language disorders clinic that the Scottish Rite will be opening in Elk River this summer. You may ask: Why is this of interest to LSS?  Click here to read more!

Children in foster care have been through the worst in life. Todd and Chris Purvis have seen it all, as Lutheran Social Service foster parents. Young kids arrive with physical scars, burn marks, feelings of abandonment, fetal alcohol syndrome, and lots of emotional scars that are hidden from view.   Click here to find out more!

The Board of Trustees of the LSS of Minnesota Foundation met in St. Paul, May 13. The Foundation Board's mission is to raise money for Lutheran Social Service, both in the form of current gifts as well as estate plan gifts.  Click here to find out more!

So what is this position called the LSS Chief Advancement Officer? Generally speaking, the Advancement Officer focuses on where the organization is headed, not just where it is. Click here to learn more!