Residents of Le Sueur County can access virtual financial wellness classes and one-on-one financial counseling sessions for free through a partnership with LSS Financial Counseling and Le Sueur County Department of Human Services.

“The pandemic has impacted all of us in one way or another,” said Julie Zachariason, senior program manager with LSS Financial Counseling. “This partnership is a response to the real and pressing need of area residents to successfully navigate their financial options.”

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) will offer Keys to Success, a Zoom class to help people planning to rent their residential properties learn the basics. Keys to Success will address tenant selection, leases, laws and tenant/owner communication. The three-part class will also be relevant for seasoned owners and managers who want to learn about new renter protections that are in effect in Minneapolis and soon will be in St. Paul.

LSS Meals, a service of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, is seeking community partners to help distribute 90,000 meals to Minnesotans struggling with nutrition.

Thanks to a recent grant from the Minnesota Department of Education, LSS Meals will provide these meals and snacks to members of our communities at no cost to them. Any Minnesotan who struggles to access proper nutrition during Covid-19 is eligible to receive up to five nutritionally balanced frozen meals and snacks.

You may not have started 2020 thinking about a move. But like it or not, many of us have had to reconsider our living situations during the pandemic.

Before you decide to relocate, you have many things to consider: the cost of living, proximity to your loved ones — and whether you’ll need a winter coat. Learn how to go about making the decision to move from experts on personal finance, including Elaina Johannessen, program director at LSS Financial Counseling.

Meals on Wheels Moving to LSS Meals Luverne Kitchen on August 18

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) has been a proud provider of Meals on Wheels service in Jasper and southwest Minnesota since 2007. They work with local partner Sunrise Village to prepare and package LSS Meals on Wheels which are distributed throughout the community through contactless delivery.

The state of Minnesota received nearly $1.5 million to provide safe, stable housing and appropriate services to victims of human trafficking.

In a press release from U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald's office, the funds are being provided by the Department of Justice's Office of Just Programs (OJP) and its component, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).

Camp Knutson in Crosslake is hosting their 34th annual quilt auction this week. They plan to hold the event through a live stream so that buyers can safely participate.

The virtual event will help raise funds for the camp to continue to provide summer programs for children with special needs. Volunteers from around the country make and donate the quilts that will be auctioned off.

The bidding begins on Friday, July 31st. To register, you can visit the Camp Knutson website.

Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota has expanded its foster grandparent services in Northeastern Minnesota to St. Louis, Cook, Carlton, Lake and Pine counties.

Foster grandparent volunteers are older adults who offer one-on-one mentoring and academic support in classroom settings to children who may be falling behind in school, according to a news release from Lutheran Social Service. Their presence and reassurance is meant to help boost children’s self-esteem, improve social and emotional development, and perform better in literacy and math.

LSS Meals in Mankato recently received financial support from Consolidated Communication community fund to help in any way possible.

The money was used to buy a new freezer for the project which helps out with the meals on wheels program. The nonprofit is grateful and excited to use the freezer.

A new partnership in Wright County is helping support families who may not have anywhere to turn. The county is now working with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota to provide its Crisis Nursery, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

“There’s a lot of need in the area,” said Kate Hengy-Gretz, the crisis nursery facilitator for LSS.

Wright County has operated a crisis nursery since 1992. In the fall, however, the organization running the program was unable to continue doing so because budgetary limitations.