When a community of concerned neighbors and Lutheran congregations founded Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) in 1867, they were responding to an immediate need to care for children whose parents died in a cholera epidemic. Little did
they know their compassionate action would still be helping children—and adults—more than a century and a half later.

To help guarantee the legacy of its founders, The Cornerstone Foundation was established 40 years ago. It receives legacy gifts, including those made through wills, charitable gift annuities, charitable trusts, and beneficiary designations.

Pr. Donald Hallberg, CEO Emeritus at LSSI, recalls the impetus for Cornerstone was to ensure long-term support for LSSI’s programs, fueling innovation and helping sustain programs in economic downturns. Hallberg not only helped create Cornerstone, he and his wife Susan have remembered LSSI in their charitable estate plan, helping to sustain it.

“We all can ‘leave a legacy’ for LSSI’s ministry that will continue to support LSSI long after we have joined the heavenly chorus,” he said. “I am thrilled at the progress the Cornerstone Foundation has made over the past 40 years.”

For more information on including LSSI in your estate plan, visit LSSI.org/PlannedGiving.

Photo Caption: Lutheran Home Finding Society, Chicago, 1950s. LSSI still owns this building, known as Portage Cragin Counseling Center.