Throughout the recent holiday season, the LSSI community captured the spirit of Christmas kindness and generosity and shared it with the children, adults and seniors LSSI serves.
Whether it was gift giving, holiday celebrations, special activities, and donations for urgent client needs such as winter clothing and food, volunteers, a multitude of LSSI staff, and church partners came together to brighten the season for LSSI clients.
Bringing Joy to Children in Foster Care
Every one of the nearly 2,600 children in foster care programs received a gift at Christmas thanks to the generosity of supporters across the state, with monetary donations toward gifts and other needs, gifts purchased from a wish list, and ways to make the children feel special.
One parent was moved to tears by the kindness she and her children experienced: “I’m a single mother of two children in foster care who is struggling to make ends meet. I had no money to buy my children anything for Christmas. I could not believe my ears when I learned that my children would be able to receive gifts for Christmas.”
Holiday-giving highlights include:
- LSSI’s Christmas-giving fundraising hit a new record of nearly $87,000 toward gifts for children in foster care, as well as for clients in other programs. This included Project Room at the Inn and the Holiday Hope Chest.
- Recognizing the needs of adolescents who will soon be transitioning out of the Youth in Care program in Marion, one thoughtful donor assembled bags of personal items that included a sheet set, blanket, kitchen utensils, and other necessities for youth starting out on their own.
- Each of the 1,410 families that participate in LSSI’s Intact Family Services programs received gift cards so they could buy items they urgently needed and perhaps surprise their children with gifts they weren’t expecting.
Warm Bodies, Warm Hearts
The LSSI Community stepped up to make sure clients stayed warm during the recent bitterly cold weather.
- Naperville Financial Consultants purchased gifts with a Thrivent Action Team grant for residents at LSSI’s Fox Hill Group Home and Fox Trail Home in Aurora for clients with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
- LSSI counselors onsite at nearly 90 Chicago public schools in the Step-Up School-Based Counseling Program, as well as the mobile crisis team, brought LSSI’s mission into the community, offering warm winter gear and connecting clients to other services.
- For LSSI clients who are unhoused or facing housing instability, Irving Park Lutheran Church donated $500 to assist with immediate needs such as winter clothing and nourishing food courtesy of the Homeless Outreach and Meaningful Engagement (HOME) Program.
Congregations Demonstrate the True Meaning of Christmas
Churches across the state, along with community partners, came together in force to help residents in LSSI group homes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as seniors living in LSSI’s affordable housing developments, celebrate the Christmas season by organizing and supporting special events. Some highlights:
- Singers from Epiphany Lutheran Church, Carbondale, and entertainer Lexi Briggs, thrilled residents of Washington Place group home with the gift of Christmas music. Better yet: Every resident received a Christmas present through a Thrivent Action Team grant. Washington Place also hosted members of the historic Grace Lutheran Church, Springfield, enjoying crafts, games, and a Christmas concert by Land of Lincoln Chorus.
- Another LSSI holiday tradition is the Holiday Hope Chest in the Northern Illinois Synod, which includes churches, organizations, and businesses. This year’s chest was overflowing with donated gifts, household items, and gift cards so clients could choose items they needed most. This year’s donors included TreeHouse Foods, Dixon; On the Move Community Fitness Center, Lanark; Bethany Lutheran Church, Woodhull; Faith Lutheran Church ELCA, Rochelle; First Lutheran Church, DeKalb; Immanuel Lutheran Church, Rock Falls; Emmanuel Lutheran Church Paynes Point, Oregon; St. John Lutheran Church, Mendota; St. John Lutheran Church, Somonauk; St. John Lutheran Church, Sterling; St. Paul Lutheran Church, Dixon; Trinity Lutheran Church, Mt. Morris; St. James Lutheran Church, Forreston; St. John Lutheran, Ashton, and St. Paul Lutheran Church, Dixon.
These are just some of the many ways that friends of LSSI throughout Illinois celebrated its mission at the most wonderful time of the year.
See more about the recent holiday season on LSSI’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
Caption: Residents and staff at Fox Trail Home for adults with developmental disabilities in Aurora were delighted with a holiday visit from St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Aurora, Ill.
