Published by the Lafayette Urban Ministry

April 2017

1 The SEED—April 2017

Join us for the 6th annual

LUM Good Samaritan Fund Follies Celebrate the 45th Anniversary of Lafayette Urban Ministry at LUM Follies — a lighthearted evening of fine dining, entertainment, fun & good company, filled with delightful surprises. There will be a lovely dinner with fabulous people; a Silent Auction filled with unique & priceless items; and local entertainment that will bring laughter, fun and sheer joy to the room.

Make Your Follies Reservation Online at www.lumserve.org/follies — OR mail in the form below.

The LUM Good Samaritan Fund Follies 2017 will also be a grand 45th anniversary celebration. The best part though is that 100% of the proceeds from this event go to the LUM Good Samaritan Fund, an emergency financial assistance program that supports local families. Last year the Good Samaritan Program served families 2,232 times and distributed $114,495 to avert evictions, utility disconnects and other financial crises.

Please support the Good Samaritan Fund by attending this year’s LUM Follies.

Lafayette Urban Ministry – Good Samaritan Fund Follies – Registration Form Friday, May 5, 2017 | 5:30 p.m. | St. Andrew United Methodist Church, West Lafayette

Name:

Address:

City, State: Zip:

Phone: E-mail:

# of Reservations x $45. = $

# of Tables (8 seats) x $360. = $

Donation to LUM Good Samaritan Fund: $

Grand Total: $

Names of Guests:

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8.

Menu (served family style): Tender pulled smoked pork & chicken, fruited coleslaw (with apples & pears);

potato & green bean salad, and biscuits (baking powder) with butter, honey & homemade jam;

Dessert—fresh berry pie & ice cream; Coffee and tea.

Please enclose a check made payable to Lafayette Urban Ministry and mail to LUM Follies, 420 N 4th Street,

Lafayette, IN 47901. For more information, please call 765.423.2691 or go to www.lumserve.org/follies. Please note: Per IRS regulations, the charitable contribution that is tax-deductible is $30 per reservation, which is the portion of your reservation cost that exceeds the

value of each $15 dinner.

2 The SEED—April 2017

M y son, Jonathan, and I visited Charles-ton, South Carolina during his recent spring break. While there, we wor-shipped with the congregation of Moth-

er Emmanuel AME Church. Bearing words of friendship and support from the 44 member-church Lafayette Urban Ministry board of directors, we were welcomed by Pastor Eric Manning and church members with warmth, grace and hospitality.

There remain outward signs of the tragedy that oc-curred there 21 months ago. A shrine of flowers dig-nifies the front entrance to the church. A uniformed security guard keeps mostly out of sight. Bolts of white satin cover the communion rail, pulpit and just about everything else on the alter.

Over the course of the morning’s worship, it was clear to me that God is hard at work at Mother Em-manuel. Healing and remembrance remains a major part of the congregation’s reality. The church has supported family members of the slain throughout the recent trial and conviction of the mass murderer.

They continue that sup-port as the killer’s exe-cution approaches. But mainly I found the church to be so wonder-fully vibrant — a faith-filled place of worship, music, song, prayer, in-spired preaching and service to others. The tragedy has placed the church squarely into the national epicenter of the struggle for African Ameri-can civil rights. The congregation acknowledges that reality and bears the responsibility willingly, with grace and courage.

Jonathan and I both were blessed by our Sunday morning at Mother Emmanuel. Please keep Pastor Manning, the leadership and entire congregation in your prayers as they seek to be Christ to each other, to Charleston, and to our entire nation.

A Message from Joe Micon, Executive Director of Lafayette Urban Ministry

It’s the Lenten Season and many of us will “prepare” through prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice toward self), and almsgiving (justice toward your neighbors). As we reflect on Giving, perhaps you would consider a legacy gift to LUM—an organization pledged to fight for justice for your neighbors. Through Planned Giving our ministry will continue after you and I are no long-er able to give. In addition to the altruistic benefits, your charitable gift to Lafa-yette Urban Ministry brings tax relief. Whether you use cash, appreciated secu-rities/stock, real estate, artwork, partnership interests, personal property, life insurance or a retirement plan, the benefits of Estate Planned Gifts can make this type of donation attractive to you as a well as LUM.

If you are interested in beginning the conversation, please email or call Joe Micon, LUM executive director, who is eager to meet with you (jmicon@lumserve.org | 765-423-2691). To give to LUM online, go to www.lumserve.org/donate.

“As a nation, out of this terrible tragedy, God has visited grace upon us, for he has allowed us to see where we’ve been blind. He has given us the chance, where we’ve been lost, to find our best selves. We may not have earned it, this grace, with our rancor and complacency, and short-sightedness and fear of each other -- but we got it all the same. He gave it to us anyway. He’s once more given us grace. But it is up to us now to make the most of it, to receive it with gratitude, and to prove ourselves worthy of this gift.”

President Barack Obama, June 26, 2015

Each year LUM partners with the IRS to bring free, quality, tax return prepa-ration services to hundreds in Tippecanoe County. Just since January, the LUM Tax Assistance Program has had a tremendous positive impact on our community. Some interesting statistics so far are as follows:

392 - Total Income Tax Returns Filed $275,629 - Total Earned Income Credit $19,194 - Average Adjusted Gross In-

come $789,727 - Total Refund Amount

Last year, 929 working families were served with an average return of $1,398.26 — and almost $1.3 million in refunds and tax credits were secured for local households — and back into our local economy.

LUM would not be able to offer this service without the skilled, trained volun-teers who make this program such a success each year. The 2017 LUM Tax Assistance Program is led by Ben Murphy (pictured above).

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Each afternoon there is a lot of energy and excitement in the After School Program. The program provides en-riching childcare for children in kinder-garten to 8th grade. There are currently 35 students enrolled and they’re learn-ing, growing and having fun. The pro-gram ends in May, and the summer all-day childcare program, the 5th Quarter Summer Learning Program begins the following Monday.

The Immigration Clinic offers assis-tance with the Immigration & Naturali-zation process to the families of indi-viduals from other countries who are legally in the US. Therefore, with each new administration, the Immigration Clinic must be diligent in keeping abreast of every change made that im-pacts these families. Suffice it to say, it has been a busy 2017 so far. Good news — LUM assisted another person to citizenship on March 17.

It’s been a mild winter, but there have been several busy evenings at the shel-ter due to low temperatures, wind, and snowy conditions. So far in 2017, the Emergency Shelter has hosted 201 individuals (1,977 bed-nights) with an additional 117 visiting the Winter Warming Station (288 bed-nights).

If you wish to invest in any of these programs, please put your donation in the enclosed envelope and mail it today or make a donation to LUM online at www.lumserv.org/donate-online. In-terested in volunteering with LUM, go to www.lumserve.org/volunteer. Thank you.

To honor the contributions of Representative Sheila Klinker & Senator Ron Alting to issues of family advocacy in the State of Indiana, Lafayette Urban Ministry has established an in-ternship in cooperation with Purdue University’s College of Liberal Arts. This merit-based internship will provide students with an interest in the political process a practical, hands-on learning opportunity. The internship includes a $500 stipend provided by LUM. At an event on March 31, Representative Klinker & Senator Alting were recognized and introduced to the first intern, Ally Wong. Ally (Pleasantville, CA) is a double major in History & Philoso-phy who will earn her bachelor’s degree and graduate from Purdue in May. The Klinker-Alting Intern works with the director of the LUM Social Justice Ministry, Susan Brouillette.

Russell J. Clark has been a volunteer tax preparer since the LUM Tax Assistance Program began in 2002. Russ lives in Lafayette with his wife, Katherine, grad-uated from Indiana University in Gov-ernment and is retired from the US De-partment of Labor. They have four grown children and six grandchildren and are parishioners of St. Lawrence Catholic Church.

Russ also served on the LUM Board of Directors for 10 years and was elected to the Executive Board. He shared that LUM “has a talented staff and is a well-organized nonprofit with a terrific reputation and well-thought-out pro-grams that meet the needs of our community.” With the tax program he “enjoys the conversations he has with families.” He recalls fondly a family who received an $8,000 tax return enabling them to purchase their own home. “The LUM Tax Program is having a tremendous impact on this community and just as important, it’s assisting individuals and families through a stressful process.”

LUM could not accomplish its mission without a dedicated team of volun-teers—and is blessed to have individuals like Russell Clark who give selfless-ly and generously, year after year. Thank you, Russ.

420 N 4th Street, Lafayette, IN 47901-2213

(765) 423-2691 | lum@lumserve.org | www.lumserve.org

Touching the future by helping children and families today

The SEED — April 2017

Return Service Requested

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Lafayette, IN

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4 The SEED—April 2017

Join LUM online

Save the Dates — LUM 2017 Programs LUM Camp (July 31 - August 4) - A week-long, overnight camp program at Hanging Rock Camp for children from 8 to 10 years old from low-income families. Why not say "yes" this year to being a volunteer LUM Camp Counselor?

Hunger Hike (September 16-17) - Saturday, September 16 is the 5th Annual HH5K Run. Sunday (9/17) is the tradi-tional Hunger Hike 3K Walk. Proceeds benefit LUM Food Programs, Food Finders Food Bank Inc., and St. Thomas Aquinas’ Haiti Ministry. Mark your calendars and get your team together.

Port of Hope (November 9) - Port of Hope is an evening fundraising event in support of the LUM Immigration Clin-ic. The event includes heavy appetizers from local restaurants, silent auction featuring items from around the world and entertainment by musicians from around the world.

Community Thanksgiving Celebration (November 23) - The LUM Community Thanksgiving Celebration is on Thanksgiving Day from noon to 2 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church (Lafayette). More than 800 people will be served dinner and dessert, and you may be a part of this special program by volunteering or making a donation.

Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk (November 23) - Start off your Thanksgiving day with the Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk at 8 a.m. in McAllister Park, Lafayette. Runners, walkers, dogs, strollers, wagons & turkey hats are welcome. All Turkey Trot proceeds benefit local families through the programs and services at LUM.

Jubilee Christmas (December 9) - LUM Jubilee Christmas serves over 600 families and 1800 children. Parents visit one of dozens of churches and shop for their children. In addition to the toys and clothes, each family also receives a ham and homemade cookies to make Christmas dinner special too.

Other Important Dates NOW - April 12: Spanish Conversation Tables NOW- March 30: Citizenship Classes May 18: After School Program—Last Day

May 22: 5th Quarter Summer Learning Program—First Day August 4: 5th Quarter Summer Learning Program—Last Day August 8: After School Program—First Day