Steve and Ellen were selected from a field of nine finalists based on nominations submitted by the sixty member societies in Virginia for the "Volunteer of the Year" award.  

Members of the award selection committee said that when they read this nomination there was no doubt that Steve and Ellen should be the recipients of this award.  This nomination will now be forwarded to the National Fraternal Congresss where, I believe Steve and Ellen have a very good chance of winning the national Volunteer of the year award.  

"In 2000 Ellen and Steve Tomczyk established a program to provide toys for critically ill children in hospitals in Northern Virginia.  

Ellen and Steve created “Cole’s Closet” to help fill the void left by the death of their six-month-old son, Cole Stephen in December 1999.  Cole spent 74 of his 186 days in hospitals.  He suffered from apnea and seizures related to a lack of mylin, the sheet that insulates the nerves in the brain.

“The idea of Cole’s Closet came just before the first anniversary of his death.  It was a way to get through the day”, said Ellen.  In December 2000 they hosted a holiday gathering and asked guests to bring new toys that could be donated to Inova Fairfax Hospital to help entertain sick children and their siblings.  “We thought we’d end up with 30 or 40 toys, but we ended up with 400 toys,” she said.  

In 2006 their service to the community continued to grow.  They collected more than 10,000 toys and opened new toy closets in Georgetown Hospital and Fair Oaks Hospital bringing the total number of hospitals supported with Cole's Closets to six.  They’ve also raised funds to create a comfort program and a family outreach program for families who are in the hospital for four weeks or more.  These families receive a packet containing a phone card and a gas card, as well as gift cards for nearby coffee shops and deli’s.

During 2005/2006 Cole’s Closet also raised $12,400 toward the renovation of Inova Fairfax Hospital’s children’s wing, where Room 544 was dedicated to Cole.  That was the room in which Cole and his parents spent so much time.  They raised over $18,000 and collected over 2,000 new toys through an annual spring yard sale, a summer Fun Fair, and a winter holiday celebration.

The Tomczyks’ work with Cole’s Closet also has been a life volunteerism lesson for their other children, Taylor, 10 and Drew, 4.  Taylor has played a major role in the efforts from the beginning, helping to sort and deliver toys at a very young age.  “One of the big reasons we started Cole’s Closet was to teach Taylor that – yes, you can have something tragic in our life happen, but you can turn it around into something positive," Ellen said.  The entire family attends the toy closet openings and other events.  
“Cole is still a part of our everyday life and he’s talked about all the time,” Ellen said."  

President - Vicki J. Haugen, 703.914.3993, vicki.haugen2@gmail.com, Peace
Vice President - John H. Ohman, 703.451.5532, johman9@cox.net, Epiphany
Records Director - Ron N. Maree, 703.569.5731, ron.maree@ngc.com, Peace
Financial Director - Barbara A. Pauling, 703.549.8062, fredandbarb@verizon.com, Immanuel
Congregational Service Team Director - Jean Fratzke, 540.659.3698, jeanfzke@aol.com, St. John’s
Assistant Financial Director – Rhonda L. Rose, 703.347.9260, RhondaR@npaonline.org, Good Shepherd
Youth Director – Jane K. Paul, 703.823.5435, rbpaul@comcast.net, Messiah

Your role as congregational coordinator is focused on helping the congregation. As a coordinator, you have a special Thrivent Financial program, Care in Congregations®, that enables you to engage members in activities that will help your congregation or its related institutions.

Chapter leaders manage the chapter; the legal entity required by law for all fraternal benefit societies, including Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Chapter leaders are elected and may appoint additional optional advisory positions. They are responsible for providing strategic direction, leadership planning and administration support to the chapter and its congregational and community service teams. Chapter leaders approve funding for activities that benefit the community through the Care Abounds in Communities® program.

All Thrivent Financial for Lutherans members have the option to be involved at both the congregational and the chapter level by volunteering with a variety of service teams formed to meet pressing congregational or community needs.

For more information on these two roles and the programs that enable them to meet needs, please refer to CHIP, the online chapter resource guide, located at www.thrivent.com/members/chip.

We appreciate the communications and support from Judy Logan, Regional Manager and Angela Muller, Regional Specialist, who assisted us as well by obtaining funds for worthy projects like Gifts of Hope and "A Discernment Retreat". The retreat is to help individuals consider entering seminary and will be coordinated by Pastor Mark Olsen in January 2007 at MarLuRidge.

Corporate Sponsors will be providing supplemental funds.  As a principal corporate sponsor, Thrivent Financial has pledged $15,000 in supplemental funds.  Cost is $125 per person or $1,000 for a table of eight.  Hope to see you there!

Without the help of all our volunteers, the Alexandria Chapter would not thrive as it has this year.  We appreciate all our chapter volunteers, members, congregational coordinators and chapter leaders.  
The Lord has truly blessed us!

Peace, blessings and joy,

Fraternal benefit societies such as Thrivent Financial for Lutherans are unique not-for-profit organizations that offer their members opportunities to achieve financial security and to help others. Although fraternals have evolved to meet the changing needs of their members, their mission remains the same: to help their members help themselves and others through charitable and benevolent activities; and to provide opportunities for their members to achieve financial security.