To the New Members Welcome Aboard ! We believe you will be amazed and pleased to learn about all the good things that happen as a result of the work of the Chapter Leadership Board and the Chapter Members.

To the Old Members, get ready to go again with your Care Abounds in Communities Service Teams and Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity. We have received from Thrivent over $21,000. in matching money for Care Abounds in Communities Projects and $ 94,000 which is 65% of the cost to build 2 Habitat Houses.

V.P.  Barbara Savarin   9626 Sommerville St. Louisville 44641      330-875-4778   jsavarin@aol.com

Records Director     Kristie Woods   921 Pheasant Grove Ave NW  330-834-3514   kwoods@stllc.org
                                                        Massillon,  OH  44646-3058

Financial Director    Ken Reinoehl    318 E Lisbon St.                330-866-2452  reinoehl k@neo.it.com
                                                        Waynesburg,  OH  44688-9302

Congregational             Jamie Savarin   9626 Sommerville St         330-323-4212  jsavarin@aol.com
Service Team Director                           Louisville, OH  44641-8400

Communications          Wm. Fitzgearld  4101 Lesh St. NE              330-452-5126
Director                                                 Canton, OH  44705-4914

Community          Nancy Schoenbaum  4555 Louise Drive NW      330-493-1386
Service Team Director                          Canton, OH  44718-1837

Financial               Karen Jeske      46 East Mohawk Dr        330-863-4225  karen.jeske@thrivent.com
Associate Advisor                            Malvern, OH  44644

Financial             Kathryn Smith      46 East Mohawk Dr.       330-866-5586  SparkyK129@aol.com
Associate Advisor                            Malverne, OH  44644

Thrivent Builds    Michael Kellogg   1681 Sawgrass Dr.         330-699-8070  mkellogg123@yahoo.com
Chapter Specialist                            Uniontown, OH 44685-4878

Thrivent Builds    Darrel Rice           2821 Anderson Ave. NE   330-862-2944  darrelrice@verizon.net
Chapter Specialist                            Minerva, OH 44657-8653

Thrivent Builds     Don Rice   1740 Spring Valley Ave. NW  330-477-6205  ricedoncar@sbcglobal.net
Chapter Specialist                  Canton, OH  44708-1958

The Leadership Board's main function is to approve requests for funding for Care Abounds in  Communities projects that will do the most good with the money Thrivent has given to them. Their second main function this year will be to help everyone learn how to use an entirely new process to distribute millions of dollars through Thrivent Choice Funds.

Identify a worthy cause in the community that need financial help.

Talk it over with the leaders in your congregation and your friends.

If they agree it should be done, form a Community Service Team. It must have 6 Thrivent Members from 6 different member households.

Plan the Fund Raising Event.

Fill out a Care Abounds in Communities Request For Funding Form. ( Available online from Stark Chapter Web Site under Thrivent.com , find your Chapter and click on FORMS or from the Financial Director Ken Reinoehl. )

The Learership Board will consider your Request at it's next monthly meeting and inform you how much matching money was approved.

Advertise your Event including the announcment that Thrivent is providing matching funds.

Hold the Event.

Report the results to Ken Reinoehl on the Report Form included with your approval notice and include a check for the amount raised. He will send you a check equal to the amount raised plus the matching funds approved by the Board.

We thank the 96 who served the churches in the Stark County Chapter and worked diligently to have fund raisers in every congregation. For several years every congregation in the Chapter raised enough money to receive the full amount of Care in Congregation funds allocated to them.

There is a new Congregational Role being introduced this year: Congregational Advocate.

To learn more about the congregational advocate role, go to the For Congregational Advocates page on Thrivent.com> Thrivent Community> Chapters> Volunteer Leaders Resources. Look for the " Congregational Advocates" box to see a description and information about this new role.

Present Congregational Coordinators or any other Thrivent Member may apply to serve your congregation in this new role.

These are the same conditions that were in effect when we built 5 houses in 2008 and 5 houses in 2009.

At the end of 2009 we still needed to raise about $2000 from Lutherans to complete our committment for the last house.

The volunteer workers and the groups that brought snacks and lunches to all 5 work sites every work day last summer grew to enjoy the fellowship and satisfaction they experienced every week and looked forward to the next week. They will be greatly disappointed to learn that we only have money from Thrivent for 2 houses this year.

Perhaps if we all pray about this and bring it to the attention of our fellow Lutherans and our Church, that the Lord will show us the way to build one or two more Habitat Houses without help from Thrivent.

To all Thrivent Members who participated in the building of Habitat Houses during the past four years,
THANK YOU ! Sixteen families who formerly were living in deplorable housing are now living in nice new, well built, safe, affordable homes that they are purchasing with zero interest mortages.

If you would like to help this year, there are several ways.

To volunteer to help build or bring snacks and lunches. Call Joanne Callas at 330-493-6500

To help raise money you can give to " THRIVENT BUILDS" through your church or send checks payable to THRIVENT BUILDS to:  Darrel Rice, Chapter Builds Specialist
                                      2821 Anderson Ave. NE
                                      Minerva, OH 44657

Most important way to help is to Pray, for guidance in selecting the Partner Families, for folks to help build and provide food, for good weather on work days, that everyone work safely and no one gets hurt on the job and safe journeys coming and going and that people of all faiths be filled with a passion to provide everyone a decent place to live.