Four page newsletter: June Newsletter| Four page newsletter: June Newsletter | | |
| Columbus GA Chapter, June 2007 Quarterly Newsletter |
| Mark Your Calendars for June 23! |
We have a lot going on Saturday, June 23, and we hope you can join us! First, at 10 a.m. we will be completing our Join Hands Day project at Renovation Station, 1080 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Then we’ll meet at 1 p.m. at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer (4700 Armour Road) for a delicious lunch and quarterly meeting. At this meeting, we’ll be selling gourmet pecan pies for $10, all proceeds benefiting the Thrivent/Habitat for Humanity Faith Build this fall.
10 a.m., Saturday, June 23: Our chapter is joining forces with HabiTot to build playhouses for area families who have received Habitat for Humanity houses. The build will begin at 10 a.m. at the Habitat Renovation Station on 1080 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. After the build, we will load up the playhouses and deliver them to the Habitat houses. This is a lot of fun – every smile from these kids makes your heart sing! So bring a cordless drill and a happy heart to help us make the summer a little brighter for these families!
And please bring kids of all ages! We appreciate all the help we can get with the houses, but we will also have activities -- buidling and painting birdhouses among others -- that children of all ages can help with. This is a great community activity for scouts and high schoolers, too!
Join Hands Day is a nation-wide volunteer day, sponsored by Thrivent, that brings youth and adults together to build lasting friendships across generations. Last year Thrivent chapters conducted nearly 3,000 Join Hands Day activities nationwide, resulting in nearly 600,000 volunteer hours of service. Let’s break the record this year!
1 p.m., Saturday, June 23: Ever wonder what the Columbus chapter is doing? Wonder no more! Join us for lunch and listen in on what we’ve accomplished so far this year and what we have scheduled for the remainder of 2007. Do you have suggestions? Do you want us to support an effort that has a special place in your heart? Join us on the 23rd and tell us all about it. We’d love to see you there.
1 p.m., Saturday, June 23: We had an incredible fundraising offer presented to us at our last meeting, and we snatched it up! We will be selling gourmet pecan pies for $10 at this meeting. We will make a $7 profit on each pie, and the proceeds will go to the Thrivent/Habitat for Humanity Faith Build that will be starting this fall. We are very excited about this build, and hope you are, too! Best of all – you can show your support by eating dessert!
| Building on Faith 2007: The "Apostle Build" |
Twelve churches will come together to provide the funding and volunteer builders to build a Habitat for Humanity house this fall. Building will begin in early September and last for 8-10 weekends. Builders must be age 14 or older and able-bodied, but volunteers will also be needed each weekend to support the builders with administrative tasks, serving meals and drinks, and providing first aid.
Thrivent will be sponsoring fundraisers this summer as well as providing t-shirts and tool belts to volunteers. If you have a fundraising idea, contact Katie Stinar at 706-221-4118 or ktstinar@yahoo.com.
| Lutheran Night at the Braves |
Wednesday, August 1 – Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros – is the official Lutheran Night at the Braves! Tickets are $30 for the Lexus Pavilion and $15 for the Outfield Pavilion, but our local chapter is discounting tickets by $15 for the first 100 people to reserve tickets by July 2! Our contacts for reservations are: Bethlehem – Johnnie Paige; Redeemer – John Ninke; St. Matthew – Penny Tadsen. You will receive a free spirit bandana with each ticket purchase.
The night begins with a special Lutherans on Parade at 6:30. If you have a children's group that would like to participate in the parade, contact Shelli Farquhar at 770-509-9839 or shellilf@aol.com. To check out other groups in the parade, go to www.lutheransonline.com/southeastregion. The National Anthem begins at 7:20.
Lutheran Services of Georgia Fundraiser: LSG needs 80 volunteers to create teams that will canvas the stadium selling $1 tickets through the second inning. The fan holding the winning ticket receives 50% of the funds raised. The Atlanta Braves Foundation receives 25%, as does Lutheran Services of Georgia. Volunteers selling tickets receive a free pass to enter the game but must be 18 or over. When finished, they may sit in any empty seat. To guarantee a seat with your congregation you must purchase a ticket. If you’d like to help, call Mary Kay Kates at 678-686-9601 or e-mail her at mkates@lsga.org.
This is the 16th annual Lutheran Night at the Braves, and it is the largest gathering of Lutherans in Georgia! Come be a part of the fun! Go Braves!
| Care Abounds In Communities® |
Show you care for your community through an exciting Thrivent Financial program called Care Abounds in Communities®. Through this program, Thrivent Financial provides funding to support members like you who want to make a difference. Accessing supplemental funds for fund-raising efforts or funds to purchase supplies for hands-on service activities is easy through our chapter leadership board. Your first step is to form a community service team—a team of volunteers that conducts an activity to help individuals, families and/or qualified not-for-profit organizations. Then you can contact our chapter leadership board for more information and help.
| Who Wants to Help Determine Funding for Those in Need? |
WANTED: A person with a caring heart to determine how best to distribute funds to needy people and nonprofit organizations in our community, or to help your congregation. For details about the following volunteer opportunities with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, call your chapter leader.
CONGREGATIONAL COORDINATOR position. Through the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Care in Congregations® program, your church has funds available for Thrivent Financial members to conduct activities to benefit your church and/or its ministry to the community. Three congregational coordinators are required to help administer the program and initiate funding requests for the activities. If you are interested in serving as a congregational coordinator in your church, contact your chapter leader.
CHAPTER LEADER position. Through its Care Abounds for Communities® program, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans provides funding for members who, through volunteer activities, want to aid people and nonprofit organizations needing help in the community. The chapter leadership board is responsible for reviewing funding requests and deciding on the amount of funds to provide for each request. New people are now being sought for chapter leader positions to help continue the fraternal benefit tradition of helping others.
REQUIREMENTS for volunteer positions: A Thrivent Financial member, a desire to help others, and five to 12 hours per month of volunteer time.
BENEFITS: A smile on the faces of others you've helped and a good feeling in knowing you've made a difference in someone's life.
| Your gift to a Lutheran organization can accomplish even more through the GivingPlus® program |
Are you aware that as a member of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, financial gifts you make to a Lutheran organization might be able to be supplemented by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans?
Through Thrivent Financial's GivingPlus® program, members can donate financial gifts to two different Lutheran organizations enrolled in the program each year, and Thrivent Financial will contribute $1 for every $2, up to $300 per year for each organization. For example, if you donate gifts of $600 or more to two eligible Lutheran organizations each, Thrivent Financial will contribute an additional $600 ($300 for each organization). In addition, Thrivent Financial will contribute an additional $25 for members who volunteer 25 hours or more at the organization receiving their gift.
All you need to do is complete a GivingPlus Member Gift form (available online or from the Lutheran organization) and submit it with your donation to the Lutheran organization. It's a very simple process.
For complete details and guidelines about this one-of-a-kind member benefit program and for copies of the Member Gift form, go to www.thrivent.com/fraternal/churchcommunity/givingplus.html.
| Your input is appreciated |
As a valued member of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, you understand the importance of receiving professional guidance to help you achieve your financial goals. You know the qualities that make an outstanding financial representative, and you probably know people with those qualities.
To meet the growing needs of Lutherans and their families, Thrivent Financial is expanding its team of Thrivent Financial representatives. If you know of anyone who could benefit from a career that offers Work with Purpose™, please ask your manager of Lutheran community services, for more information about the Thrivent Financial representative career. If you prefer, you can apply, make a referral or learn more by visiting www.thrivent.com/careers on the Web. As always, your input is valued and appreciated.
| Give a gift. Make a difference. |
Thrivent Builds Giving offers members of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans® the opportunity to increase the impact of their donations to Habitat for Humanity® International or to a local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. Thrivent Financial contributes $1 for every $2 members donate to Habitat for Humanity, up to a maximum supplement of $300 per member annually. Plus, when members volunteer 25 or more hours to Habitat for Humanity, Thrivent Financial contributes another $25 per year to their donation.
To learn more about Thrivent Builds Giving, to donate online or to get a copy of the Thrivent Builds Giving donation form, visit www.thriventbuilds.com.
| What is Thrivent Financial for Lutherans? |
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a Fortune 500 organization and is the nation's largest fraternal benefit society with nearly 3 million members. The organization and its members provide approximately $200 million annually for outreach programs and activities that support congregations, schools, charitable organizations and needy individuals.
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.
For members, by members.
This newsletter is written for you by volunteer leaders of your local Thrivent Financial for Lutherans chapter, and any views expressed are those of the writer. For questions, comments or to learn more about chapter activities in your area, please contact one of your chapter leaders, who are listed on our Web site at: www.thrivent.com/members. Just click on Information About My Chapter.
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