Imagine yourself as part of a group of caring people with the opportunity to decide how best to use funding that benefits people in need and your community. Imagine being able to increase the impact that money has through community involvement, awareness, additional funds raised and the caring work of many hands. And imagine being able to help Thrivent Financial members come together for charitable, educational and social purposes.

Chapter leaders with your Owatonna Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans do just that! With 2010 chapter elections in September (it will be here before you know it), the time to get involved is NOW! Our chapter will have several leadership opportunities for next year. The only reqirements are: being a Thrivent Financial member, a desire to help people, and five to fifteen hours a month (depending on the position).

In 2008, our chapter helped fund 17 projects with $22,250 through Care Abounds in Communities:

Steele County Food Shelf ($1,600), Rice Lake Church Restoration & Preservation ($1,600), Madelaine Stoen Benefit ($2,500), Alex Stewart Benefit ($2,141), Owatonna Young Life (1,000), Owatonna Izaak Walton League ($870), CONTACT ($1,600), Exchange Club Center - Child Abuse Center ($1,053), Mark Beaupre Benefit ($1,000), Steele County Historical Society ($1,091), Owatonna Fire Department Chili Feed ($1,500), Steele County Clothesline ($500), Steele County Crop Walk ($1,600), Children's Remedial Fund ($800), Owatonna Healthy Seniors ($1,600), Culturefest 2008 ($800), and Advocates for Developmental Disabilities ($1,000).

The funds available to the Owatonna Chapter for 2009 are $18,080.

We encourage you to participate in the 10th annual JOIN HANDS DAY on Saturday, May 2, 2009. This national day of volunteering is sponsored by America's fraternal benefit societies, including Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, to generate awareness about the impact of grassroots volunteerism. It encourages youth and adults to come together to identify, plan and conduct activities to improve their communities.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans strongly supports the purpose of this special day and the impact that it has on communities nationwide. Last year, youth and adult members conducted nearly 3,000 activities across the country.

How can you participate in 2009? It's easy. Find a need, form a service team of individuals from six separate Thrivent Financial households, and contact one of our chapter leaders to see how we can help you. To strengthen the impact of this special day, we prefer chapter service teams to conduct JOIN HANDS DAY activities on or near May 2, but eligible activities may be held between April 1 and June 30.

You'll find that the rewards of participating far outweigh the time and effort involved in planning and activity. So tell your family, friends and congregation about this day, then "join hands" and see the power of membership grow.

Through Thrivent Financial's GivingPlus program, members can donate 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 and 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 form (available online or from the Lutheran organization) and submit it with your donation to the Lutheran organization. It's a very simple process.