LUM Board Honors Franciscan Health
25 Year Gift of Linens to the LUM Shelter
The Board of Directors of the Lafayette Urban Ministry recently honored Franciscan Health for the hospital’s annual donation of 12,000 sets of sheets, blankets and pillowcases to the Lafayette Urban Ministry Emergency Shelter for the homeless. The hospital has been providing clean linens for the homeless for 25 years.
Sister Petra Nielsen, Vice President Administrative Services & Rick Bremer, Director of Environmental Services, attended the meeting to accept the recognition and commemorative plaque on behalf of Franciscan Health. The total value of the in-kind donation to LUM is approximately $250,000 (an estimated in-kind value of about $10,000 per year).
Joe Micon, LUM executive director stated, “It’s one of those common things that nobody thinks too much about. But if you’re going to provide the homeless with a place to sleep, you have to make sure that place is clean and warm. Our partnership with Franciscan Health has been a real Godsend. We just wanted a chance to say ‘thank you’ publicly and felt the community should know about their generosity.”
Each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the laundry service from Franciscan Health drops off clean sheets to the LUM Emergency Shelter and takes the used sheets to be cleaned. “It’s been happening routinely for 25 years,” says Micon. “We want to be careful not to take this tremendous gift for granted. I can’t imagine what we would do if Franciscan Health wasn’t willing to step up to plate in this way.”
{Pictured L to R: Joe Micon, LUM executive director, Sister Petra Nielsen, Rick Bremer and Mark Thomas, LUM Board president.}