A Letter from the Executive Director
LUM is Opening Hands to Share with Others
Join Us & Support the LUM Good Samaritan Fund
Dear Friend,
I see many people in Greater Lafayette following John the Baptist’s guidance by directly helping their neighbors through the LUM Good Samaritan Fund.
Anyone who has two shirts should open their hands to share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.
Saint John the Baptist (Luke 3:11)
Maybe you are one of those who are opening your hands to share with others. When you share, you help neighbors like Lilly, who suffers from diabetes, making it difficult for her to walk. Lilly is currently unemployed and has applied for disability. Her husband, Brian, the family’s only breadwinner, is suffering from stage 4 prostate cancer. He continues to work 30-32 hours a week while receiving chemo and radiation treatments, but the prognosis is not good. Lilly and Brian found themselves struggling to pay the rent. They had scraped together $700, leaving them $195 short. Because of the generosity of people like you, the LUM Good Samaritan Fund was there to fill the gap.
When you share, you also help neighbors like Amy and Shawn. Their baby was born with a cleft lip and palate. Amy was staying home to care for their son when Shawn got sick and had to miss work. Shortly after recovering, Shawn had to take time off again when their son went in for surgery to repair his cleft. As a result, Shawn lost his job. Both he and Amy quickly found new, full-time jobs, but the gap in income left them unable to pay their rent. The Good Samaritan Fund was able to help. Because people like you gave to the GSF, LUM was able to pay Amy and Shawn’s rent and give them the time they needed to get back on their feet.
The Good Samaritan Fund is a means of direct help for neighbors struggling to prevent an eviction, a disconnection of utilities, or a lapse in prescription medications. This financial assistance is always paid to a third party (not directly to the client), and 100% of every dollar given to GSF goes directly to assist a local family in need (no administrative overhead is taken out). In 2023, LUM disbursed $135,498 through the GSF, aiding 1,398 households. With your help, we plan to help approximately 1,400 families this year. It warms my heart to know that we were able to help their families because people like you care about others.
I am genuinely grateful for what has been shared, yet the need continues. Every day at LUM we meet with many neighbors who find themselves in a financial crisis. On behalf of these neighbors, I ask you to share again. Would you please contribute to the LUM Good Samaritan Fund so we can continue to offer this strong and reliable safety net to our neighbors?
LUM can only share what it has been given. At two different points this past winter, LUM had to cut back on the number of households it could help through GSF on any given day, simply because we did not have adequate funds to keep pace with the need. I ask you for a summer outpouring of generosity to your neighbors through GSF, so we do not have to cut back now or in the future.
- $70 provides the average GSF disbursement to one local household on one visit
- $200 provides a year’s worth of GSF financial support to one local household
- $560 provides one day’s worth of disbursements for GSF (aiding more than eight local households at $70 each)
- $2,800 provides one entire week’s worth of disbursements for GSF (aiding more than 40 local households at $70 each)
- Set up a legacy gift (beneficiary designation, bequest, or Qualified Charitable Distribution) to LUM and be remembered for your on-going love for the people of Lafayette
- Any amount is a helpful financial boost to our neighbors in need.
I admire the way LUM administers the Good Samaritan Fund. Our volunteers show tremendous respect and offer practical help in a way that is truly empowering for each client. Fifty years of serving low-income households in Greater Lafayette has proven that even modest financial assistance can have a dramatic, positive impact on families. In the past decade, the average Good Samaritan Fund client only visited LUM three times, receiving approximately $70 per visit. The GSF aids people in their time of acute financial need. Rather than creating financial dependence on LUM, the GSF offers an empowering hand of hope in the midst of crisis.
Maybe you’ve been part of offering that hand of hope in the past. Will you please open your hand again, offering hope to your neighbors by donating to the LUM Good Samaritan Fund today?
Thank you in advance for caring enough to share with your neighbors.
Sincerely,
Wes Tillett
Executive Director
Lafayette Urban Ministry
P.S. Donate to the Good Samaritan Fund by visiting LUMserve.org, by scanning the QR code above, or by making your check payable to Lafayette Urban Ministry. Thanks!