If you’re interested in recurring, daytime service opportunity, consider becoming a Volunteer Afternoon Receptionist at Lafayette Urban Ministry.
A Volunteer Afternoon Receptionist is needed each weekday from Noon to 4:30 p.m. — and some weekday mornings.
Normally, Volunteer Afternoon Receptionists greet guests, answer phones and complete general clerical duties in the main office of Lafayette Urban Ministry (420 N 4th Street, Lafayette).
During COVID-19, the duties include answering the phones and assisting staff in general duties. LUM maintains strict COVID-19 protocols for a safe environment which requires face masks, hand washing, social distancing, plastic barriers, and no client contact.
Sign Up Today
If you are interested, please email or call Monica Casanova, LUM office manager (mcasanova@lumserve.org | 765-423-2691). If you need more information, click HERE.
The topics focused on how our community leaders plan to create more unity and move forward after last year’s local Black Lives Matter demonstrations. The virtual, live panel discussion featured county & city elected officials, school corporation leaders and social service agency directors. Thanks to the moderators, which included the Reverend Dr. Bradley Pace (St. John’s Episcopal Church rector) and the Reverend Dr. Hilary Cooke (Chapel of the Good Shepherd chaplain), the conversations were lively, informative and transformative. Wes Tillett took the opportunity to share the mission, programs and aspirations of LUM as important initiatives about equity & inclusion are addressed. Thanks to Beloved Community Lafayette for sponsoring this meaningful event and inviting LUM to participate in the conversation.
Nancy L. Emig is the new clerk, responsible for assisting the LUM business office and working directly with the Good Samaritan Program.
Nancy grew up in Valparaiso, graduated from Valparaiso High School, and lives in West Lafayette with her husband, Greg, daughter, Carly, and their three furry children (dogs), Zoey, Abbey & Bayley. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in Supervision. Nancy enjoys being a mother, supporting her daughter’s activities, listening to music, traveling, golfing, watching Purdue sports and NFL games, loving her dogs, and helping her husband with their business venture/adventure. She is inspired by the quote,
As I look at my life, I would prefer to err on the side of GRACE rather than judgment, To love too much rather than too little, To believe in my sisters and brothers too much rather than not enough, To believe the best and be wrong rather than believe the worst and be right.
I am here to serve and give back to the community that has welcomed and been so gracious to my family. I hope to bring the same joy, a smile or sense of peace to just one person, my day is fulfilled.
LUM is fortunate to have had Nancy Emig as a volunteer and is thrilled to have her join the LUM staff. Please join us in welcoming her in her new role with the LUM team.
Sincere thanks to the outgoing 2020 LUM Board of Directors & Executive Council members, who served valiantly during the transition of a new executive director and impact of the pandemic. Congratulations to the incoming 2021 Executive Council members (pictured above L to R), who are as follows:
President – Cheryl Fowler, Unitarian Universalist Church of Tippecanoe County
Vice President – Chuck Anderson, St. Thomas Aquinas Center
Treasurer – Tricia Sembroski, At Large
Secretary – Penny Glotzbach, Congress Street United Methodist Church
Facilities – Allen “Buz” Grady, Our Saviour LutheranChurch
Personnel – Nina Morgan, Grace Lutheran Church
Program, Planning & Evaluation – Deb Parent, At Large
Executive Director – Wes Tillett, Lafayette Urban Ministry
LUM is governed by a Board of Directors — made up of one representative from each Member Church plus a few appointed individuals from specific community groups. Led by the officers listed above, the board meets each month to oversee and direct policy decisions, fiscal matters, and programming issues, and to ensure that LUM fulfills its vital Mission. The board members are passionate, hard-working, talented — and are well-equipped to serve during this difficult time.
Eli Heindricks is a senior at Purdue majoring in Political Science and Economics with a minor in Philosophy. He grew up in Fortville, graduated from Hamilton Southeastern High School, and was a visiting student at the University of Oxford in the Fall of 2019.
This semester, Eli is serving as the LUM Klinker-Alting Family Advocacy Intern, and will provide outreach, advocacy and education, fundraising, marketing, and communication for the Immigration Clinic. Eli Heindricks shared,
“I really enjoy helping people in my community. Working with LUM allows me to learn while serving those in need.”
The Klinker-Alting Family Advocacy Internship is open to juniors and seniors who are enrolled and in good academic standing with the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue. The merit-based internship provides students with practical, hands-on learning of the political process. Included with the internship is a $500 stipend provided by LUM.
LUM is thrilled to introduce the LUM After School Program team (not pictured: Tabatha Volpi, teacher). What a talented and caring team! Led by Kristi Hogue, LUM Youth Programs director, the LUM teachers are assisted each afternoon by volunteers.
The LUM After School Program provides safe, fun and enriching childcare for up to 60 children in Kindergarten to 8th grade in Tippecanoe County. The children are transported by the LUM buses from school to the LUM Ray Ewry Youth Center. For up to three hours each school day, the students work on homework, have a nutritious snack, and participate in craft projects, music, and other fun recreational and educational activities — enabling their parents to finish their workday. The program is staffed by professionally trained teachers, interns and volunteers, whose training exceeds State of Indiana requirements.
In 2020, 80 children were enrolled; and so far in 2021, 44 children are enrolled.
Please consider investing in or volunteering with the After School Program – LUM needs you.
App & Online Orders for Pick Up, Dine In, To Go, Catering Dining Room & Patio Seating Tuesday, February 23 – 5 to 9 p.m. – South St., Lafayette
Eat your favorite burrito bowl and support the LUM Youth Programs. Take a night off from cooking, go to Chipotle Mexican Grill (4030 South St., Lafayette) and LUM earns 33% of your order with the coupon below. Chipotle is also including “online orders for pickup” for the LUM fundraiser. This means YOU will be able to place your orders for pickup either through the Chipotle app or website, skipping the line and maintaining safe social distancing guidelines. Online orders will require a custom code to be used during checkout to be counted — LUM’s online code: 8YL3ZEF.
Join us at Chipotle (South Street, Lafayette, IN) on Tuesday, February 23 from 5 – 9 p.m. — and the LUM After School Program gets 33% of all orders, if you present this COUPON (pictured).
It’s easy! Print the coupon or show it on your phone, order your favorite Chipotle meal (burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, salads or kids meals), don’t forget to get chips, guac’, and a drink — and LUM gets 33%. So — plan to eat out on Tuesday, August25 — all for a GREAT CAUSE — the students enrolled in the LUM After School Program.
If you can’t make it and wish to support the LUM students, click the button below to make a donation.
This past Tuesday, the dedicated staff members of Lafayette Urban Ministry gathered at Lafayette Brewing Company for the annual LUM staff appreciation lunch to celebrate the wonderful accomplishments of 2020, a unique & historic year.
The success of LUM last year can, in part, be attributed to the Persistence, Passion, Love and Determination of each member of the LUM staff.
Thanks to Lafayette Brewing Company management and staff for creating a safe environment for our annual luncheon as well as for great food & service.
Pictured L to R are Pablo Malavenda, Eileen Weiss, Wes Tillett, Nancy Emig, Gayle Koning, Briton Weise, Patrick Renfroe, Linda Hicks, Minnette Trent, and Nina Morgan.
Campaign for Hoosier Families – A strong, public voice for Hoosier families and children in need
Action Alert: Support Pandemic Relief
Ask Indiana’s Lawmakers not to overturn Gov. Holcomb’s Veto of Housing Bill – SEA 148
With a long COVID-19 winter settling in, the Campaign for Hoosier Families urges you to reach out to Indiana’s state legislators NOW to tell them why it’s important not to overturn Governor Holcomb’s veto of SEA 148 this session.
Indiana families can’t afford a veto override that would negatively affect rental housing and could expand homelessness. To get started, click HERE.
Urge Congress to Pass Bipartisan Pandemic Relief Bill
Also, please contact your senators and representatives in Congress to urge them to enact newly-released legislation NOW that includes $25 billion for emergency rental assistance and a one-month extension of the federal eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To get started, click HERE.
Other Legislation to Watch & Support
STATE – House Bill 1136 Paid family & medical leave program. For more information, click HERE. Share the bill and thank the authors on social media (on Twitter, @campbellh26 and @DavissonforHD73). Connect with your legislators to ask for their support
FEDERAL – National partners are circulating a letter to Congress urging support for the FAMILY Act. It is very similar to the Indiana bill, providing 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents, serious health conditions, and family care. To sign on, click HERE (even if you signed a similar letter in 2019, you will need to sign again to be included)
To find out more information about bills that are being watched by the Campaign for Hoosier Families go to www.lumserve.org/bill-watch-list/.
Campaign for Hoosier Families is an alliance of faith-based organizations that engages local, state and federal officials on behalf of low-income Hoosier families and children. To find out more information about bills that are being watched by the Campaign for Hoosier Families, please click HERE.
Thank you for helping to support Hoosier Families!
If you wish to make a donation to the LUM Social Justice Ministry, click HERE.
Lafayette Urban Ministry has recently been the grateful recipient of stimulus funds from individuals “Paying It Sideways.”
One local family shared that, “We just donated our stimulus payment to the (LUM) Good Samaritan Fund so LUM can give it to people who really need it.“
Another shared that, “I hope during this difficult time that my stimulus check can go farther in your hands helping those who really need it!“
A third family shared that, “We knew that our family did not need the stimulus money and wanted to donate it. We wanted the money to benefit our community and knew that LUM was a good place to give. Our family is happy to support LUM, and would encourage others to do the same.”
LUM continues to be right on the front lines of this crisis, helping local families with emergency financial assistance and nutritious food, and helping individuals with safe shelter. If you have decided to use your stimulus money to help others less fortunate and don’t know how, LUM is a great option. LUM enables YOU to give anonymously and with the peace of mind that your gift will be well-utilized to quickly help people in our local community.
