2017 Endowment Ministry Grant Report
For 2017, the Endowment awarded nine grants and scholarships totaling $22,000 The Outreach and Unrestricted Funds awarded a total of $19,000 to the following organizations:
Endowment Disaster/Emergency Grant Awarded Mother’s Milk Bank of Austin – When hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coast, mothers were separated from infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), hospitals in need of donor human milk were cut-off from usual transportation mechanisms, and the supply of stored milk intended for donation was diminished. The Mothers Milk Bank at Austin is now serving 34 hospitals and 10 outpatient units in the destructive path of Hurricane Harvey. Milk is delivered by helicopter when Federal Express cannot enter an area, and new donors are being screened to compensate for those donors who can no longer donate. Screening of donors costs $125.00 each. To address this crucial need, the TLLC Endowment awarded a grant to the Mothers Milk Bank at Austin. It will take months for hospitals demand for milk to return to normal. During the recovery period, the Mothers Milk Bank expects to serve nearly 1250 infants daily.
Any Baby Can – Any Baby Can helps parents raise healthy and happy children by strengthening them through education, therapy and family support services. Services are provided through home-visitation programs, community classes and support groups. Clients come to Any Baby Can from a variety of referral sources, including other social service agencies, Neonatal Intensive Care Units, pediatricians, hospitals, WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Clinics, school nurses, teachers, family members and friends. For more information, please visit www.anybabycan.org.
CASA of Travis County – CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Travis County believes every child who’s been abused or neglected deserves to have a dedicated advocate speaking up for their best interest in court, at school and in our community. To accomplish this, CASA educates and empowers diverse community volunteers who ensure each child’s needs remain a priority in an overburdened child welfare system. When the state steps in to protect a child’s safety because the people responsible for protecting them have not, a judge appoints a trained CASA volunteer to make independent and informed recommendations and help the judge decide what’s best for the child. www.casatravis.org
Hill Country Community Ministries – Founded in 1983, Hill Country Community Ministries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, a coalition of churches assisted by area businesses, civic organizations, service clubs and concerned individuals that provides food, clothing and other assistance for people in crisis and those living in poverty in southwest Williamson and northwest Travis counties. Our goal is to serve our clients with dignity and compassion in an atmosphere of neighbor helping neighbor. HCCM operates a Food Pantry that stocks nonperishable food and essential personal care items. The Clothes Closet provides serviceable, gently-used clothing for children and adults, including coats, jackets, new socks and underwear, and blankets. Other assistance includes new shoes for children. HCCM actively refers clients to other agencies for access to additional community resources to help stabilize their situation.
Round Rock Area Serving Center – The Round Rock Area Serving Center is a Texas non-profit corporation, also known as the Serving Center, carries out a community-wide mission of churches, other organizations and individuals serving human needs in the City of Round Rock and surrounding areas. Services provided include a food pantry, clothing & furniture vouchers, Computers for Kids, community gardens, The Volunteer Center, adult computer classes in English & Spanish, a charity thrift store, and financial assistance for utilities, rent, prescriptions, transportation, and temporary lodging.
Triumphant Love Lutheran Church Child Development Center – Triumphant Love’s Child Development Center provides a learning experience in a Christian atmosphere where the whole child can grow and develop. Accredited by the ELCA, their mission is to provide a quality early childhood program for children and families in the community that celebrates and shares God’s grace.
Upbring – Upbring (the new Lutheran Social Services of the South) has a rich legacy of serving Texas’ vulnerable children, adults, and families. In April 2015, the agency unveiled a new identity and new mission as Upbring, underscoring the agency’s commitment to elevating expectations for what childhood should be for the almost 7 million children who live in Texas. www.upbring.org
The Firnhaber Seminary Education and Unrestricted Funds awarded $3,000 to the following seminary students:
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago for benefit of Stephani Shumaker, a first-year Masters of Divinity student, to support her hospital chaplaincy internship. http://www.lstc.edu/ Luther Seminary Program in the Southwest to support 2018 Hispanic Summer Intensives that educate pastors, seminaries and staff about LSPS about its mission statement and mission oriented to multicultural communities.