Reaching Out to Others...

The We Care Fund

The We Care Fund was established at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd to let people know we support them and are present when special emergency financial aid is needed. We have recently been depleting this fund. If you feel you could share a few dollars over and above your regular offering, please help. Mark your envelope “We Care Fund".

River Roads Lutheran School has a long tradition of Lutheran Education and has been affiliated with Ebenezer Lutheran Church. Currently the school is being threatened by the inability of Urban congregations to finance Christian Elementary Schools. River Roads Lutheran School is located in the Baden area. While it was once a German settlement, it is now mostly populated by African Americans. The current enrollment has 162 students, 50 of those are receiving some type of tuition assistance to attend the school.
Through the OASIS program that Good Shepherd has with River Roads Lutheran School, Thrivent (formerly AAL) has graciously been forwarding money netted from the Barbecue Fund to their Scholarship Fund. In 2003 the school received $800 plus $800 match money from Thrivent which is designated to their Scholarship Fund. As a member of the OASIS and realizing the need, I along with the other tutors thank Thrivent for their donation. We have worked with a student that can only go to this school if he receives money from the Scholarship Fund. He is a twin, one of three children living with a single parent, the father who is dealing with kidney failure. The father and his three children were baptized and became active members of Ebenezer, and because of his illness cannot contribute financially to their tuition.
OASIS (Older Adults Services Intergenerational Systems) started working with students at River Roads Lutheran School four years ago. Presently we have four ladies from Good Shepherd going to the school every week on Wednesday morning. The ladies doing these services are Ida Zastrow, Sunnie Stilz, Ruth Woods, and Barb Murphy. As OASIS Intergenerational Tutors they are not viewed as teachers, but as mentors to young children. The Language Experience Approach used in this program draws from the tutor's and child's experiences to develop language skills. They try to foster in them a positive self-image and motivation to read and communicate. The tutors receive three days of formalized training. If anyone is interested in joining or learning more about being an OASIS Tutor, please speak with any of the ladies presently involved. The need is truly there.