Bringing healing and wholeness to the church, the society and the world … that’s part of the purpose of Women of the ELCA. One way the organization brings that healing and wholeness is through grants made to various groups and agencies that work to support women and children. In our 25 year history more than $3 million dollars have been given to this end. Here’s a brief piece about one 2012 grantee, Threads of Hope, a ministry of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Superior, Wisconsin. This piece, written by Dawn Wicklund, was originally published in the September 2012 issue of The Northwester, the newsletter of the Northwest Synod of Wisconsin Women of the ELCA.
Threads of Hope is a ministry of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Superior. It started in 2009 after a children’s cothing exchange among members of the congregation. No one wanted to take the extra clothes home so we brought them to an empty room. This developed into an organized room with a name and a committee. The first winter we received the gift of new winter boots and jackets that we gave away to neighborhood children in need. Through our contracts with local elementary school counselors and social workers, we had a large turnout for that event. The winter clothes give-away has become an annual event. We also collect school supplies and backpacks to give away. Last year we received a large grant from Thrivent to help buy not only boots and jackets, but also new socks and underwear. This year we received a $2,500 grant from Women of the ELCA. With this money, we will will be able to add diapers to our closet as well as continue to provide more new socks and underwear.
In the last four months we have had over 1,000 items of clothing leave our clothes closet and help dress the children in our town. We continue to get donations of gently used clothing for newborns through middle schoolers. We are now outgrowing our first room and looking for more space. With help from church volunteers, the confirmation class, Sunday school and a very hard working teenage girl assigned to do community service, we are making a difference in our community.
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