Community full of heart

More than 300 bowlers gathered together as a caring community for an afternoon of bowling at Stardust Bowl in Addison to bring hope and healing to the Lutherbrook youth.

Heart-felt thanks

The support shown by our generous sponsors and bowlers will be used to help provide life-changing services to the youth at Lutherbrook. All the funds raised as part of the event will help Lutherbrook provide youth with opportunities to build connections with their families and the community and to build their own strengths.

View Bowl-A-Rama photos at http://tinyurl.com/BowlARamaPhotos.

Have a heart, you too can help

If you are interested in continuing to have a heart for Lutherbrook by getting more involved, here are some ways in which you can help.

• Become an Ambassador - Raise awareness about Lutherbrook within the community and with your friends and family

• Learn more - Take a "See the Change" tour - www.lcfs.org/seethechange

• Make a donation - Make a donation at www.lcfs.org/donate

• Become a foster parent - Learn more at www.lcfs.org/foster

• Provide recreational outings support - Donate tickets to sporting events, museums, movie theaters, etc.

• Donate new or gently-used luggage for our children transitioning out of care

• Provide new picnic tables for youth

• Send Lutherbrook youth to camp

For more information or if you, your business, school or organization would like to get involved, contact Marylyn Rodgers, Director of Annual Giving at 708-488-5557 or marylyn_rodgers@lcfs.org.

A place of hope, a place to heal

Lutherbrook Child and Adolescent Center is a place of hope. Lutherbrook youth have experienced multiple complex traumas in their young lives, many have had numerous foster care and other placements, and have struggled to be successful in family and community living. Understandably, they have a great deal of difficulty building trusting relationships with adults and peers.

At Lutherbrook, youth begin the process of healing. They receive therapy to work through their past traumas, develop coping skills to ensure positive future outcomes and engage in activities that build their own strengths. Most importantly, youth at Lutherbrook learn to connect with others, begin to trust again and feel that they belong.

After their stay at Lutherbrook, the majority of youth go to live in a family setting and are able to sustain that placement. Unfortunately state funding does not cover the entire cost of providing this transformational care and private support is crucial.

Lutherbrook Child and Adolescent Center is a program of Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois, which annually improves the well-being of more than 40,000 people statewide by protecting and nurturing children, empowering families and transforming communities.