Lutheran churches in the suburbs mobilize to help hurricane victims in Florida

The golden retriever comfort dogs trained by volunteers with Lutheran Church Charities in Northbrook are on the road again.

This time they're headed to Panama City in Florida, where thousands of residents still are without power and many of its schools and hospitals remain closed after Hurricane Michael.

A truck carrying enough supplies to fill 24 pallets, or more than 95,000 pounds of food, toiletries and equipment, left Saturday from Northbrook and is scheduled to arrive Wednesday, Nov. 14, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Panama City, the same day as the dogs.

“It's a semi filled with desperately needed items,” says Tim Hetzner, president and CEO of Lutheran Church Charities, who is making the trip to Florida as well.

He has been working with officials from Trinity Lutheran in Panama City, where a center set up at the church sees an average of 6,000 people a week for food and other assistance.

Earlier this month, Hetzner and church volunteers held a collection day at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Palatine to accept donations for these families, and the response was overwhelming.

Naturally, the dogs were there to provide comfort and joy to the hardworking volunteers who accepted donations and loaded the truck.

Up until now, Hetzner says, it has been too dangerous for the comfort dogs — and their handlers — to travel to this hard-hit part of Florida, but they are cleared to go now. The better to comfort impacted residents, first responders and volunteers, church officials say.

Late in October, similar collections took place at Family in Faith Lutheran Church in Glendale Heights, Wheaton Christian Grammar School, Winfield Community School of the Arts and Wheaton College.

Contributing faith communities also included Immanuel Lutheran Church in Des Plaines, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Palatine, St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Park Ridge and Cross Lutheran Church in Yorkville, to name just a few.

Their contributions added up to more than traditional nonperishable food and personal hygiene items. Consider some of the requests they fulfilled: scrub buckets, grills, charcoal, roofing tarps and nails, canned meats, Clorox wipes and Gatorade, as well as a washer and dryer that will be used by full time volunteers and staff working out of Trinity.

Once they arrive, they will hit the ground running. Volunteers include 30 members of the Lutheran Early Response Team, assembled from 24 counties in northern Illinois. They will do everything from unloading the truck and organizing supplies in the community distribution center, to assisting in tree and debris removal.

Mostly, church officials say, their goal is to bring hope to those feeling hopeless.

The stated mission of Lutheran Church Charities, which accompanies all of their correspondence, is to “bring the mercy, compassion, presence and proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need.”

While their comfort dogs assist in this ministry by bringing their unconditional love, the countless volunteers working in the background do much of the leg work in carrying out their vision of assisting those who are hurting.

To learn more about the ministries of Lutheran Church Charities, or to donate to their Hurricane Michael relief efforts, visit https://www.lutheranchurchcharities.org/.