The Reason for the Season
As the holidays come upon us, please let us think of why we celebrate Christmas. God gave us His only son to pay for mankind’s sins. The Reason for the Season is helping others who need our help! Please think about giving a gift from the heart and soul that will make you and others feel great!
Caring for Kids’ is very near and dear to my family’s hearts since it started as “Wheels for Kiera” back in 1994 which was Gloria Dei’s first fundraiser to help our family get a wheelchair accessible van. Family, friends, our Gloria Dei church family, the community and strangers came out to help our family raise $27,000. The wheelchair van helped us through all of Kiera’s life! It is not enough to say thank you, as we have many times, so this one of the reasons why I volunteer on the Caring for Kids Committee!
What is Caring For Kids?
Caring For Kids Fund-Gloria Dei is the full name of a fund for disbursing financial support to families of medically fragile and seriously ill children in the Bristol area community. It is an outreach of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church that was created in 2003 and falls under the church’s designation as a 501(c) 3 organization, meaning that all donations are tax deductible. Donations are currently being accepted to help an eighteen-year old suffering from Lyme disease.
The fund serves one recipient at a time. The parent or guardian of the medically fragile child should fill out a Caring For Kids application form to start the process. The application is available through Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. You may call Gloria Dei Church at 860-582-0629 to request an application or email us.
Since the creation of Caring For Kids fund, we have helped five families in Connecticut with medically fragile children by helping them pay for their medical expenses not covered by insurance and expenses incurred due to loss of income because of their child’s illness. Prior to the creation of the Caring For Kids fund, starting in 1994, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church helped three other families with Wheels For Kiera, Caring For Krista, and Caring For Kevin fundraising efforts to benefit three different, seriously ill children in our congregation. The Caring For Kids fund is open to anyone in the community and, since its creation, has helped two children from Gloria Dei and three from the community. Our annual fundraiser in June is a Strawberry Festival and Tag Sale at the church.
History and “Connecticut Treasures” Award from Governor Jodi Rell
Lt. Governor Jodi Rell honored Gloria Dei Lutheran Church with a “Connecticut Treasures” award in February 2004. Quoted from a Bristol Press article dated February 18, 2004: “Members of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church have been raising money for nearly ten years to help cover medical expenses and needs. In 2003, however, the church created the Caring for Kids fund. The Chair of the Caring for Kids fund said the program was created to help defray the costs of deductibles, co-payments and medical procedures that insurance may not cover.” Rell said: “You’ve made a difference in the lives of so many children and their families and have contributed charitable deeds.”
Caring For Kids’ efforts have improved the quality of life in Connecticut’s children. Over the past decade, church members have held successful benefits for the Caring For Kids Fund, such as church fairs, pasta dinners, strawberry festivals, tag sales, and dinner dances. Church members and the community have also donated to the fund. Matching funds have been donated through Thrivent Financial for Lutherans “Care Abound in Communities” Grants, “Dress Down Day” donations from the Bristol school system and Women’s Service Organization grants.
To donate please make checks payable to “Caring for Kids” and mail to Gloria Dei Church, 355 Camp Street, Bristol, CT 06010. Also, you may make donations in honor or in memory of a loved one. You will receive a beautiful Caring for Kids note card when you make a donation. Thank you for making a difference in a child and their family’s lives! The contact person is Debra McAuliffe Johnson.
Love and Peace,
Debra McAuliffe Johnson
