A Message from Dr. David Anderson, Executive Director
Thanksgiving 2007 may be a distant memory, but it’s never too late to express our gratitude to people like you who help keep LYDIA’s ministry to children and families strong.

Your generosity this year has made a difference in the lives of many people who depend on LYDIA. Kim, a Chinese graduate student comes to mind. When she became pregnant last year, her boyfriend pressured her to have an abortion. She came to Safe Families for help, and there a caseworker was able to find volunteers to care for her baby while Kim earned enough money for her own apartment. Those volunteers have since become baby Peter’s godparents, and are providing much needed spiritual and emotional support.

Then there is Duane, who came to live at our Residential Treatment Center in 2004 after his mother abandoned him for a new marriage. Understandably, Duane was angry and very lonely, and he expressed a desperate desire to be placed with family members. But there were none to be found. He and a staff member prayed about the situation and, before too long, a paternal aunt appeared and asked to foster him. Duane was overjoyed, and as he left Residential to be with his aunt, he wept saying, “This was the only home I’ve ever had, the only family I’ve ever known. I have found a place here at LYDIA where I know I’m loved.”

These are just two examples of the many lives you have impacted through your generosity this year. I hope you know how much we appreciate your partnership with LYDIA. May you and your family enjoy a blessed Christmas as you celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Gala Inspires, Raises Needed Funds for LYDIA
The 2007 Gala Benefit will be remembered as an evening of inspiration and generosity, an evening when more than 900 people came together to show their support for LYDIA’s ministry of compassion. (Picture: Josh McDowell inspired guests to invest in relationships with the children in their lives, especially those without a loving father.)

The Silent Auction table was a hub of activity as guests bid on 126 items that included Bears tickets, a sailboat cruise on Lake Michigan, interior design services and much more. The LYDIA Divine Inspiration Dance Team lived up to its name, drawing our hearts and minds to worship God. And featured speaker Josh McDowell encouraged guests as only Josh can, urging all of us to serve children who do not have loving fathers. The ballroom was filled with the sounds of Christmas as Emcee Michelle McKinney Hammond closed the evening by leading guests in the traditional singing of “Silent Night.”

Generous gifts allowed LYDIA to far exceed its matching gift of $75,000 and donations are still coming in. Many thanks to the Event Sponsors, Table Hosts, Silent Auction donors, volunteers and staff members whose hard work and dedication made this Gala one of our most successful ever!

Time is Right for Year-End Gifts
Your generous support can help LYDIA end the year strong and start 2008 on solid financial footing. Here are some examples of how your gifts to LYDIA make a tangible difference in the lives of our clients:

• $5,000 provides one year of tuition for a student at LYDIA Urban Academy; 
• $3,000 pays for a mother and her children to participate for one year in our Healthy Families program; 
• $1,200 covers the cost for LYDIA to serve one family through Safe Families; 
• And $500 provides 10 counseling sessions for a family in need.

Gifts to LYDIA can take many forms. The most straightforward is a gift made through our secure web site at www.lydiahome.org/donate or by mail at 4300 West Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL 60641.

We are also seeking donors who will support LYDIA with a donation via electronic transfer each month in the amount of their choice. We offer this option as a convenience to our donors, and also to help us anticipate our monthly donor income. It is especially helpful when we are riding out the slow giving months of January, July and August. If interested in monthly giving, please contact Judy Devlin, Development Associate, by or call (773) 736-1447, ext. 223.

Gifts of appreciated assets and those made as part of your estate plan are also most welcome. To learn more, please contact Nancy Good, Development Director, by or call (773) 736-1447.

Choices, Consequences & Compassion
Olga came to Chicago from Slovakia two years ago as part of a church choir performing in a Slovakian Church. To everyone’s surprise, she met a man whom she almost immediately married. After the birth of their first child, Olga’s husband became physically abusive towards her, and he then left her for another woman. With three months to go until the birth of her second child, Olga came to LYDIA seeking assistance. In broken English, she struggled to convey her anxieties about separating from her children and allowing them to be cared for by “strangers.” Olga was anxious about the future of her young family.

A few months later, Olga’s son, Alexej, was born, and Olga agreed to place him and his one-year-old sister, Alexandra, in the home of Safe Families volunteers. Olga is currently staying with her lone relative in the area, an elderly cousin, and is seeking full-time employment so that she can afford her own apartment. Alexej recently returned to live with Olga, while Alexandra is remaining in the Safe Families home until the situation can become more stable.

In difficult situations like these, many women rely on a supportive safety net of family and friends. But when that isn’t possible, Safe Families is honored and blessed to serve as that safety net, seeing men, women and children through in times of crisis. Thank you for your role in helping make that possible!