November 27, 2024 

Redeeming Life News & Updates

Dear Redeeming Life Advocates and Partners,

On behalf of everyone in our ministry, I thank you for the role you play in serving women and babies through our maternity homes and our transition home. With your help, we are serving women in dire circumstances with the love of Jesus and with practical help. We praise God for you!

We have so many exciting things to share and hope you will share them with your congregations, your groups, your friends and family! Below are many items you can use to share updates about Redeeming Life now and in the next few weeks. If you are not an RLOM Advocate, or if your church does not have one, please forward this to a likely candidate or share directly with your church communications person if possible.

To date, we have served four women in the East Dundee home since opening! Two of them reconnected with family and friends and found other living situations they felt were better suited to their needs. One of those women provided an update that she was approved for housing and is in the process of regaining custody of her two young children as she prepares for her little one’s December arrival! Another woman has been strengthening her relationship with her parents; our deaconess has been in touch with them, and all are working together to help her stabilize her life. Two more women are in the applicant pipeline now. Praise God!

Christmas at the Maternity Home is in the works! Plans for a special holiday dinner and a cheery Christmas breakfast are coming together. Each resident and her baby receive a stocking and gifts from their wish list, funded this year by a local church group. We are creating traditions as we make decorating our home a special event for residents and staff and building in ways that we can share the joy with others as well. Those interested in funding or partially funding the holiday meals may send donations or gift cards.

Gifts that Keep on Giving for our ministry might not sound as fun as holiday PJs or new clothes but are every bit as important because they keep the ministry working year-round! If you and your group want to make a lasting impact, you might consider sponsoring Wi-Fi for the house for a month or a year, or supporting our transportation efforts which include everything from bus fare, to gas for the van, to Uber or Lyft gift cards to cover late night rides home from work for the residents. Let us know if we can help you craft a giving target that keeps on giving for now and/or for 2025 at info@rlom.org.

Year-End Giving provides the bulk of our operating expenses with gifts made or postmarked by 12/31/2024. We joyfully accept QCDs (Qualified Charitable Donations) from donor IRAs as well as gifts of stock and appreciated assets such as real estate and automobiles. If you have any questions, please email us at info@rlom.org or phone 407-790-9745. Gifts can be made online at rlom.org/donate or mailed to our HQ at PO Box 1496 Sanford, FL 32772.

We Need Connectors to GROW!  In late 2024 and into 2025, we look forward to getting out more to connect with more partners and potential partners in a series of small events where we will tell the story of RLOM and make connections to benefit the mission and our partners. We need volunteers who will host these events and invite their friends and connections. These informal meetings could be in a home, a coffee shop, or a room at the church…wherever we could gather and connect in mission with the goal to build a network of partners with resources of all sorts, from financial support to professional expertise to local connections with other potential partners. We are excited to talk about what God is doing through Redeeming Life and want to invite others to participate. Email julia@rlom.org to start connecting!

Raise Right is a new funding source for RLOM! It is a scrip program in which participants download an app or go online to purchase gift cards at face value. Those gifts cards each have a percentage that is earned for RLOM! Cards include gas, groceries, clothing. Home improvement and more! For instance, you buy a $100 electronic gift card to your favorite restaurant with a 7% earning and RLOM will get $7! Think about all you and your friends spend in a year and how much RLOM can benefit! To sign up, download the RaiseRight app or visit raiseright.com. Our enrollment code is LCLS4V4JNBTZ. To keep it simple, buyers must pay at the time of sale by credit card or by bank account. We do not accept checks, nor can we order physical gift cards for you. You may choose to buy physical cards and ship them to your address, or you may use electronic gift cards. Our staff has been testing this and we find it simple to use.

Share event with Kendra Scott Jewelry December 6-8! Thanks to an amazing store manager in FL, RLOM connected with Kendra Scott’s philanthropic efforts and will have a Giveback Event December 6-8th! When shopping for their beautiful jewelry either online or in a store, you will earn RLOM 20% of your purchase! Our code is GIVEBACK-IDYWF. (Engagement rings and a few clothing accessories are not included) Shop kendrascott.com or visit one of the 6 IL locations! To really maximize your impact, you may buy gift cards for Kendra Scott through RaiseRight and spend them during the Giveback Event. Example: Buy $100 gift cards for Kendra Scott ($8 earned for RLOM!) then spend it on kendrascott.com Dec. 6-8 (earn $20 with the Giveback). That is a total of $28 directly to RLOM and some beautiful jewelry for you!

Giving TWOS-Day happens on December 3rd. We welcome gifts to RLOM supporting TWO lives at a time with moms and babies we serve! To show your support for them both, we ask our partners to give a gift of any size and add a two at the end: $100 becomes $102 or $40 becomes $42. If you really want to get into the spirit of changing TWO lives at a time, consider $222, $2222, or if you are really blessed financially, $22,222. Give online at rlom.org/donate or by mailing a check to PO Box 1496 Sanford, FL 32772. You may designate your gift for IL Expansion if desired. All gifts to the general fund benefit both maternity homes.

Thrivent Partners with RLOM in several ways! For Thrivent investors who hold specific products, the Thrivent Choice Dollars program allows you to direct some of Thrivent’s charitable giving to RLOM; this program yields us thousands of dollars annually! Thrivent Action Teams may also apply for up to $250 for charitable purposes for RLOM, with Thrivent members each allowed to convene two teams each year. Some past Action Team projects have used the $250 to run a special event to benefit RLOM such as a charity walk or a fundraising dinner. Others have funded specific projects such as starting a diaper or clothing drive, or a volunteer workday. Additionally, individual Thrivent members have worked with their Thrivent rep to name RLOM as a beneficiary in their estates and have given direct gifts from some of their Thrivent investments. No matter which of these generous ways, Thrivent and its members are great supporters of our mission, and we are so thankful!

LCEF Shared Interest is a new program by which LCEF investors can donate the interest from their LCEF investments directly to RLOM (or other LCMS ministries). This option could be a blessing for both investors who want to donate and to our ministry! LCEF is a big supporter of our mission, so if you are searching for an investment option, check them out and let your investments fund ministry! Let people know and visit https://lcef.org/sip/ for details.

Celebrate LIFE! No matter when YOU celebrate LIFE in your church, RLOM would love to be part of it. We have resources available on our website that include a children’s lesson, a devotion, and even some activity pages for kids, all to spotlight God’s precious gift of LIFE! Being pro-life is so much more than opposing abortion or lobbying at the capital; each of us can do something in our daily lives! We can pray, support families, work with helping agencies like RLOM, and more! If you would like a speaker for worship, bible study or meetings, we welcome your invitation to info@rlom.org.

YOU MADE IT TO THE END! Thanks for reading or skimming this far! Women and their babies are so blessed by your efforts to support this maternity home, and we cannot thank you enough. If you have questions, email julia@rlom.org or info@rlom.org.

Thankfully,

Julia Heinz

Director of Mission Advancement