Category: Frontline Heroes

By Emily Gross, Senior Manager of Program Development and Outreach

Today’s Front Line Hero is Niagara Lutheran Health System, whose employees are taking swift action to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Niagara Lutheran Health System operates The GreenFields Continuing Care Community, providing a continuum of care for seniors in Lancaster, New York, through independent and assisted living; skilled nursing and respite care; memory care; and rehabilitation. The GreenFields has a 20-year history and like other senior services organizations, is working to keep the people they serve safe from infection.

Staff demonstrated their commitment throughout the year by taking on additional responsibilities and comforting and communicating with residents and families. But when The GreenFields began offering the vaccine in late December, staff showed their overwhelming support with a fantastic turnout to receive it. In fact, the lead Walgreens pharmacist administering vaccinations stated that out of the many healthcare facilities she visited, The GreenFields had the most employees step forward to receive the vaccine. GreenField Health & Rehabilitation Center staff and residents received their second dose of the vaccine last week, and on January 29, vaccinations will continue in memory care and on assisted living campuses.

The pandemic has once again called nonprofits to act as leaders in helping others. Staff at The GreenFields have gone one step further and led by example, enthusiastically embracing the vaccine to stop the spread of the virus.

By Christopher Findlay, Senior Marketing Manager

Today’s Front Line Hero is Lutheran Jamestown for going the extra mile to honor the “Healthcare Heroes” amongst its ranks.

Lutheran Jamestown has been serving communities in western New York since 1886, offering care for both youth and older adults. Last month, Lutheran Jamestown embarked on a campaign to recognize the hard work of its employees and recruit others who would be interested in joining the team. The organization created signs for staff to place in their yards that invites members of the community to inquire about how to become a Lutheran Jamestown “Healthcare Hero.” Employees proudly took photos with the yard signs from their homes, many of whom included their families and Christmas decorations.

Thank you to Lutheran Jamestown for providing a holiday morale boost. We salute all of the “Healthcare Heroes” serving your community!

By Christopher Findlay, Senior Marketing Manager

Today’s Front Line Hero is Hatton Prairie Village in Hatton, North Dakota, for providing a safe environment for families to reconnect.

Consistently recognized for its exceptional service, Hatton Prairie Village is proud of its high standards of care for its residents. HPV has been awarded on numerous occasions with a five-star rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and named to U.S. News & World Report’s list of the nation’s Best Nursing Homes. HPV draws on the deep experience of its employees, which includes nearly four hundred years collectively amongst its certified nursing assistants alone.

Like all nursing facilities, HPV has had to make a number of tough decisions over the past year to protect its residents and staff from the coronavirus. The community has chronicled its evolution of its increased use of PPE, from paper masks and goggles to N95s and face shields. While HPV’s legion of front line heroes must remain hidden behind masks for residents’ and staff members’ mutual safety, the organization was excited to open its doors to visitors last week after ensuring that everyone in-house had tested negative for COVID-19. The regulated visitations will continue as long as all parties involved keep testing negative—a welcome development for residents and their families who will cherish the added time to reconnect.

Thank you to Hatton Prairie Village and your staff for your dedication to the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of your residents during the pandemic!

Today’s Front Line Hero is Dr. LaSharnda Beckwith, President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Southern California (LSSSC).

Dr. Beckwith joined the organization last year as the first African American CEO in LSSSC’s 75-year history. Her tenure began just weeks into the onset of a global pandemic and Dr. Beckwith has courageously led her team in addressing COVID-19 through community-wide efforts. She is also a member of the Lutheran Services in America Race Equity Network, a cohort of leaders that meets quarterly to discuss how to promote racial diversity, equity, and inclusion among Lutheran social ministry organizations and inform the national policy agenda on issues affecting racial equity. By her own effort, Dr. Beckwith has led virtual round tables to foster strategic conversations about the impacts of systemic racism in our society.

Before joining LSSSC, Dr. Beckwith worked at California Southern University as Provost and Chief Academic Officer. She also served for 27 years in the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and created the Professional Christian Women in Service in 2005.

Dr. Beckwith says her personal mission is to “enable, encourage, empower, and energize others to be all that God has called them to be.” LSSSC staff note how she inspires them every day to embrace, equip, and empower individuals and families through 70 different programs in Southern California.

Speaking to what calls her to her work, Dr. Beckwith says, “Ultimately, my desire is to live out Proverbs 31:8-9 – Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

You can find out more about Dr. Beckwith on her website, www.lasharndabeckwith.com. For more information on the incredible work that Dr. Beckwith and her team are doing to help others through the pandemic, visit the LSSSC website, www.lsssc.org.

By Christopher Findlay, Senior Marketing Manager

Today’s Front Line Hero is Deirdre Bagley, president of Lutheran Volunteer Corps.

For more than 40 years, the Washington, D.C.-based Lutheran Volunteer Corps has been placing fresh college graduates in positions at social justice organizations across the country. LVC’s commitment to build a more inclusive community and serve the cause of peace and justice is central to its leadership development program, where volunteers hone their skills while performing work tied to food, legal aid, environment, housing, immigration, education, health care, and other areas.

As many organizations look for ways to increase diversity, equity and inclusion while also dismantling institutional “isms” in society—racism, sexism, heterosexism, and the like—LVC is approaching the issue with a different lens.

“Our goal was to start doing things differently rather than consider the ‘isms’ a project to be completed with check boxes,” Deirdre Bagley told Lutheran Services in America in an interview. “We also did not create the iconic Director of DEI position, which often passes the responsibility on to a member of the team instead of having everyone share the responsibility, including the CEO and board. We looked at what had become normalized, and identified new ways of doing things. For example, recruiting from HBCUs and universities with high minority populations; engaging online recruitment platforms that draw greater numbers of BIPOC students; revising language, visuals, program materials, and marketing collateral to include different races, ages, genders, abilities, religions, etcetera for broad invitation. We continued a training focus on anti-racism and equity for our volunteers, staff and board, and used a white supremacy framework to assess how we do business. We created more flexible participation models for volunteers to make room for diverse circumstances, and flexible work arrangements for staff for the same reason. We also created a national forum that brings together all of our volunteers to provide monthly opportunities to interact with and learn from each other, and to reduce the isolation of feeling separate or marginalized.”

Even with all of LVC’s progress, Ms. Bagley is not resting on her laurels. “This is just a start,” she said.

Ms. Bagley’s background and experience has naturally informed her understanding of equity and inclusion and how she approaches her job as president of Lutheran Volunteer Corps. “My understanding of the challenges comes from lived and observed experiences, and my approach comes from the same. Being black and female means I’m looking at equity and inclusion from an angle typically not considered,” she said. “Still, that’s not enough—so I include a lot of research and consultation to broaden my skill set in this new landscape we’re all experiencing together, positioning us for action and not perfection. I’m a strong believer that movement happens when you do, rather than just talk about doing.”

Despite all the challenges, there are many positives to show for LVC’s equity and inclusion efforts. In fact, “There are too many positives to count,” said Ms. Bagley, “and that’s a good news story! We’re pleased that we have a more diverse group of volunteers, staff and board, and that differences are treated as assets.”

Find out more about LVC’s work at LutheranVolunteerCorps.org.

This interview has been edited for length.

By Caitlyn Gudmundsen, Director of Strategic Initiatives

Today’s Front Line Hero is Elder Care Alliance, which went above and beyond to ensure its staff felt safe and comfortable getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Elder Care Alliance is a network of five communities serving seniors throughout California, and the communities aim to be a place where seniors flourish. Elder Care Alliance is committed to the holistic well-being of everyone in its community – older adults, as well as their families and caregivers, and the organization’s team members. Staff at Elder Care Alliance enjoy employee wellness programs and ample opportunities for professional development, and when COVID-19 vaccines were made available to front line workers at Elder Care Alliance, the opportunity to vaccinate was handled with great care and transparency.

The administration at Elder Care Alliance recognized that the decision to vaccinate is a deeply personal one, and that finding accurate information about vaccines can be overwhelming. The administration was intentionally transparent with the vaccination process and provided online resources and FAQs about the vaccine in addition to its regular COVID-19 Updates. Elder Care Alliance President & CEO Adriene Iverson, as well as community leaders, adopted an open-door policy, met with staff on a 1:1 basis, encouraged staff who had questions about the vaccine or its dissemination process to contact them. This commitment to transparency built on an already strong value of trust in the Elder Care Alliance communities. The result is that more than 85% of the staff have chosen to vaccinate against COVID-19.

Thank you to Elder Care Alliance for fostering a healthy community and for continuing to effectively fight the COVID-19 pandemic!

Today’s Front Line Hero is Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry for their dedication to self-reflection in the name of racial equity.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, the board of LMM made the decision to reflect on racial justice, both in their community and nationwide. In a series titled “A Push Towards Justice,” board members wrote an open letter to the LMM community as a whole to start a dialogue on the role everyone plays in equality.

Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry is intimately familiar with the impact racism can have on a community. As explained by board member Rev. George Hrbek in his letter, “LMM was formed as a response to the virus of racism, exposed in the Hough riots of 1966 and the vandalizing of the home of a Lutheran Black family. A group of Lutheran lay and clergy, spurred by these events, took action to form, through an agency, a means for Lutherans of Northeast Ohio to collaborate in anti-racism witness and action.” This proud legacy of fighting for racial justice can be felt throughout each board member’s letter. Some took the opportunity to reflect on why this fight matters to them individually, while others reflected on their own experiences with racism in America. However, Marcella Brown, Vice President of Development and Communications at LMM, summarized the overall feel of these letters and LMM’s work very clearly: “If communities of color are burning, all of America is burning. Will you stand by and let the future of our nation go up in flames, or will you use the resources that you have, the people you know, the conversations you engage in to put out the fires of systemic racism, social injustice and lack of accountability?”

The road to true racial equality is long and difficult, but we’re grateful to Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries for helping lead the way.

By Haley Leis, Intern

Redeemer Center for Life’s mission is to help members of the community attain financial stability and to support the needs of young people that ultimately lead to a promising career path. In its pursuit of these goals, RCFL maintains a strong commitment to equity and inclusion; it strives for social equity for people of all backgrounds and emphasizes a proud African American identity in its work to achieve racial justice in North Minneapolis.

Community engagement is a strong part of RCFL’s effort to lift the youth of North Minneapolis. RCFL’s Venture North program is attempting to reduce the economic disadvantage for North Minneapolis residents through workforce development, youth leadership and community reinvestment initiatives, which includes owning and operating the only Northside bike shop! The program’s focus on racial, economic and gender equity is helping residents retake control of development in their community.

RCFL’s efforts to expand inclusion is no more evident than within its own ranks. Veronica Hawman, who became the RCFL executive director in July 2020, recently spoke about the significance of helming an organization in a city where a woman of color assuming the role of chief executive is still a rarity. “When you have Black leaders, that means there’s that trust there. That means you’re allowing us to make the decisions . . . I would like to be an example for other organizations who want to move in this direction.”

Board chair Dawn Johnson seconded the importance of leadership development for Black women, saying, “We can shift that narrative . . . We need the support of others, of everyone, to embrace this and not just be performative allies. We need folks who really get it and believe in this work, and truly believe that Black women can get this done. Embrace the uniqueness of this opportunity.”

Redeemer Center for Life is a member of Lutheran Services in America, a network of more than 300 health and human service organizations providing services in more than 1,400 communities across the United States. Together, the network makes a difference in the lives of one in 50 Americans every year.

Learn more about Redeemer Center for Life at www.RedeemerCenter.org.

By Christopher Findlay, Senior Marketing Manager

Millions of Texans are doing what they can to move forward after a harrowing week of devastating wintry weather, and the staff at Lutheran Sunset Ministries are no different. Two weeks ago, this scenic 32-acre campus, designed to accommodate residents at various levels of care through innovative programs and interdisciplinary activities, was reveling in being voted as the number one retirement community in Bosque County for 2020. Now, after several difficult days, the Clifton-based nursing home and assisted living community remains determined to rebound after one of the most harrowing experiences in its 65-year history.

The torrid conditions knocked out Lutheran Sunset’s electricity for six and a half hours, prompting concerns about having to evacuate residents for their safety. Heavy leaking left one building with no water. Despite the barrage from mother nature, Lutheran Sunset wasted no time in beginning repairs. Power was eventually restored, and the community is confident it will “right the ship” in no time.

Lutheran Sunset Ministries is a member of Lutheran Services in America, a network of more than 300 health and human service organizations providing services in more than 1,400 communities across the United States. Together, the network makes a difference in the lives of one in 50 Americans every year.

Learn more about Lutheran Sunset Ministries at www.LutheranSunset.org.

By Christopher Findlay, Senior Marketing Manager

My Friend’s House Foundation in Los Angeles continues to serve some of the most disenfranchised during this unprecedented time of need.

My Friend’s House was on the frontlines years before the COVID-19 pandemic hit a year ago. Since its inception, My Friend’s House has served more than half a million people, including many along Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, home to one of the largest homeless populations in the country. The foundation supports people young and old, first by providing basic needs and encouragement and then by setting them up to be self-sufficient in order to live healthier lives.

With many nonprofit and charitable organizations needing to cut back services due to the pandemic, My Friend’s House stepped in to help additional people in the community experiencing homelessness with food, clothing and essential hygiene supplies. My Friend’s House was serving about 500 people per week before COVID-19; the health crisis only expanded the need to serve many more. The foundation increased its healthy food offerings to improve recipients’ immune systems and is busy distributing “COVID Care Kits,” which include PPE, safety information and even inspirational material.

My Friend’s House is dedicated to providing life-sustaining staples for people experiencing homelessness and the economically disadvantaged: food, clothing, and encouragement. L.A. County residents can help My Friend’s House feed, clothe, and encourage people experiencing homelessness every Wednesday. Nonresidents can also make a significant impact by making a donation. Visit www.MyFriendsHouseLA.org for more information on how you can serve as an important lifeline and source of encouragement for so many.

My Friend’s House is a member of Lutheran Services in America, a network of more than 300 health and human service organizations providing services in more than 1,400 communities across the United States. Together, the network makes a difference in the lives of one in 50 Americans every year.