Lawrence County projects
All Saints partners with St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ironton on several projects to benefit Ohio's southernmost county. The Appalachian county, of which Ironton serves as the county seat, reports that about a quarter of families with children fall below the federal poverty line.
About the region: Lawrence County has been a focus of All Saints’ community service programs for five years. A high countywide poverty rate (22 percent, 2,420 individuals, 1,190 younger than 18) and a lack of local resources led Lutheran Social Services to suggest that our congregation work with St. Paul Lutheran to address some of the county’s unmet needs.
In the news
The Southern Ohio Synod shared this article on our seven years of partnership with St. Paul Church in Ironton in the Tools 4 School program.
Providing even the most basic necessities of life is a struggle for many families in Lawrence County. Christmas with Dignity provided food for Lawrence County families in need by giving away food boxes. Each box costs only $30 but contains enough high-quality protein and other nutritious food to feed a family of four for about a week.
With our partners, St. Paul Lutheran Church in Ironton, we plan to distribute 650 food boxes on Saturday, Dec. 10 in Lawrence County. All Saints will contribute 500 of those bags.
Giving away 500 boxes will require $15,000 in donations. On Nov. 20, our traditional “Giving Tree” will be in place in The Gathering Area, adorned with 500 gift tags for $30 each. Those who choose to donate to this cause may take as many tags as they are able – one or many. Donations less than $30 are welcome as well and will be combined to purchase a box. As long as there are tags remaining on the tree, we will not have reached those 2,000 family members who have come to view Christmas with Dignity as a blessing in their lives.
If you want to help with preparations for Christmas with Dignity, please contact Kay Labosky at kayl@saintsonhigh.org or 614-885-0112.
During five weeks in July and early August members of All Saints counted sorted, bundled and packed enough school supplies to provide 1,045 students in Lawrence County with the items they need to successfully start their school year.
With the help of 156 volunteers who contributed almost 500 hours, we were able to meet our goal once again. St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Ironton collected a similar number of backpacks.
We also appreciate the continued support of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which contributed $1,600 to our efforts.
Eighteen people from All Saints travelled to Ironton for the Aug. 6 giveaway. People began waiting in line at 6 a.m., and the line extended four city blocks by the time the giveaway began at 10 a.m.
By early afternoon, volunteers from All Saints and St. Paul had distributed 1,315 backpacks. One of the volunteers from St. Paul went to nearby businesses to deliver backpacks for children whose parents were working and unable to bring them to the giveaway. The working poor are a large proportion of those in
see TOOLS, page 7
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need in Lawrence County. Parents who had come to the drive without their children were scheduled to return with their children the following week to receive their backpacks.
Remaining backpacks and supplies will be held at St. Paul for local teachers who have come to rely on those for students arriving at school without supplies and for mid-year replacements.
Thank you to everyone in our congregation who donated items and/or personal time during our Tools for Schools campaign. With God’s guidance and love, and our congregation’s commitment to serve and partner with St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Ironton, we were able to accomplish a very important outreach program for the students and families of Lawrence County.
