Lutheran Disaster Response affiliates are already on the ground, assessing the immediate and long-term needs of those affected by the tornadoes. Your gifts are needed now to begin coordinating volunteers, rebuilding homes and offering spiritual and emotional care to those in need.


Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
community.elca.org
A two-mile-wide tornado ripped through Moore, Okla., claiming many lives and leaving behind a devastating trail of destruction. Plaza Towers Elementary School stood right in the path of the storm's 166-200 mph winds.Hundreds of homes are damaged or destroyed as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma, Ka...

Dear God, we pray for all your creatures big and small living in the path of the Oklahoma tornados. May they find peace in the days ahead and beauty the lives of those spared.


Tornado Survivor Finds Dog During TV Interview
news.sky.com
Miraculous stories of survival emerge after one of the strongest tornadoes in history tore through an Oklahoma suburb.

Hoping to adopt? LSS helped this family, now it's time to help you! http://bit.ly/10z6irp

Welcome little Vincent!


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Help us welcome the newest member of the GNG team, Vincent Kevin Lantagne. His proud father, Nick, is the Vehicle Processor for NH & MA. We definitely think he's pretty cute!

Editorial signals welcome to 50 new refugees, encourages open arms policy by Nashua NH community. tohttp://www.nashuatelegraph.com/opinion/editorials/1003951-465/refugees-deserve-warm-welcome.html


Refugees deserve warm welcome
www.nashuatelegraph.com
Mayor Donnalee Lozeau concluded her annual State of the City address in February, as she

Happy Mother's Day!

LSS is changing minds, changing lives.


Group Looks To Counter 'Misinformation' About Refugee Resettlement Efforts In N.H.
nhpr.org
Lawmakers and members of the public met in Concord today to learn more about refugee resettlement efforts in New Hampshire. The breakfast gathering was

LSS staff make great volunteers too! Neal Wynne, Project Manager for LSS, recently completed a two-day fundraising cycling ride organized by the National MS Society. The journey is 180-mile ride from Houston to Austin, Texas. Way to go Neal!

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"Thank you so much for donating a car. By you doing this, it gave me the opportunity to own my first car. I go to college 40 minutes from where I live and my son goes to daycare. You've made it 100x easier for us. Thank you again, I greatly appreicate it!" recipient of a 2002 Cavalier with 134K miles

Worcester Telegram: LSS "provides highly sought-after startup capital that's largely missing from the landscape of business lending in this country, particularly for immigrants with little or no credit history. LSS also offers training and assistance in writing business plans, securing licenses and permits, marketing and applying for traditional bank loans."




Microloans for startups hard to find
www.telegram.com
A new convenience store inconspicuously situated at the corner of Pleasant and Ashland streets carries a mix of American and Middle Eastern brands of canned foods, condiments, sweets, teas and more.

Kick of the weekend 6 PM tonight at A&E Coffee Roastery & Tea with these inspiring women.


May Featured Artists in the Café: A Woven Thread, Part 2 | A&E Coffee and Tea
aeroastery.com
If you’re just tuning in this week, on May 3rd from 6-7pm we are hosting a reception here at the café for the handcraft of the A Woven Thread collective (Check out our previous blog post – insert link here). A Woven Thread are a group of Rohingya women, New Americans who arrived after fleeing Myanma...

It's May, 1st, 2013. There are about 382,400 children and youth currently in foster care in the United States. About 104,200 are available for adoption. Each year, about 26,200 youth age out of care, most at age 18.

Foster parents are beautiful. Spread the word. www.lssfostercare.org

Can't say thank you enough to our wonderful volunteers. Software Engineer, Ed Schneeflock of Massachusetts, gives his time and talents with computers and photography, and we're so grateful!

Please help LSS to thank another dedicated volunteer. Together, we change lives and move communities forward!


Intern: Anne Marie Peloquin
Before Anne Marie bustled out the door to bring a refugee family to the WIC office, we were able to sit down and chat about her time interning with Services for New Americans (SNA)...

More on this brilliant story of transformation! Gates Scholarship awarded to Nepali native, Ganesh Sharma, whose family was resettled in NH by LSS Services for New Americans - Concord, NH http://bit.ly/11xstMt

Concord High student from Nepal wins Gates Foundation scholarship
www.concordmonitor.com
Ganesh Sharma, a 19-year-old Concord High School student from Nepal, has big plans for his future, including working with hypersonic

National Volunteer Week is over, but LSS isn't over thanking our wonderful volunteers! Sharon is a veterinarian by profession and she generously donates one day a week to working as a teacher's aid for our ESL teacher, Vannga Tran, in our MA offices. We are so fortunate to have Sharon as a dedicated volunteer.


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Sharon is a veterinaran and generously donates one day a week to working as a teacher's aid for our ESL teacher, Vannga Tran. We are so fortunate to have Sharon as a dedicated volunteer.

A&E Coffee Roastery & Tea in Nashua, NH is the place to be on May 3rd, to celebrate the artwork of some talented new Americans.


New Americans Overcome Cultural barriers at A&E Custom Coffee Roastery’s May Artist Reception
www.prweb.com
A & E Custom Coffee Roastery and Café’s Artist of the Month for May is a collective of Rohingya women: A Woven Thread. The work of A Woven Thread will be featured on May 3 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Amherst café, located at 135 Rte. 101A.

LSS is fortunite to have so many College of the Holy Cross students eager to get involved as volunteers in our daily work. This bubbly pair, Sally Le and Paula Cunanan, is the perfect example. Sally and Paula are two bright and dedicated students who come every week to tutor clients in English and numeracy. Thanks friends, for all you do!

LSS Volunteers are moving people forward and lifting up our communities. Together, we change lives.

A must read story about how one volunteer, together with LSS, can make a difference, change lives, and move people forward.


Community Volunteer: Leslie VanBerkum
There once was a teacher and a botanist who lived in Chester, NH. Together they started “Van Berkum Nursery”. It was very simple at first but steadily grew year after year in quantity, variety, and rapport. Wh...

How many ways can we say, "Thank you!" to our wonderful volunteer interns! Together, we're transforming lives...


Intern: Chayanna Acevedo
Chayanna Acevedo landed in the halls of UNH Durham as a nursing major, but observation hours at a local hospital caused her to reconsider...

This week, we honor the many LSS volunteers who serve along side our staff each and every day. Together, we change lives. Thank you for all you do! If you want to learn more about our volunteers, visit www.lssne.org/volunteer-stories

Please join LSS and the residents of Massachusetts as we observe a moment of silence today at 2:50 pm in honor of the Boston Marathon victims.

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Rich and Deana with @[210616612960:274:Lutheran Church Charities] @[77270998009:274:K-9 Parish Comfort Dogs] @[318126394913313:274:Luther Comfort Dog] and @[321383597979549:274:Maggie Comfort Dog], along with Richard from First Lutheran Church of Boston, made a hospital visit yesterday to three young women who were severely wounded at Monday’s Boston Marathon. Two of the women are best friends and the other has two of her best friends in other hospitals with severe injuries. Luther and Maggie accompanied one of the women who was taking her first walk from her surgery this week. She is missing her dogs at home and can’t wait until she can run again. Continued prayers for everyone!

Our thoughts and prayers are with all effected by this senseless act of violence.


Explosions rock Boston Marathon, several injured
www.cnn.com
A pair of explosions rocked the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon, injuring at least a half-dozen people, a CNN producer at the scene said.