On August 15, 13 residents from The Lodge at MapleCreek packed backpacks to give to school-aged kids in Lutheran Social Services of Michigan (LSSM) Foster Care in Grand Rapids.

The backpacks were full of supplies including pens, pencils, pencil boxes, folders, notebooks, scissors, glue sticks and bottles, coloring supplies, rulers, snack packs, tote bags and a small piece of advice from the residents "Do your best at whatever you do!"

"The residents wanted to do something to reach out to others," said Christa Schwarz, activity director at the Lodge at MapleCreek. "Our goal was to have enough supplies to provide bags for 50 foster children, and we're happy to say we exceeded that goal."

Items were donated by MapleCreek family and staff as well as by Meijer, Elmer’s Glue, Wolverine, Sodexo and Walgreens. The residents were able to give back to the community, and enjoyed reminiscing about their school days while packing the bags.  We hope to make it an annual event!

(This story was distributed by Michigan News Connection to commercial radio stations throughout the state.)

(03/22/12) LANSING, Mich. - When the Affordable Care Act became law, it didn't just affect health care; it also changed what adoptive parents can claim on their taxes. Namely, the tax credit for adoption-related expenses went from being nonrefundable to refundable.

Accountant Jeremy Rospierski with Lutheran Social Services of Michigan is a tax preparer and an adoptive parent. He says that in the past, that meant the credit could only be used to offset any taxes you owed, with any extra rolled into the following year. But now, he says, the change means adoptive parents will get cash back - even if they don't owe anything.

"A refundable credit means that you can get the entire credit in the year that you file your Adoption Credit."

Under U.S. tax law, qualified expenses include adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees and travel expenses. Rospierski says that unused credits from the past five years can be carried forward, so parents who did not receive the full credit in the past can file an amendment for expenses going back to 2005.

The maximum amount adoptive parents can claim per child for 2011 is $13,360. Rospierski says parents who have adopted a special needs child are eligible to claim the maximum credit. He stresses that the definition of "special needs" is broader than many parents might be aware and is based on three criteria.

"One, the child is a U.S. citizen. The second qualification is that it's determined that the child will not return to the parents' home, which if you're adopted that's going to be the case. Number three is the state determines that the child will not be adopted unless assistance is provided for that child."

Rospierski says the tax return must also include a copy of the state's determination of special needs.

While Tax Day is typically April 15, this year the deadline for filing federal tax returns is Tuesday, April 17.

Recently, Pastor Rebecca Ebb-Speese (Pastor Becky), MapleCreek's director of pastoral care was approached by a journalist, G. Jeffrey MacDonald who was doing an article on the change of faith in seniors.

The article, titled "Soul Search," appears in the May's USA TODAY special publication, "The Best Years." Pastor Becky gives insight about what she's learned about senior faith from working at MapleCreek. She talks about how some seniors grow spiritually, even after moving into a retirement community.

She mentioned how seniors often have a hard time feeling comfortable with faith. 

From the article: "Ebb-Speese says many newcomers hesitate at first, worrying they don't have the right clothes for worship, lack the right knowledge for discussion, or can't spare a dollar for the offering ...  "But somehow when they're here, they mellow ... A lot of them enter into religious activity through personal one-on-one relationships.""

She also tried to break down some stereotypes about seniors:

""People have an assumption that seniors are very stuck in their ways, but they are not," Ebb-Speese says. "There's something about the senior years that enables them to blossom and be open to new things, much more so than middleaged people.""

MapleCreek resident, Jean Skiver, who was recently baptized by Pastor Becky, was quoted in the article as well. To read the full article click here, and to order a copy of the magazine, click here.

Mark Stutrud, president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, has joined the board of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), a national organization based in Baltimore that contracts with the federal government to resettle refugees. LIRS works through 27 state and local affiliates, including Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, to provide services to refugees. LIRS is also very active in advocating for policies and legislation that uphold the rights and dignity of newcomers to our country.

Lutheran Social Services also serves as the Michigan affiliate for Episcopal Migration Ministries.

Last year, Lutheran Social Services resettled more than 1,000 refugees. They were primarily Chaldeans (Christians from Iraq) but also people fleeing war and persecution in Burma, Bhutan and several African countries. Lutheran Social Services provides help with paperwork and documents, housing, English language training and job placement. Most refugees are self-supporting within six months of their arrival.

MapleCreek has promoted two staff members to senior management positions. Deedre Vriesman is the new associate administrator and Scott Spencer was named director of plant operations for MapleCreek.

“Both Deedre and Scott bring a wealth of talent, skills and passion to MapleCreek. Their innovative and mission-based approach cultivates this pasa desire to provide high quality service and hospitality,” said Jay Prince, executive director of MapleCreek.

Vriesman was previously the clinical operations manager for The Woods at MapleCreek, where she managed the daily operations for the campus’ memory care unit. Her new role includes managing The Terraces healthcare operations in addition to her role at The Woods.

As director of plant operations, Spencer will provide leadership and oversight for the campus’s physical plant operations including purchasing, transportation, maintenance, housekeeping, laundry and security departments. Scott has worked for MapleCreek for five years, starting as an Administrative Services Manager.

Angela Pilarski of Farmington Hills has joined the staff of Lutheran Social Services of Michigan as director of the Wayne County Family Center, a shelter for homeless families in Westland, MI. Pilarski previously worked at The Guidance Center in Southgate, MI, where she managed the Head Start program. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science in Administration degree from Central Michigan University. The Wayne County Family Center provides temporary housing for 24 homeless families. It is one of only a few Michigan shelters where family members can stay together in a single room. Families can live at the center for up to two years. Residents receive meals; counseling to help with financial management, job search and housing; child care and transportation assistance. The center is funded by Wayne County and managed by Lutheran Social Services of Michigan.

Louis J. Prues of Grosse Pointe, director of strategic planning and business development at Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, has been named by Governor Rick Snyder to the Michigan Board of Medicine as a representative of the general public. He will take the oath of office January 25. Board members serve for eight years.

The Michigan Board of Medicine is responsible for regulating the entry of physicians and surgeons into practice in the state, for requiring continuing medical education of licensed physicians and for the disciplinary action against those who violate the public health code.

Prues previously served on the Michigan Board of Nursing as an appointee of Governor John Engler.

 The Lansing office, Services for Children & Families, held a door-decorating contest for staff. The doors were decorated between Thanksgiving and the first week of December. Jill Peck, director of Quality Assurance, was the guest judge. First place was awarded to Bobbie Harden and Danielle Guty for their snowman door. Second place went to Michael Banks for his Naughty and Nice door (with lots of debate around the office about who was going on which list). Honorable emtnions wen to Andrew Martineau and megan Karinen, who used a Twelve Days of Christmas them, Jill Frame, Ashley Hayden and Nichole Hoerner for their door decorated with stockings, and Paula Bashore, who used a penguin/winter wonderland motif.

The "Faith at Work" blog series is created and written by Pastor Doug Kahl, LSSM's Organizational Chaplain. Look for a new entry every week!

Think of all the wonderful things you can do in 72 hours.  That’s 3 full days.  If someone gave them to you as a gift (which God does over and over again) what would you plan?

·        Curl up and read a good book or two?

·        Go golfing until you couldn’t swing another club?

·        Take your grandchildren to the zoo?

·        Write letters to friends you haven’t written to in awhile?

·        Go for a long drive with no destination or deadline?

72 hours…3 full days…they would fly by in a heart beat!  Unless, you had to figure out how to survive a disaster for which you weren’t prepared.  That’s how long it could be before vital services are restored in a major disaster; 3 days or longer.  It’s time to once again think about how well prepared we are to survive, on our own, for that critical 72 hour period.

So let’s begin by going over the basics.  First we need to have a kit; then we have to make a plan; and finally we need to be informed.  These are the basic activities at the heart of disaster preparation. 

On August 26th, our summer intern, Precious Ansley had a first time experience: Being interviewed on the radio! As part of the "Our Energy Now" Show on WJR Radio, Precious was interviewed by Paul W. Smith about her participation in a great intitiative where the DTE Foundation provided $500,000 to fund the Grow Detroit's Young Talent Youth Employment Program run by the nonprofit organization City Connect Detroit for young people ages 14-24. Click the link below to hear Precious's segment!

Precious Ansley, "Our Energy Future" WJR Radio, Interviewed by Paul W. Smith [AUDIO]