The Christmas outreach program at Luther Memorial Lutheran Church (LMLC) in Blacksburg has evolved over the years from food baskets and gift cards to Christmas parties for local children. Now LMLC is giving a gift that will impact 18 families for the next several months to come.

“It’s about changing with the times and figuring out what serves people best,” said Teresa Cassell, a member of Luther Memorial Lutheran Church. Cassell has been involved with LMLC’s Christmas outreach for the past 15 years and is now the coordinator.

For the past 3 years, LMLC has been serving people by collecting money to provide vouchers for families at the Valley Interfaith Child Care Center (VICCC).

VICCC’s goal is to create high-quality, affordable, educational and nurturing care for very young children (ages 0 -5) of income-eligible working families in the

New River Valley. The fee for childcare is on a sliding scale based on income.

This year, LMLC collected over $3600 to provide 18 families with childcare vouchers. For some families, this means that the next 5 months of their childcare fees will be covered.

This tree, made by the late Derek Myers, displays ornaments with ways members can be involved in the Christmas Outreach

“This helps parents, who often work 2-3 part-time jobs at minimum wage, give their children the early educational start they need,” said Joanna Stallings, pastor of Luther Memorial Lutheran Church.

“It’s a big balancing act for these parent to raise their children.

They want good things for their kids but they can’t always provide that for them on their own.

The entire congregation is always invited to participate in the Christmas outreach. The late Derek Myers constructed a wooden Christmas tree that is set up in the church during the month of November and decorated with paper ornaments.Along with collecting money for the vouchers, LMLC also baked over 500 cookies so that all families served by the child care center would receive a goody bag with cookies, a book and a card from the church.

Written on these ornaments are phrases like “Bake 3 Dozen Cookies” or “Give $30”. Families are encouraged to take an ornament and pledge to fulfill the task.

“We had a really good response this year,” Cassell said. “We were very pleased.”

“This is an opportunity for us to practice showing Christ’s love to everyone. This is an interfaith center, so we’re not just serving Christian children, but all children.”

Pastor Stallings echoes that whatever the church does at Christmas time, the purpose of the outreach is always to show Christ to others.

“It’s a way for us to live out the gospel and extend the Gospel into these kids’ lives.”