On Sunday, December 20, LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Jacob (LCC Staff), Myra (St. Andrews - Park Ridge, Illinois), and Tobias (Lord of Glory - Grayslake, Illinois) with their handlers visited Christ the King Lutheran Church & School in Chicago, Illinois, to meet students performing in the school's Christmas pageant.

Members of Christ the King are mainly low income families and the Comfort Dogs were invited because of all the help LCC has provided the church and the school during this challenging year.

"The day was amazing for the kids, all of them were happy to see the dogs. The connection was immediate for those kids who have experienced trauma in their lives since COVID-19. I saw different children who felt so at peace with themselves sitting with the dogs. The change I saw in Zayd, Mikel, and Taniya warmed my heart. They especially need help dealing with the losses in their lives."  - Geri Brazeal, Prinicipal

The Comfort Dogs were even assigned roles in the pageant!

"When Christ the King's music director found out that the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs would be in attendance, she assigned us small but pivotal  roles! Jacob Comfort Dog, Myra Comfort Dog and I (Tobias Comfort Dog) were sheep and our handlers were shepherds. What an honor to help tell the story of the birth of Jesus! Thank you for inviting us to your pageant."

On Tuesday, December 22, LCC K-9 Police Ministry Dog Charity (Brookfield - Brookfield, Wisconsin) and her law enforcement handler stopped by the Village of Butler Police Department and Elm Grove Wisconsin Police Department for a holiday visit.

We presented both departments with mini stuffed Charity comfort dogs for their squad cars, ambulances and fire trucks. When they go out on a call that involves children, they can give the kids a "stuffy" to cling onto to feel a little bit of comfort in a scary situation. We also gave each department a little gift of some delicious coffee for the station to enjoy during the Christmas season.

"I love visiting with the police departments and love my first responder and dispatch friends. Thank you for always picking up the call and always helping others with courage and bravery."

Through Your Gifts, LCC Shared the Love of Jesus this Christmas with the Children in Haiti's Tent City

Through your generous donations, LCC was able to send the children a Christmas present of food. We received pictures of their Christmas party and this note from Lophane Laurent, Field Director, Mission:Haiti:
 
Blessings to you my friends from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I want to wish you a Merry Christmas from our kids in your program. They were so happy today to receive this gift from you and I want you please to thank all our sponsors and donors from the children and their parents. We gave two weeks of food for their families for Christmas in this difficult time. May God continue blessing you all and we will continue praying for you and your families and your ministry. 
 
Blessings,
Lophane

Thanks to Your Generous Donations, LCC was able to Provide Salaries for 49 Teachers in Haiti

Dear Friends of the Haitian Lutheran Mission Project,
 
Lophane and the principals of the 7 schools we support are wishing all our donors and followers a very blessed Christmas. We have been able to send each of our 49 teachers $200 (6 months salary of $25 per month plus a $50 bonus) in time for them to feed their families on Christmas.
 
Merry Christmas and many, many thanks.
 
Susan Gross,
Haitian Lutheran Mission Project

Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Ministry was asked by the Aurora School District, Illinois to visit virtually with students who have had to make many adjustments with distance learning during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the LCC Comfort Dogs visited one of the schools after the Henry Pratt Plant, Aurora, Illinois, shootings in February 2018.
 
The K-9 Comfort Dogs were asked to visit six different schools with multiple classrooms, which led to the first virtual visit deployment of the K-9 Ministry. Eighteen Comfort Dogs and their handlers from 10 different states joined together to visit with Aurora School District 129.
 
The Mission was simple - to bring comfort and joy to the students and teachers. The teams enjoyed answering the students' questions, and bringing smiles to all those they visited on Zoom.

"AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME! The kids LOVED the dogs, even virtually, and the handlers were fantastic! Thank you to you and your team for making this day so special."
 
Mrs. Marti N.
Director of Student Services
District 129

"Thank you for the visit to my classroom today by comfort dogs JoJo, Lily, and Levi. The kids loved it and they gathered all their pets to show off as well. That was the most cameras I’ve had on in a long time. Have a safe and merry Christmas."
 
Joe
5th Grade Teacher
Nicholson Elementary School
West Aurora School District 129

"My name is Michelle. I teach 2nd grade at Nicholson Elementary School in Montgomery, IL. I wanted to sincerely thank you for giving my students and I the opportunity to meet comfort dogs. My students and I were very excited to meet the Comfort Dogs to learn what they do and how they provide comfort to others. We were equally thrilled to also meet their friendly and informative handlers and caretakers. Thank you for such a heartwarming opportunity!"
 
Sincerely,
Michelle

Last week, LCC Kare 9 Military Ministry Dogs with their veteran handlers, and LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs with their handlers across the country participated in the annual National Wreaths Across America Day.
Each December on this day, Wreaths Across America coordinates wreath­-laying ceremonies at more than 2,100 locations across the United States, at sea and abroad to "REMEMBER the Fallen, HONOR those who serve, TEACH our children the value of freedom."

On Tuesday, December 15, LCC K-9 Police Ministry Dog Julia (King of Glory – Elgin, Illinois) with law enforcement handler Corporal Terri Albright from the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, assisted in wrapping gifts to support the Story Book Program at the DuPage County Correctional Facility. This program is a collaboration with JUST of DuPage and SCARCE (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education) where 51 children will receive gifts on behalf of their incarcerated parent. Once a month, inmates who are enrolled in the program record themselves reading a story book or chapters of a longer book. The recordings and copies of the books supplied by SCARCE are then sent to their children.
 
“It’s wonderful to see the connections and impact that K-9 Comfort Dog Julia is making with the inmates each time she visits with me. Inmates involved in this program know they’ve made serious mistakes but many are working to turn their life around,” said Corporal Albright. “Having the chance to feel the non-judgmental comfort and friendship of Julia gives them the hope and encouragement they need during the difficulties of incarceration and rehabilitation.”
 
“A lot of people don’t realize that incarceration leaves a family behind and those people aren’t suspects. They’re victims. They’re dealing with the holidays and everything else going on the in world with a parent incarcerated,” said Sheriff James Mendrick. “That’s got to be a tough thing to live with at home. I think this is going to make a big impact where it’s really needed.”
 
“Christmas is a hard enough time as it is for these children and this year we have no visitation to top it off,” said JUST Executive Director Michael Beary. “We already knew these inmates’ backgrounds and we know they are connected to their children through the Story Book program so it just seemed like the best fit for the money that otherwise would have been spent on a holiday party.”
 
DuPage County Board District 2 Member Liz Galgano Chaplin, who has long provided children’s books for the waiting room children’s library, assisted with wrapping and preparing the gifts for shipping.
 
On Thursday, December 17, K-9 Police Ministry Dog Julia and Corporal Albright returned to help JUST of DuPage staff in giving Prison Pack gift bags to every inmate at the DuPage County Correctional Facility.
 
JUST of DuPage (http://www.justofdupage.com), is a nonprofit organization working to meet the needs of inmates in the DuPage County Correctional Facility and their families with a Christian mission to share God’s love to incarcerated men and women. JUST empowers inmates to pursue rehabilitation and make positive life changes by offering a broad range of services, including addition recovery, education, spiritual enrichment and social services.