As we close the chapter on the past year and embrace the promise of the new, let us take a moment to celebrate YOU. Your dedication and generosity have profoundly impacted our community through Lafayette Urban Ministry’s programs and initiatives.

• Whether you devoted your time to preparing and serving meals for individuals experiencing homelessness at the LUM Emergency Shelter;
• Whether you extended your support to the LUM Good Samaritan Fund, enabling 1,186 families to avoid utility disconnection or eviction through the LUM Financial Assistance Program;
• Whether you shared your skills as a volunteer at the LUM Immigration Clinic;
• Whether you served as a LUM tax preparer, helping low-income households reclaim millions of dollars in refunds and credits;
• Whether you mentored children at LUM Camp, tutored students in the After School Program, or contributed to other transformative youth programs addressing the academic achievement gap;
• Whether you fought hunger by volunteering to provide food staples to 18,442 individuals in 2024 through the LUM Food Pantry;
• Whether you participated in events like Hunger Hike, served at the LUM Community Thanksgiving Feast, ran in the Turkey Trot 5K Run, or donated toys that brought joy to one of the 1,948 children reached by LUM Jubilee Christmas.

Here’s to the extraordinary difference YOU made in 2024. Cheers to another year of kindness, service, and community impact.

Your contributions to Lafayette Urban Ministry are indispensable in fulfilling our mission — to bring joy to others, instill hope in families, nurture and educate children, and create a lasting positive impact within our community. In 2024, the exceptional commitment of LUM volunteers and the success of our fundraising efforts have profoundly enriched the lives of children and families throughout our community.

The LUM Board of Directors and staff members express their deepest gratitude to YOU for entrusting LUM as your partner this year. We look forward with enthusiasm to making 2025 an even more extraordinary year of service and impact.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy New Year filled with joy and prosperity. Cheers!

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

— Mahatma Gandhi