Each month, Westwood highlights a different organization, ministry, or movement that we believe in and can financially support as a congregation through monthly donations and offerings.
Consider a monthly, one-time gift using the QR code or by clicking the button below to support the "Cause of the Month" organization.
JANUARY 2025
ST. LOUIS PARK
DINNER AT YOUR DOOR (DAYD)
​Dinner at Your Door is the local Meals on Wheels program serving St. Louis Park, Hopkins, and East Minnetonka. Based at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, its partner kitchen is Open Arms of Minnesota. This nonprofit organization serves nutritious meals to the homebound and disabled and does a safety check and short visit when a meal is delivered.
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Westwood has supported DAYD financially and with volunteers over the years. Join other Westwood members to deliver meals!
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To volunteer, contact DAYD Meals on Wheels Program Coordinator Susanne Elsaid at hopkinsmow@gmail.com or 952-405-0703.
FEBRUARY 2025
LSS REFUGEE SERVICES
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) Refugee Services assists federally approved refugees from various countries. They help refugees get settled, complete paperwork, and provides case management and employment services. For more information, visit the LSS Refugee Services website.
MARCH 2025
CAMP WAPO:
SCHOLARSHIPS
Bible camp is typically named on the "faith timeline" of many adults because it offers formative experiences, an immersive faith culture, and a whole lot of fun! Costs have continued to rise and we are hoping that this scholarship fund could help offset the $700 registration for Camp Wapo so that our Westwood kids can continue to have Bible Camp on their faith timelines. We generally send 40-60 campers each summer and are hoping to gift each camper with a $100 scholarship. For more information, contact Dannica Olsen.
APRIL 2025
THE OUTREACH PROGRAM:
FOOD PACKAGING
Each year, hundreds of volunteers come to Westwood for a weekend event to package meals to support vulnerable children who have lost a parent or guardian. Our sister congregation, Arusha Road Lutheran Church in Dodoma, Tanzania, distributes these meals to its surrounding community. We aim to send a minimum of 50,000 meals annually to Arusha Road, bringing vital nourishment to those in need. Westwood remains committed to this mission by budgeting annually to sponsor the event. The costs are partially offset through gracious continued financial support from Thrivent Financial and Westwood's Holiday Fair. Cause of the Month financial donations are greatly appreciated, in addition to volunteering your time to make our packing goal a reality. Come and join us as part of the annual event by donating roughly an hour of your time to pack meals. Your service directly contributes to the well-being of children, providing them with essential nourishment and a brighter future. For more information, contact Brenda Knutson.
MAY 2025
STEP: FOOD SHELF
The summer months are the most challenging for STEP (our local food shelf) because demand increases with children and youth off from school; many volunteers and contributors are away for vacations. You can support this effort with food shelf donations or a financial gift through the May Cause of the Month program. For more information, visit the STEP website.
JUNE 2025
CLARE HOUSING
Clare Housing provides a continuum of affordable and supportive housing options that create healing communities and optimize the health of people living with HIV/AIDS. Because many of our residents are survivors of systemic and individual harm and discrimination, we commit to ensuring that living at Clare Housing feels healing, empowering, dignified, and connective. Financial gifts support residents' ongoing needs and household essentials.
JULY 2025
GLOBAL REFUGE
Global Refuge, formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, has a new name but the same mission. Due to ongoing events along the U.S. southern border, Westwood has designated Global Refuge as the June Cause of the Month. All funds will go to support Global Refuge. For ways to get involved or more information, visit the Global Refuge website.
AUGUST 2025
EVERY MEAL
Every Meal provides nutritious, shelf-stable foods to children and families who experience food insecurity for weekends and school holidays. Westwood has a partnership ministry with Every Meal to help support students at Aquila Elementary and Park Spanish Immersion schools in St. Louis Park. Contact Brenda Knutson with questions or to volunteer.
Click to watch: What is Every Meal (formerly The Sheridan Story)?
SEPTEMBER 2025
WECC: SCHOLARSHIP FUND
A scholarship fund has been established as a mission and ministry of Westwood Early Childhood Center and Westwood Lutheran Church. The purpose of this fund is to assist families who need financial support to meet their childcare expenses. The scholarship(s) are available to children of all ages, from infant to preschool. The fund is for current families experiencing hardship and families who could not otherwise afford to send a child to WECC. We are blessed to provide our community with a caring, high-quality, faith-based early childhood program! Please contact Shannon Eide, Interim Director of WECC, with questions.
OCTOBER 2025
TBD
Watch for more information...
NOVEMBER 2025
WESTWOOD COMMUNITY MEAL
On Wednesday evenings from 5-6:30 pm, Westwood hosts a community meal. From humble beginnings, serving 40 people the first night, this volunteer-led ministry now hosts an average of 250 people weekly! Attendance comes from Westwood members, families from the Westwood Early Childcare Center, and people hungering for a space to build community and needing a nutritious meal. While donations cover a portion of the costs, we invite you to help financially support this important ministry through a "cause of the month gift" in November. Volunteers are always needed to make the meals happen. Please contact Ann Kisch with questions or click to learn about the community meal.
DECEMBER 2025
ARUSHA ROAD ORPHAN MINISTRY SUPPORT
Since 2005, Westwood has had a relationship with Arusha Road Lutheran Church in Dodoma, Tanzania; click to learn more. One of Arusha Road's ministries is food and education support for 150 Orphans from the community, many of whom lost their parents from AIDS. Westwood has pledged to provide support for at least 40 of these orphans with meals packed through Outreach Inc. (see April) and through financial support to cover educational expenses. The cost to support one orphan is $225 a year; $175 covers education costs, and the rest helps Westwood package and send 100,000 meals.