As our 80th year of serving our neighbors together comes to a close, here’s another look back at our love-filled history. While our methods and programs change over time, we know we can always count on you to act in faith and generosity.
Thank you for continuing the Lutheran legacy of love into 2026 — and the next 80 years!
In times of war
THEN: This 1946 photo from Warsaw, Poland, is one of the earliest we have. Pictured is a Distribution Center where families who lost everything could receive food, clothing, LWR Quilts and other goods collected by Lutheran churches in the U.S.
NOW: LWR still cares for neighbors affected by war. Today, most relief items are obtained nearby to support local economies, but LWR Quilts and Kits — assembled with love by caring Lutherans like you — are still part of our response.
Handmade gifts of love
THEN: A member of the sewing group at St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C., sews for the LWR Quilt & Kit Ministry in 1965.
NOW: Quilters and kit makers still share warmth and love with neighbors around the world. In 2025, 803,181 quilts and kits were distributed in 15 countries. Steve and Pat Colson are quilters at Atonement Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
Feeding the hungry
THEN: A displaced mother feeds her child at a camp in Ethiopia, 1980. LWR has faithfully followed Christ’s call to care for hungry neighbors since the beginning.
NOW: Mado was on the verge of starvation in 2016. But today, she is healthy and strong because her mother knows how to grow and prepare nutritious foods. You plant seeds that feed families for generations!
Hygiene for health
THEN: Mrs. Erma Wilson of Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Columbiana, Ohio, donated several thousand pounds of homemade soap in the 1960s and 70s to promote hygiene through LWR. To make the bars, she rendered fat and lard donated by a local pizza parlor.
NOW: LWR promotes healthy hygiene through community education. We also provide supplies such as locally purchased soap and install sanitary latrines and showers. Pictured is the delivery of handwashing stations at a displacement camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo.