Anonymous $1.15 million gifts put New Life Children's Center past half-way mark in 2.2 million Campaign
January 25, 2007

Canyon Lake - Two gifts totaling $1.15 million by anonymous donors are the largest in a $2.2 million campaign to expand the New Life Children’s Center which treats girls who have been abused and neglected.

The donations put the campaign more than halfway toward the $2.2 million goal, bringing the total raised to $1.3 million. The gifts are the latest in a series of generous contributions from the long-time supporters who wished to remain anonymous.

One gift specifically improves the on-campus Trinity Charter School by adding four new classrooms, two with satellite access; a new library with a media pit, computer tables and circulation desk; and administrative offices.

“This allows us to meet current needs because the existing smaller classrooms were already at capacity, as well as growth for the future,” said Lutheran Social Services Senior Vice President for Agency Advancement David Kahle. LSS owns and operates the New Life Children’s Center.

The second gift funded construction of a “backyard barn,” which will offer pet therapy opportunities for the girls, as well as several other small projects to enhance the campus.

Remaining components of the expansion include construction of a family therapy/volunteer center, a foster parent guest house, a chapel and an athletic field. An additional $900,000 is needed to complete the campaign, Kahle said.

“While you often hear of large gifts to institutions of higher learning, it is a blessing to us and the children we serve that people are willing to invest in the education and care of girls who have been physically and sexually abused and neglected, children who are often invisible in society,” said Kahle.

“The solid education and the treatment they get at New Life give these children the opportunity to break out of the cycle of abuse and disadvantaged backgrounds so that they can become contributing members of society.”

“These gifts to improve the campus will enhance the quality of care the girls receive as well as provide academic excellence. We are very excited about the success to date of the campaign to expand and enrich New Life and the girls served,” said Chief Executive Officer Dr. Gary L. Henry.

New Life, which opened in 1993, is one of three residential treatment centers in Texas owned and operated by LSS. The center provides therapeutic help to 64 girls ages 11 to 17 who suffer from severe emotional and behavioral problems, most stemming from past abuse and neglect.

With the combined award-winning foster care program, which cares for about 1,500 children daily; and the three residential treatment centers and one emergency shelter caring for 240 children daily, LSS is the largest provider of residential services to abused and neglected children in the state of Texas.

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