Love Big
Join LSS in our most ambitious and heartfelt initiative yet:
The Love Big Campaign: Uniting Hearts to Inspire Recovery in Northwest Wisconsin!
In the heart of Northwest Wisconsin, where resilience meets compassion, a powerful movement is taking shape, one grounded in love, hope, and healing.
Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan (LSS) invites you to join us in launching the Love Big Campaign: Uniting Hearts to Inspire Recovery in Northwest Wisconsin.
This bold initiative is more than a fundraising effort: it is a heartfelt call to action to restore lives, strengthen communities, and secure a future where no one facing mental health or substance use challenges is left behind.
Together, with your support, we can transform spaces, expand essential services, and honor a legacy of care that spans more than 140 years.
The Heart of the Matter
Our Dream
Imagine a world where compassion and generosity prevail, where no one is left behind, and all dreams are within reach.
Through the Love Big Campaign, we aim to create lasting change and foster a sense of unity, hope, and belonging.
Support Those in Recovery
LSS envisions a better way to empower those needing to regain control of their lives and recover from the traumas and troubles of the past. Each year, LSS supports more than 500 individuals in our residential mental health and substance use treatment facilities across Wisconsin.
Recently, Northwest Wisconsin was hit with major healthcare closures including HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire and St. Joseph’s Hospital. Simultaneously, without notice or public explanation, the Libertas Treatment Center closed its doors after providing substance use treatment services in Chippewa Falls since 1977. LSS is in a unique position to fill this critical healthcare gap with the expansion of our substance use treatment offerings in Northwest Wisconsin by acquiring and renovating the former Libertas Center in Chippewa Falls and by updating our existing LSS Fahrman Center in Eau Claire.
LSS Chippewa Falls Center
LSS recently acquired the former Libertas Treatment Center in Chippewa Falls. After renovation, LSS will reopen this 50-bed medically monitored and transitional residential treatment center serving adult men. Clients will participate in evidence-based treatment methods, primarily Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Feedback Informed Treatment with Motivational Interviewing and Trauma Informed approaches. To aid in our clients’ healing and recovery, LSS will renovate and upgrade the facility using trauma-informed design, which is crucial in addiction recovery as it creates an environment that acknowledges and addresses the complex relationship between trauma and addiction. Renovations will foster a safe and supportive environment, ensuring that spaces feel welcoming and non-threatening.
LSS Fahrman Center
LSS Fahrman Center is a 42-bed, co-ed facility in Eau Claire providing substance use and mental health treatment services. Through this campaign, LSS will upgrade and renovate the center so that its physical space matches the high level of care provided within its walls. The renovations will incorporate calm, soothing aesthetics like soft lighting, neutral colors, natural materials, and comforting textures throughout; include the addition of private, quiet rooms or spaces; comfortable and accessible furniture; and safety/practical upgrades in flooring, restrooms, kitchen, fitness room, outdoor recreation, and landscaping.
Securing the Future
Understanding the devastation that came from the sudden healthcare closures in Northwest Wisconsin, LSS is also seeking support to create an endowed fund within the LSS Foundation that will provide regular distributions to support our recovery work in the region. This will ensure long-term financial security for programming and capital needs well into the future.
LSS History
LSS helps our neighbors in greatest need. Established in 1882 by a Lutheran Pastor in an isolated part of Northern Wisconsin, our founder set out to help children, the elderly, and individuals struggling to survive and needing support. Today, LSS provides compassionate and loving care to nearly 30,000 individuals and their families in all 72 Wisconsin counties and eight counties throughout Upper Michigan.
Over 800 Servant-Leaders including licensed therapists, professional social workers and counselors, and certified peer specialists offer multiple programs and services addressing needs around housing and homelessness, adoption, foster care, refugee resettlement, and mental health and substance use. LSS ensures that neighbors who have been marginalized by society find community and belonging and are able to reach their greatest potential.
Our donors trust that LSS will serve as good stewards of their generous gifts. That is because we demonstrate:
Thank You!
Your support is an invaluable expression of loving big that breathes life into our organization's mission. Embarking on this journey together will surely create a world where love and compassion thrive, making a lasting difference for generations to come.
You are living proof that love is the catalyst for change!
For more information about the Love Big Campaign, please reach out to Paul Peterson at paul.peterson@lsswis.org or Mara Dučkens at mara.duckens@lsswis.org
Love Big - In the News
Lutheran Social Services Begins Renovation of Shuttered Treatment Center
