Holiday home tour benefits Lutheran Family and Children's Services

The 22nd annual Holiday Home Tour will offer something for everyone, whether they go to get ideas for a remodel or to admire the holiday decor.

Lutheran Family and Children's Services is holding the tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The tour, along with the Hope for Families Golf Tournament in May, will provide the majority of funding for LFCS programs.

The Holiday Home Tour takes guests to homes around the Cape Girardeau area decorated for the Christmas season. The day is completed with a tour of Saxony Village, where refreshments are provided.

There are six homes in the Holiday Homes Tour showcasing traditional and more contemporary holiday decor.

"The [number of] homes that we get every year keep getting bigger and bigger," said Melody Anderson, director of regional development at LFCS. "It really takes almost the entire day to see all of them.

"People tend to 'oh' and 'ah' a little bit more ... It's always been about seeing the regular furnishings as well as the decorations."

Last year the Holiday Home Tour raised $1,7000, and organizers hope to bring in at least $20,000 this year.

This will be the second year that Joan Roth of Cape Girardeau has opened her home to the tour. Although Roth is not Lutheran and has no connection to LFCS, she felt compelled to enter her home in the tour.

"Lutheran Family Services is a great organization that helps a lot of people from all walks of life and of all faiths. That's why I decided to get involved," Roth said. "I had to decorate my house for Christmas anyway."

LFCS offers many programs, such as an adoption services program, offering both domestic and international adoptions. The senior services program offers assistance for the elderly through in-home counseling, Alzheimer's care givers support groups and Memory Matters, an early memory-loss support group. Family Foundations is a program that assists single-parent families with issues, such as car and home repair.

There is also Youth Mentoring, which, along with helping adolescents develop life skills and values, also teaches "abstinence only" education.

The largest program offered by Lutheran Family and Children Services is WINGS, which stands for Women In Need Growing Stronger. WINGS helps women in pregnancy crisis situations and provides pro-life options, such as adoption and self-parenting.

Tickets for the tour are $20 in advance and $25 Saturday. They can be purchased at the Southeast Missouri Hospital gift shop, Wanda's Coiffures, Sunny Hill Garden Center, Patrick Furniture, Ultimate Flooring Inc. and the LFCS office, all of which are in Cape Girardeau. Tickets can also be purchased at the Bank of Missouri Cape Girardeau and Jackson branches.

"Lutheran Family and Children Services depends on the community for help, with out them we wouldn't have the funds to continue our work," Anderson said.