Faith-Based Initiatives Require an Initiator

Gail Phillips Bucher clearly understands what “faith-based initiative” means, and political interpretations don’t enter into it. To her, “faith-based” simply means putting her life, intellect, and a considerable amount of energy where her faith is: in service to people in need.

For several years, Alliance for Children and Families member Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSS), Wellesley, Mass., has been a principle beneficiary of Bucher’s enlightened understanding. In addition to serving as a director on the governing board, Bucher volunteers with many LSS programs.  

“The first question to ask yourself when selecting an organization to serve is: What am I passionate about and which nonprofit organization’s mission is consistent with that passion?” Bucher says. “For me, helping others has been my passion throughout life. … I like to think that my time, talent, and gifts, in some small way, further the mission of LSS.”

Bucher took early retirement in 1996 from a thriving 35-year career in pharmacology and cosmetic science with The Gillette Company and Colgate Palmolive to pursue a ministry to people who are poor and marginalized. She began in her own congregation, University Lutheran Church, Cambridge, Mass.

University Lutheran Church founded one of the Boston area’s first overnight homeless shelters in 1983. Today the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter is a student run and staffed enterprise that provides a hot meal and overnight accommodation for 24 adults during the five coldest months of the year.

In 2002, Bucher brought the same combination of passion and enthusiasm she first felt for her work with the homeless shelter to the LSS Board of Directors.

“Nonprofit board, council, or leadership team membership is an honor and a privilege, and it should be taken seriously,” Bucher says.

She recommends that individuals look inward before accepting an invitation to serve in any of these capacities.

“The nominee should be able to answer the following in the affirmative: Am I passionate or deeply interested in this organization’s mission? Is this organization’s mission consistent with my own values? Am I committed to the ‘three Ts’—time, talent, and treasure? Can I help to make a difference by serving this organization, rather than just adding to my curriculum vitae?”

A Stake in the Success of Agency Programs 

Today Bucher serves as the board’s vice chair, and she chairs the advisory boards of two LSS subsidiary programs: Ruth House and Good News Garage. The two programs, both of which serve clients impacted by poverty and homelessness, “touched me most, because they both offer hope to families,” Bucher says.

Ruth House, Brockton, Mass., was founded by LSS in 1996 to meet the needs of homeless single teenage mothers and their children, a particularly vulnerable group that had fallen through the cracks of welfare reform. “One cannot begin to fathom the helplessness of these mothers, who are barely out of childhood themselves,” Bucher says.

In addition to volunteering and visiting Ruth House regularly, Bucher serves on the program’s capital campaign committee.

The second of the two subsidiary programs, Good News Garage, is a groundbreaking LSS car donation program that has been featured by several national media sources.

As chair of Good News Garage’s advisory board, Bucher played a significant role in the expansion of this program, which, since 1996, has donated more than

3,200 reliable used cars to qualified families, enabling them to move from public assistance to financial independence.

“My LSS activity represents the spectrum of human need,” Bucher says. She adds that while she enjoys playing a direct role in relieving immediate needs, such as serving

meals at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter or volunteering with LSS programs, she recognizes the influential role she plays as a director. “I also truly enjoy engaging in the decision-making processes that bring about change in the way programs are administered, to make them more effective and reach more people.”

According to Heather Feltman, president and CEO of LSS, “Gail Bucher is a phenomenon. She never says ‘no,’ and then, once she has embraced a new commitment to an LSS program, she brings her compassion and intelligence to bear in ways that are truly transformative.” 

Learn more about LSS and its board of directors.

Martha Lindberg Mann is vice president for communications and marketing for Alliance member Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSS), Wellesley, Mass. She has been the chief communications officer for LSS since 1993. In this capacity, she recently helped the organization through a major rebranding project, the result of which can be seen at LSS' website.

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