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Ways to Give
Just two weeks before her due date, Mark and Susan Lacek’s first child, Faith, died in the womb when the umbilical cord became tightly wrapped around her body.
As what would have been Faith’s first birthday approached in 2001, her grieving father scrawled out a poem about all the moments he would miss of his daughter’s life.
Clay and Charlie Gess stand ready at the fire, a graham cracker in each hand.
Mom doles out the chocolate squares, Dad the smoldering marshmallows. The brothers twist them shut and dig in, laughing at the saccharine goo oozing from their faces and fingers.
Maybe they’ll remember it; maybe they won’t, these little boys, as their childhood years give way to school and sports and girls and cars.
But their parents will, always.
It is for this reason that Missy and Brandon Gess brought their three children to Faith’s Lod
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On June 5, Faith Lacek would have turned 7. Her parents, Susan and Mark Lacek, marked the occasion by opening the doors to a brand-new lodge on 80 pristine acres of nothern Wisconsin woods complete with a private lake, a large deck, and a giant playroom.
WEBSTER – After completing the fast-tracked construction of Faith’s Lodge, local contractors were thanked for their work Sunday at a special on-site open house.
The unique nonprofit retreat near webster is the brainchild of Mark and Susan Lacek, who lost their first child, Faith Ann, at birth on June 5, 2000. The Minneapolis couple used their new foundation to create a retreat for grieving parents and those with a seriously ill child.
WEBSTER – Six months after the ground-breaking ceremony for Faith’s Lodge, construction on the one million dollar facility is well underway at the site just north of Webster.
The brainchild of Mark and Susan Lacek, Faith’s Lodge came about as the result of the couple losing their first daughter, Faith Ann at birth less than a month after their marriage.
Representatives from the Ronald McDonald House, the Lacek Foundation, and the local community took place in the Friday groundbreaking ceremony for Faith’s Lodge, a retreat center for families in crisis.
WEBSTER – Six years of careful thought and planning is finally becoming reality for Mark and Susan Lacek. Construction of Faith’s Lodge, a retreat on 80 acres of land north of Webster with a private lake and nature trails, will begin with excavation scheduled to take place within the next couple of weeks, framing in September and be watertight by the start of deer season. With the finishing to be done over the winter, the facility is to be ready for use by the summer of 2007.
WEBSTER – For Mark and Susan Lacek, Faith’s Lodge, a retreat for families facing pediatric illness or who have experienced the loss of a child, is a chance to turn a personal tragedy into a way to help others.
There are many incredible charitable organizations in the Twin Cities – groups with local roots. But we don’t always know how they started, why they started, or who was the catalyst for the cause. This month, 800 (or more) people will attent Faith’s Lodge Gala and hear the story f Faith, as told by her parents, Mark and Susan Lacek.