One by One

About the group:

Civic club, formerly part of Delphi.

Dedicated to the children of Northwest Indiana.

Serves: Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Starke and Jasper counties in Indiana.

Meets monthly.

Not for profit organization.

Mission: To provide immediate and compassionate financial assistance to children with various special needs. Our goal is to help the children of families that might not fall into certain criteria for government agencies to respond to their needs.

Special events: One by One works with schools, churches, hospitals, preschools and Opportunity Enterprises to identify children with special needs. The group has provided winter coats, boots, shoes, clothing, eye glasses, Christmas presents, food baskets and gift cards in cooperation with Head Start, First Contact, Hilltop House, Opportunity Enterprises and All About Kids. One by One raises funds with an annual butterbraid sale and sells candles, baked goods and cookbooks at the Kouts Christmas Open House.

Advice: "We help in the ‘gray areas' and it's immediate," said Delia Landfadt, president of One by One. "There's not a lot of paperwork. If you have the need, we can be there."

How to get involved: One by One is always looking for new members and donations. For more information, contact Delia Landfadt at (219) 766-3033 or Nancy Wagner at 465-6985.

People might be surprised to know: "One-hundred percent of our money goes back to the kids. It doesn't go for overhead," said Delia Landfadt.

- SUE BERO, Times Correspondent

To nominate an organization for this feature, e-mail slbero@hotmail.com