A LEGACY ROOTED IN VALUES

From an early age, Steve Lansing knew that he wanted to study politics. “My mother had a big influence on me when it came to my interest in current affairs. By the time I was fourteen, I had a subscription to the Foreign Affairs periodical. I also grew up within the Lutheran religious tradition. During the 1960s when all this stuff was going on in society, I benefited from the mentorship and guidance of clergy members who were forward-looking and very progressive at the time,” he recounted. 

That interest would eventually lead him to cross paths with Children’s Alliance in the fall of 1988. At the time, Steve was the new director for the Lutheran Public Policy Office, which advocated on issues affecting children and families. Recognizing the importance of building coalitions and eager to connect with like-minded people, Steve reached out to Children’s Alliance.  

“I had been aware of the organization and was impressed by the work they did. I thought, ‘These are good, serious-minded people, and they know what they are doing.’”  

Steve Lansing (right) at Voices for Children 2019.

As Steve moved on to other professional roles, he maintained a strong connection to Children’s Alliance. “The organization took a big step when it decided to fully commit to the idea that it would assess all its work through a racial equity lens and advocate for progressive policy change more boldly. There was a fair amount of pushback. But even as the organization went through these changes, the enduring quality that always remained was that it was good people, trying to do good things for the right reasons.”  

Steve has been a donor to Children’s Alliance for decades, even naming the organization as one of the beneficiaries of his and his wife’s estate. “My wife, Bonnie, was a special education teacher and all she’s ever tried to do was make the world a better place. We were both raised with the idea that the whole point of our lives was to live it in service of others. Our hope is to have a meaningfully sized estate to pass along to the people in the world who can make good use of the resources.” 

He continues, “Children’s Alliance understands that when it comes to social and economic justice, you have to come together with a lot of people if you want to have any hope of accomplishing anything. We really believe in their vison and mission and hope that our gift will strengthen its ability to adjust and adapt to the changing needs of children.”  

To learn more about how you can include Children’s Alliance in your estate plans, contact Christine Loredo at christine@childrensalliance.org.