Elwin Basquin — Retired Category

by Tara Perre
Photography by Dave Kaphingst

Elwin Basquin (Peoria, Illinois)
Trinity Lutheran; Greater Peoria Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Motivation: When I got close to retirement, I vowed to turn my attention to the Lord's work. Life is to help others and that's the only thing that matters.

Favorite volunteer activity: I've been really involved with Vernacular Video Ministry International (VVMI), which operates in the Philippines. We supply money, training and equipment to pastors and lay people to produce video Bible stories in the native language. One of my roles was to raise money. We raised about $7,500.

Favorite organization helped: Habitat for Humanity. I videoed and took digital pictures of the entire construction period and completed a documentary of the Martin Luther house.

Grant awarded to: Concordia Lutheran School Foundation's Band Fund, WTVP-TV's 'Minds Matter' Campaign, Lutheran Social Services (LSS) of Illinois Prison and Family Ministry and VVMI.

Volunteer involvement: Habitat for Humanity, VVMI, LSS of Illinois, Rotary, board of Discipleship at Trinity, delivering Meals on Wheels, food pantry, Christian radio, Prison and Family Ministry, Concordia Lutheran School Foundation, the Lutheran Hour and treasurer for a regional public broadcasting network.

Family: Wife of 52 years, Phyllis; five married daughters; 19 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

First involved in volunteering: I’ve been in volunteer mode for a long time. In public broadcasting, I quickly learned the best way to recruit and train volunteers is to be one. I’ve also always been very active in Lutheran church work. I’m thankful that the Lord had given me gifts for a higher purpose.

Time spent in volunteer service: Several hours every day

Most money raised at a single event: When we built the Martin Luther house for Habitat for Humanity, we raised about $40,000 and also had a lot of donations of supplies and volunteers. We also arranged to have the walls built at the Illinois River Correctional Center in Canton, Illinois, with LSS of Illinois. That was a significant contribution, and it was one of the first times doing something like this on that scale. Now the Illinois Department of Corrections and LSS of Illinois continue to support Habitat. I’m very committed to working with the 10-year-old “Prison and Family Ministry” of LSS of Illinois. The prisoners learn a vocation. This ministry also helps them connect with their families and counsels them. This ministry really is one that touches my heart.

Active in retirement: I was active with Lutheran Brotherhood and Aid Association for Lutherans, and then with Thrivent Financial. Since Thrivent Financial came along, I do even more work. One of the jobs in our chapter is to get the word out about Thrivent Financial. One way was we acquired 1,000 tickets to a local Peoria baseball game, distributed them through the congregational coordinators and had Thrivent Night at the Ballpark.

I’m also involved in other community organizations. I felt this is my home and wanted to give back everything that I could. I’ve been retired for about nine years and am busier than ever. I have my wonderful wife, but don’t have a staff.

With the Rotary Club, we work to rehab a home in the inner city every year. We get donations in materials and money. I also have done videos to help promote this event. We call it Christmas in April. We also adopt a school each year. We started a reading program with our school. We buy books, read with the children and donate money to our school. The reading levels of that school have excelled since we have been involved.

I found out three years ago that the Lutheran Hour wasn’t being heard in our market. The retired principal of Concordia and I got together and raised some money and got it scheduled to air on a local station. Now we are committed to keeping the Lutheran Hour in Central Illinois.

Being on Trinity’s discipleship board, I got the OK to do a mission fair where we invited in community organizations to come over a period of two weekends to display what they do. We opened up our church and invited them in—places like the Boys and Girls Club, etc. We canvassed a quarter mile around our church and invited them to come. We are a downtown church. We have a lot of poor people in our area.

Helping others get involved: Being in a community 30 some years, I know a lot people, and I work to get them involved. A few years back I got involved in spiritual gifts. I got involved in a workshop at the synod level and am conducting seminars for pastors. Many of them learn that they weren’t training people in their congregations to use their spiritual gifts. It’s becoming a part of the congregation—do seminars to help do a self soul-searching and then find a way to use their gifts for God’s work. It’s a wonderful emotional experience to see that happen. I’ve done them on and off over the years. Back 35 to 40 years ago, I took a training program in evangelism. Learned to share Jesus with others. My wife and older daughters got involved.

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