Compassion for Campers Report—Perpetual Crisis but Hope on the Horizon

Compassion for Camper volunteers and stocked shelves at a Community Resource Day at Willow Crystal Lake.

Note—This is adapted and updated from a report of Compassion for Campers for the annual meeting of Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation earlier this month.  But it also can be a report to the whole wider community and the clients we serve, our volunteers, and donors.

Compassion for Campers (C4C) is the ministry of Tree of Life UU Congregation (TOL),  5603 Bull Valley Road, McHenry, IL 60050, that provides essential gear and supplies to the unhoused population of McHenry County which spend all or part of a month camping out or sleeping in vehicles or vacant spaces.  It provides emergency equipment including tents, sleeping bags, tarps, cooking stoves and fuel, non-perishable food, personal hygiene items, first aid and safety material, and other items free of charge to those in need.

C4C distributes at the Community Resource Days on the first and third Friday of every month from 10 am to 2 pm and is one of over 25 agencies who meet at the Willow Friendship Center, 100 South Main Street, Crystal Lake to serve the unhoused and at-risk community.  

 

Since June 2023 we have served 1590 cases.  About 20% are the chronic long time homeless.  Many have substance abuse histories or problems, mental health issues, or have been impacted by the justice system and/or incarcerated.  Increasing numbers are new to housing insecurity due to medical crisis and costs, job loss, divorce and family crisis, or have been displaced by rising housing costs and evictions.  Increasing numbers—over half at the last distribution in May—are women, including those with children or multi-generational families.  First time homeless elderly are up alarmingly, many with health issues but so are teens and young adults.  African-American, Latinx, and immigrants are sharply up from pre-pandemic levels.  All are served without question and treated with respect and dignity.

It costs between $900 and $1000—sometimes more—to purchase supplies.  And those supplies, especially of major items like tents, sleeping bags, tarps, sleeping pads, fuel and stoves,  often run out as early as 11 am on some distribution Days. 

C4C is sustained by donations from Tree of Life members and friends and some donations from other churches.  Last year a major Faithify fund raiser—a UU GoFundMe—got us into June.  The Ride to Keep a Light On in Woodstock raised money, and a major benefit program in August kept us afloat into November.  We have been flirting with perpetual funding crisis since then.  Only purchases made on the private accounts of C4C volunteers have kept our shelves partially filled this spring.  More than $700 is owed for reimbursement and the volunteers are still  owed hundreds more. 

C4C recieved10% of the recent TOL Rummage Sale proceeds.

 

The next special opportunity to support C4C, the Jail Brakers ministry and other community beacons of hope will be another  Friday evening, June 14 on and around historic Woodstock Square.  The event raises funds for organizations serving the community including Compassion for Campers.  To support the event volunteer to ride and gather sponsors and buy color-coded string of lights—a different color for each charity—to decorate bikes or yourselves.  Strings are $9 each and all proceeds go to the corresponding community resource.

Gathering and sales of strings begin on the Square at 7 pm with an ice cream social and live music  with the ride beginning after full dark about 8:40.  As riders return to the Square music will continue until 10 pm.  Strings are available for $9 each from the beneficiary organization or $10 split between all of them or at Material Things Artisan Market, a craft and art consignment shop at 103 East Van Buren Street.

 

 

But our biggest push to keep us up and running is a new Faithify campaign that will be launched on Sunday, June 16 and will stay up for 30 days.  We will also receive a match grant for 20% of the total raised from MidAmerica Chalice Lighters if we make our goal of raising $300o to continue our critical work.  You don’t have to be a Unitarian Universalist to donate on the app.

This is an all-or-nothing challenge.  If we do not raise the entire target amount in the allotted time we will receive nothing.  Your pledge to the campaign will be noted but only drawn upon with the successful conclusion of the fund drive.  For a link to the Faithify campaign when it goes active visit the Tree of Life website.

If necessary we may need some kind of major fundraising event in late summer or early fall. 

The best news is that in October we will receive a grant of $12,000 which will relieve pressure and along with continued donor support even allow us to expand our service.

None of the grant money, however, can be allocated to repaying our debt, only to new and ongoing service.  So the need to sustain donations remains high.

Donations of new, like new, clean and serviceable items are always welcome including seasonal items like mosquito and tick repellant, sun screen, and rain ponchos.

 

We invite members and friends to visit the distributions to see for themselves what we do.  Volunteers are always welcome.  Contact C4C coordinator Patrick Murfin at 815 814-5645 or email at pmurfin@sbcglobal.net for more information.