Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Compassion for Campers Collection Drive at Tree Of Life on June 28

A camp typical in McHenry County where the homeless often have to hide from authorities.

On Saturday June 28, day of the Great American Camp Out, volunteers from Compassion for Campers (C4C) will be accepting supply donations during the Tree of Life Rummage and Plant Sale from 9 am to 2 pm at the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry.

Saturday, is National Camp Out Day, also known as The Great American Camp Out, and the volunteers of Compassion for Campers are using the occasion to raise awareness and support for those for those individuals for whom camping out is not a recreational activity, but a matter of survival. Compassion for Campers is an independent ministry project that provides tents, sleeping bags, and other emergency supplies to people who are experiencing homelessness and have no other forms of shelter.  


Serving the unhoused and unsheltered since 2012, Compassion for Campers fills an important need in the range of services offered in McHenry County.  Currently, the number of people experiencing homelessness exceeds the emergency housing that is readily available, leaving some individuals without shelter of any kind.  C4C takes a harm-reduction approach, helping those without shelter meet basic survival needs and be warmer and safer. 

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Compassion for Campers volunteers and stocked shelves ready for a distribution  at Community Resource Days at Willow Crystal Lake.

A list of needed supplies can be found in the Social Justice section on the Tree of Life website at www.treeoflifeuu.org/compassion-for-campers.  Items most needed include warm weather sleeping bags, 3 person tents, or 4-in-1 portable stove tops. Donated items must be newly purchased rather than used. Used items will not be accepted. 

Donations can also be made online at https://treeoflifeuu.churchcenter.com/giving  designating Compassion for Campers in the drop-down menu. A $15 donation covers the cost of a sleeping bag, $18 covers the cost of a stove top, and $30 covers the cost of a tent. 

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These tents and similar ones with different brand names are available at WalMart and other large retailers,  sporting goods stores, and online on Amazon and Ebay.

All supplies are distributed directly to people in need on the first and third Friday every month at the Community Resource Days held at Willow Crystal Lake. C4C is an independent ministry of the Tree Of Life U. U. Congregation in McHenry with the support of other churches, organizations, and individuals. It is entirely volunteer run and supported strictly through donations.

“I think the most important thing about Compassion for Campers is that our volunteers treat homeless people as people, as people who with dignity and worthiness, says Chaplain Dave Becker, minister with Tree of Life. “The first time I joined in to assist our Compassion for Campers volunteers, I was in awe of how much time they spent talking and visiting with the people who stopped in to gather needed supplies. These are not the nameless homeless; these are people that our volunteers know by name and in some cases have known for years. People would stop in, not just to get supplies, but to visit with people who they consider friends. It is an amazing thing to see!” 

The C4C collection will coincide with Tree of Life's Rummage and Plant sale.  Ten per cent of all rummage sales will also go to the mission.  

While this special collection drive takes place on June 28 from 9 am to 2 pm at Tree of Life, donations to Compassion for Campers are accepted year around.  10% of the proceeds from the Tree of Life Rummage Sale that day will also go toward C4C and proceeds from the Plant Sale will support the Tree of Life youth group service project with the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

 

 

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