SleepOut for Shelter to raise awareness, funds for homeless services

Submitted by Pioneer Center for Human Services

This year’s “SleepOut for Shelter” is planned from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday, May 11, and Sunday, May 12, at Living Waters Church, 1808 Miller Road, Crystal Lake.

“SleepOut for Shelter” raises awareness and much-needed funds for homeless services through McHenry County PADS, a program of Pioneer Center at 4001 Dayton St., McHenry.

Since 2009, the Pioneer Center has seen a staggering 48 percent increase in people needing help. Just this last year, they saw a 27-percent increase in homeless veterans; 26-percent increase in transitional youth; 20-percent increase in families requiring shelter; and a 17-percent increase in women seeking assistance.

You can register now as an individual or team to sleep out and become a fundraiser for the event.

You can donate now. If you can’t sleep out, you can sponsor a participant, or you can simply collect donations for McHenry County PADS.

If you are interested in helping to collect donations for McHenry County PADS you can do so with our “Make Change” collection boxes. They can be left on your desk at work, taken to school; you can walk around your neighborhood with it, or even simply put it on your kitchen counter and empty your pockets of change each night.

This is a great additional tool for your fundraising efforts. Request a change box by contacting Barb Swanson, community outreach and special events coordinator, at (815) 759-7144 or bswanson@pioneercenter.org.

Pioneer Center for Human Services is a 501(c)3, nonprofit charitable organization that provides direct services to more than 3,600 individuals each year. The organization also provides education and outreach to schools and community organizations reaching more than 10,000 additional individuals.

Visit pioneercenter.org.