Groundworks invites the community to Camp for a Common Cause

As the Seasonal Overflow Shelter closes, Groundworks invites the community to Camp for a Common Cause

BRATTLEBORO – On Friday, May 17, Groundworks Collaborative will host the seventh annual Camp for a Common Cause on the Brattleboro Common.  This fund- and awareness-raising campout and barbecue has been a fun and family-friendly event each year since it began in 2013 as a collaborative fundraiser to support both Morningside Shelter and the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center.  The two organizations went on to merge in June 2015 to form Groundworks Collaborative.  All funds raised through Camp for a Common Cause support Groundworks’ efforts to house our neighbors experiencing homelessness.

“Brattleboro’s Seasonal Overflow Shelter will close for the season on Monday, April 29^th,” reports Groundworks’ Executive Director Josh Davis, “and this community remains without a permanent home for the Shelter next season, which makes this community campout all the more poignant.  Upon closing for the season, all we have to offer each SOS guest is a tent, and we do all we can to stay in touch.  Working together as a community, we know we can do more for our neighbors in need.”

This year’s Camp for a Common Cause will feature a family-friendly community barbecue with live music from VT Shakedown starting at 6pm.

Tickets for the barbecue will be for sale at the event and can be purchased in advance at GroundworksVT.org (click on the EVENTS tab).  Whether camping or not, all are welcome to attend the barbecue and join us for live music. Barbecue tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under.

“The goal is to fill the Common with tents as a reminder that on any given night when the SOS is not open, 35 – 40 people may be camping out in our community,” reports Groundworks’ Director of Operations Rhianna Kendrick, “and we hope to raise $25,000 while doing so.”

“We want to encourage as many people as possible to come out on May 17^th and pitch a tent for a great cause,” says Groundworks’ Development Director Libby Bennett.  “It doesn’t cost anything to camp, but we do ask campers to raise as much as they can to support our work.  For every $500 we raise, we’ll be putting up a tent to be donated to a client in need.  We’ll need the help of our community to reach our goal, because a tent is not a home, and we need these vital funds to continue providing the critical case management to help our neighbors find and maintain stable housing.”

Participating Campers are asked to fundraise to help house our neighbors experiencing homelessness.  All contributions are fully tax-deductible.  Campers may begin setting up tents on the Common from 5pm on Friday, May 17^th and are asked to pack up by 10am on Saturday, May 18^th after a light breakfast.

Campers, and those wishing to make a contribution to a participating camper or team, should visit GROUNDWORKSVT.org and click on the EVENTS tab to register and/or purchase barbecue tickets.  Donations can also be mailed to:  Groundworks Collaborative, PO Box 370, Brattleboro, VT 05302 (with checks payable to Groundworks Collaborative – please write Camp in the subject line.)  Donations of new or gently used tents may be dropped off at Groundworks Drop-In Center at 60 South Main Street Monday – Friday from 7am – 5pm.

Groundworks would like to extend a warm and sincere thanks to all of the generous sponsors helping to make this year’s Camp possible:  Silver Forest of Vermont; New Chapter; Basketville; Abatem Exterminating Company; Berkley & Veller Greenwood Country Realtors; Brattleboro Food Co-Op; Farnum Insulators; Trust Company of Vermont; HCRS, Savings Bank of Walpole; Putney Food Co-Op; and Richmond Auto Repair.

Contact Libby at lbennett@GroundworksVT.org or 802.490.2951 with questions.

For an interview contact:

Josh Davis

Executive Director, Groundworks Collaborative

802.490.2951  |  jdavis@GroundworksVT.org