Have you wanted to get involved in the community but you’re not sure how? Do you support our mission to help men and women who are experiencing homelessness? Then you’ll want to sign up for the May 6th Day of Giving, organized by Lakefront Career Network (LCN)! Here are the important details you need to know:
- What: The Day of Giving is an opportunity to give back by volunteering to help with several projects at Interfaith Community PADS
- Who: Anyone is welcome to participate – the more the merrier!
- When: Saturday, May 6, 2023, 8am to 12pm
- Where: 1001 W. 8th Street, Michigan City, IN
- How: Register on the Michigan City Chamber of Commerce Events page here.
Want to learn more about the event? Read on to get the inside scoop!
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25)
What to Expect at the Day of Giving
The Day of Giving is organized by Lakefront Career Network (LCN) and will take place at our shelter at 1001 W. 8th Street, Michigan City, IN (the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church building). LCN co-chair Jeremy Rossi summarizes it nicely in this warm invitation to the community:
“On May 6th, the LCN committee is giving back to ICPADS by assisting in the beautification of the grounds at Sacred Heart Church and expansion of their facilities, which will provide a better environment and more space for beds. We are seeking volunteers to help with this project and also donations in the form of supplies and financial contributions. For more information on ways you can help, please contact Harry or Katelyn Swistek at the Michigan City Chamber of Commerce!”
As Jeremey mentioned, our activities on May 6 can be divided into two main categories.
Beautifying Our Exterior
We are hoping for nice weather on May 6th because we have some fun outdoor projects for volunteers to work on! These include:
- Cleaning flower beds
- Planting perennials
- Mulching all flower beds
- Trimming overgrown hedges
Our guests deserve a nice place to live while they are staying at our shelter, and we love the opportunity to beautify our exterior in the spring.
Expansion of Facilities
We also have some very important jobs to work on inside the building, namely:
- Tearing down choir loft platforms
- Removing debris from the choir loft tear down
As we mentioned during our Open House, the choir loft will be the new location for our Director’s office. Not only will this project give us additional (much needed!) storage space, it will also allow us to add three more bed spaces to the men’s shelter.
With projects indoors and out, there is plenty to do on May 6! Please consider volunteering your time or better yet – signing up with a friend or a group! We would love to see a huge turnout for this event, and there is plenty more we can do together if we get the above-mentioned projects completed.
Day of Giving Event Organizers: Lakefront Career Network
The Day of Giving is organized by our friends at the Lakefront Career Network (LCN), and it is part of a larger, year-long initiative. On December 16, 2022, ICPADS was selected as LCN’s Spotlight Organization for 2023. So what does that entail? Here’s what Jeremy Rossi, co-chair at Lakefront Career Network, had to say about it:
“As the co-chair for Lakefront Career Network (LCN), I’d like to say that we chose ICPADS over the other applicants because of Harry. Harry’s altruistic approach towards the Michigan City community speaks volumes and his passion and dedication to his work is rare and authentic. As a committee, our primary objective is to spotlight Harry’s organization in order to source funding, create brand awareness and support his daily initiatives to provide shelter, food and a safe environment for those who want to improve their way of life but don’t have the means to do so.”
Throughout 2023, LCN has been working closely with ICPADS to support our missions and promote our work. In addition to the Day of Giving, they’ve also held pop ups at Leeds Public House in January and Shoreline Brewery in March. We truly appreciate their support, and are grateful that they have organized the May 6th Day of Giving.
A Message from Our Director
This is not the first Day of Giving at the ICPADS shelter, but it might be the first one you’re thinking of participating in. If you’re a little nervous, or wondering if you should sign up, consider these encouraging words from our Director, Harrison Holtkamp:
“The opportunity to help out our organization while joining a group of young professionals who see the value that our organization brings to this community and wants to help is very exciting. Anytime groups from different backgrounds come together for a common cause it creates communal understanding and comradery.”
By joining us on Saturday, May 6th, you can make a huge impact at our shelter…and have a lot of fun too! Please consider signing up today and if you have any additional questions, reach out!