This article is brought to you by Turning Point - System of Care. 📣Next Wednesday, July 26, Turning Point’s Recovery Café & Discovery Café are hosting a café day in Foster Park from noon until 4 p.m. There will be a dunk tank with a few special guests lined up to get dunked!
Why does Coordinated Assistance Ministries (CAM) matter? Let the clients of the charitable organization explain.
“They helped me with gas and laundry cards, clothes that are like new, and food, I can hang out and drink coffee. It's a warm place in the winter. It's better than being alone. There's someone here that tells jokes, and we can laugh. I really enjoy prayer time. It feeds my soul.”
“It's a reliable place I can go for anything I need. If I have if I have questions, I can come here instead of calling 211.”
“It gives me a place where I can help out. I love helping.”
CAM celebrated its 30th year last week with a “Founder’s Day” event, and founder Rev. Ruth Lawson was in attendance to share in the joy at the organization’s new home at 625 N. Union St. Current executive director Dennine Smith welcomed her predecessor, CAM board members, clients, and members of the community.
“We're very excited to be able to celebrate (Lawson) today in this way,” said Smith. “Not only are we celebrating her work as founder of Coordinated Assistance Ministries, it is also Rev. Ruth’s birthday. So, we have lots of things to celebrate today.”
After CAM board president Pastor William Gary of Wayman Chapel AME Church opened with prayer, Smith explained the mission of the organization and how it has impacted the community.
“Why celebrate? Why recognize?” asked Smith. “Because of the people. We have many folks who have been blessed, or their lives have been touched in some way, by this ministry. And if we think about 30 years of offering services, and the blessing of touching lives, wow, who knows how those lives have been changed or impacted in some way because of the work that's been done through the ministry of CAM.”
Smith asked the board members to stand, and each had a comment card from a CAM client. Some of the comments can be found at the start of this story. Those words, Smith said, tell CAM’s story better than just talking about services and needs.
“This is why we're here,” said Smith. “This is what we attempt to do in the community. Sometimes it's just important to give voice to what is actually happening. It's one thing to stop in for a few minutes, drop off something, and then leave, but hearing from the folks that are utilizing the services, this really does make a difference.”
Lawson eventually was called forward and was given a gift in honor of her work. She shared why CAM is still important to her, even though she has retired and moved on to volunteer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).
“One of the fellows who wrote a comment said that coming to CAM for a cup of coffee was ‘as if washing my feet,’” said Lawson. “We care about each other here. You're not this person hanging out on the streets. You're a person who is a friend. The whole goal of CAM is churches cooperating together to do what God has asked us to do.
“I appreciate that it continues. I appreciate your love and support of CAM. And I'm glad to have been the founder. I hope that my life from here on and what I'm doing with CASA will keep that ministry at heart.”
Like most charitable organizations, CAM subsists on donations from the community. With its new facility, the organization has new expenses, amenities to add, and improvements to make. The public will have an opportunity to give to CAM on Sat., Sept. 9, which is the date of the organization’s annual golf outing, held at the American Legion Golf Course.
Registration for the outing is open now. The cost is $400 per team, and sponsorships are also available. Check-in on Sept. 9 begins at 9 a.m., with tee time at 10 a.m. To register, visit the CAM HOPE Facebook page, call 765-452-8963, Ext. 1, or email camhope93@camhope.org.
“Last year, we had 12 teams,” said Smith. “We want to go for 20 this year. We are in a new facility, and we are really blessed and appreciative to have that opportunity. The golf outing is a major fundraiser for us, so having a lot of teams really does help us get closer to our fundraising goals.
Relay for Life returns next week
It’s the largest volunteer-driven event in the world, and Kokomo will be a part of it. The 2023 American Cancer Society Relay for Life returns to Kokomo High School’s Walter Cross Field, 2501 S. Berkley Road, on Fri., July 29, from 3-11 p.m., and teams are already collecting donations.
For those who participate, there will be no shortage of activities surrounding the walk. There will be a bounce house, giant Twister, ring toss, hula hoops, a photo booth, and face painting (mainly) for the kids. For the adults, there will be a cornhole tournament, a pie eating contest, line dancing, Renaissance performers, dance school performances, a car and motorcycle cruise-in, a radio-controlled car and airplane demonstration, and much more.
Food options will be numerous, including a taco truck, a bagel truck, a hot dog stand, soul food, street corn, an ice cream truck, cotton candy, kettle corn, lemonade shake-ups, and food from Hacienda.
The event, of course, is primarily about the walk around the track at the football field. Teams can raise money from pledges by completing laps, as well as receive lump-sum donations. At 9:30 p.m., the walk will pause for a luminaria lighting ceremony in memory of those who fell to cancer.
For more than 36 years, communities around the globe have come together to honor and remember their loved ones and raise money for the fight against cancer. Whether attending to cheer on survivors, or to participate as a survivor in the first lap of the relay, the public is encouraged to attend the Relay at its 3 p.m. launch to show support.
Currently, the Howard County relay effort is about $5,000 short of its $20,000 goal. Funds raised through Relay for Life support research, education, advocacy, and services for cancer survivors, their caregivers, and their families. Those seeking to form a team or desiring tent space at the event may RSVP by emailing Sherri Johnson at sjohnson@syndicatesales.com or by calling 765-457-7277.