December Newsletter

In this edition:

• Thank you Vest Fest!

• Annual Fundraiser is upon us

• Silent auction teaser

• Top five reasons to donate to Camp Out for Kids

First, we'd like to give a HUGE Thank You to Vest Fest for such an amazing event.  And thank you to everyone who attended.  Because of you, we raised $8,500 for Camp Out for Kids!  See the event pics here. 

Haven't had enough COFK fun?  Well you are in luck because our annual fundraiser is happening THIS Thursday.  That's right folks - get your tickets here in advance, or pay at the door.   And if fun times, great company, and drink specials aren't reason enough to stop by, perhaps our amazing silent auction will convince you. 

Here is a bit of a silent auction teaser:

• Dinner packages at some of the best restaurants in the city including bellyQ and GT's Fish & Oyster
• Blackhawks, Bulls, White Sox, and Fighting Illini tix and gear
• Workout and wellness packages
• Fitness equipment
• iPads
• 60" flatscreen TV
• Golf outings at Evanston and Bryn Mawr country clubs
• A 3 night stay at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen

Can't make it this Thursday?  No fear, you can still donate.  See pics of previous Campers below and the Top 5 Reasons to donate. 

Top 5 Reasons to Donate to Camp Out for Kids:

1. To give a kid a chance to feel like, well, a kid.

2.  To show a kid what real adventure looks like. 

3. To give a kid a new perspective on life. 

4.  To give a kid an opportunity to build lasting friendships, he/she may not have had. 

And last but not least, the fifth reason to donate to Camp Out For Kids: 

5.  To be responsible for smiles like these:

Happy Holidays from Camp Out for Kids.


See you Thursday night!


Live every day like it's camp,
COFK

November Newsletter

In this edition:

• Vest Fest! 
• COFK Annual Fundraiser 
• COFK and DePaul students joining forces 
• 10 fun facts about Thanksgiving
• 10 fun facts about Hanukkah 

Hey Campers!  The next two months are busy busy here at COFK.  There's a lot going on, so try to keep up!

Vest Fest, a non for profit organization that promotes and hosts events to raise money and awareness for selected local nonprofits, ever so graciously chose their beneficiary this year as, you guessed it, Camp Out For Kids!  Details below...

When:  November 16th, 2013
Where: Zellas - 1983 N. Clybourn Ave, Chicago IL
What time: 3-7pm
How much: $60 all you can eat and drink - proceeds go to Camp Out For Kids!  

Get your tickets here.  

Not enough vesting for you?  Then head on over to the after party: 

When: November 16th, 2013 (right after the main event at Zella's)
Where: Mahoney's - 551 N. Ogden Ave
What time: 8pm - close
How much: Suggested donation of $10 - two hours of beer and wine 

Oh, AND DON'T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR BEST VEST. (Break-dancing optional)

Photo via Vest Fest.

~~~

The official COFK Annual Fundraiser is quickly approaching!  Donate NOW, and see details below.

When: Thursday, December 5th, 6-9:30pm
Where: American Junkie, 15 W Illinois St, Chicago IL
How much: Donations of $20.00 in advance or $30.00 at the door.
What: Admission includes Hors d O'eurves, a premium silent auction, drink specials, and great company!  

Donate in advance here. 

~~~

Photo via www.depaul.edu

In other super cool news, a DePaul student recently reached out to us about her marketing class choosing Camp Out For Kids for the subject of their class project!   Just think, out of all the amazing Chicago NFPs, they chose us!  

Their mission is to allocate $50,000 in advertising and marketing spending for COFK.  It's not every day that someone comes out of the woodwork to say "Hey, we want to plan your advertising and marketing campaign and help in any other ways as well."  We are excited to team up with this DePaul class and see where it takes us! 

~~~

Did you know there are 16 different ways to spell "Hanukkah" and that turkeys have been roaming the earth for 10 million years? With the approaching November holidays, we leave you with some fun links:

Ten Fun Facts about Hanukkah 

Ten Fun Facts about Thanksgiving

Happy November everybody, and see you at Vest Fest!

Live everyday like it's Camp!

~COFK

Boo! October Newsletter!

In this edition of the COFK Newsletter:

• Zombie Nerf Camp
• Write a review for COFK
• Our First Ever Grant Application
• Annual Fundraising Night
• Easy, Cute Halloween Snack

October is the time for football, carving pumpkins, corn mazes, haunted houses, and zombie nerf camp. Wait, What?  That’s right.  Zombie Nerf Camp.  Wired.com featured this article about Monster-battling Summer Camps. 

"There are a couple of camps that give your kids the chance to do a bit of Live Action Role-Playing (LARP), wrapping some traditional summer camp lessons in an unconventional way. Your kids can be wizards and warriors, fight off zombies, or even join the B.P.R.D. (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Development)." -Wired.com

On the list of monster-battling camps is Zombie Nerf Camp.  

"Join us for an unforgettable adventure. Create our own character in an ongoing storyline that never repeats. Choose your special skills and your favorite NERF blaster. Decide what to do next when opportunity (or trouble) arises.  Stand shoulder to shoulder with your fellow Defenders as you fight gruesome zombies, solve life threatening mysteries, protect the fragile land, and forage for supplies. Reclaim the destiny of the human race, Defender." -Zombiesummercamp.com

With the inevitable Zombie Apocolypse approaching, we are thinking this camp would provide our future defenders of America with some seriously valuable skills.  But we just have one questions: Since when do Zombie’s yield weapons and shoot back? 

~~~

In other exciting news, we applied to our first grant!  Keep your fingers crossed for us! 

Also, if you have something nice to say about COFK, please tell the world by going to this website and writing us a review.  It's like a TripAdvisor for Non-For-Profits.   We would love to hear from you. 

COFK made it on the chalkboard of one of our favorite local hangouts, Caribou Coffee.

~~~

Our Annual fundraising event will be here before you know it. Check out the deets, get it on your calendars, and we will see you all there! 

When: Thursday, December 5, 6-9:30pm

Where: American Junkie, 15 W Illinois St, Chicago, IL

What: Donations of $20.00 in advance at www.campoutforkids.org or $30.00 at the door. Admission includes Hors d’Oeurves, a premium silent auction, drink specials, and great company.

~~~

And finally, an Easy Halloween Snack:

image via: www.aturtleslifeforme.com

Fill clear plastic cup with vanilla pudding colored with green food coloring.  

Top with Oreo crumbles. 

Draw silly, scary faces with a sharpie! 

Happy Fall Everybody! 

Live every day like it's Camp!

Xoxo,

COFK

September Newsletter - Summer Wrap-Up!

We don't know about you guys, but here at Camp Out for Kids we are gearing up for fall!  Kids are back at school, the air is feeling crisp, and we are dreaming of pumpkin patches, football games, and falling leaves.  But hold up, we aren't quite ready to give up summer just yet.  Here is a little summer wrap up for ya...

This past summer, some exciting things happened for COFK.  Ashley Proctor took over as the new Executive Director, and we brought on several dedicated and passionate volunteers.  We have been dreaming big, planning lots, boosting social media, and creating a strategy to spread our reach to impact as many kids as possible. And we managed to have a little TONS of fun all the while.

Visiting Off the Street Club's Camp Mathieu and hanging out with the campers was particularly rewarding and eye-opening.  It really lit the fires under our rumps to get things moving!

Our Executive Director Ashley Proctor with Camp Mathieu campers

Camp Mathieu campers partaking in camp activities. Gotta love a good piñata! 

Jen Andrews, a COFK volunteer, with a Camp Mathieu camper

Ashley and her sister Libby (another COFK volunteer) spent a lot of time at Caribou coffee, strategizing, brainstorming, typing, and tweeting.  Below is some proof...

Ashley, Executive Director-ing

Libby, blogger/newsletter-writer extraordinaire. 

 

































People have been coming out of the woodwork to help us out.  It's easy to forget in this day and age that people actually WANT to help!  A very (VERY) special thanks to Suzanne Knoll of the Jack Miller Family Foundation for sitting down with us and providing some much appreciated (and needed!) guidance and advice about structuring and strategizing a Non-For-Profit.  Our founding fathers, Marc Lifshin, Brian Neiswender, and Barry Howard did an exceptional job getting COFK started and growing some seriously solid roots.  Now we are just super excited to expand it and take it as far as we can!

Another very (VERY) special thanks goes to Sue Koch, social-media guru, of Soaring Solutions.  Her social media expertise has been invaluable as we amp up our efforts to connect with as many peeps as possible around the globe!

The back-to-school vibe is definitely in the air, and we are feelin' it!  Made us think, perhaps we'll host a back-to-school drive next year?  Throw some fall fundraising parties/activities?  GO CAMPING???  We'd take any of the above, and we hope all of our supporters (that's you!) are equally excited about what is to come.  Can't wait to get things really rollin'!

In the coming months, please check back often for improvements and updates on the website, additional events, Ashley blowin' up the social media scene, tweeting and facebooking her face off, and future monthly newsletters written by Libby, filled with fun information, event details, ways you can help, THE WORKS.  

Nerding out to Non Profits!  Libby impersonating her big sister Ashley. 

And remember kids, Live Every Day Like it's Camp.


Get Yo' Camp On!

Much Love,
COFK

Schools Out For Summer!!!

Chicago Public School kids are finally out of school!  Let's say hello to summer and the start of summer camp season - Get Yo' Camp On!