Friends of Camp Unity - January Update: Join the Board, Winter Weather Needs and Other Updates

Camp Unity Eastside is now [as of January 27, 2020] located at St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church, 17856 NE Woodinville Duvall Rd.  

THANK YOU to the 24+ volunteers who helped move the camp, brought meals during the move, Bear Creek United Methodist Church for hosting camp since mid-September and St. Teresa Church for hosting again starting this month.    What a difference you make in the lives of so many people.

Join the Camp Unity Board:   Camp Unity has a volunteer board that supports camp operations, oversees camp management, and meets once a month.  The Board is seeking one or more additional members as well as a volunteer to lead Camp Unity’s collaboration with prospective new hosts and recent hosts.   If you or someone you know might be interested in volunteering as a board member or leading Camp Unity’s host outreach, please contact Mark Van Wormer.   

Karen Tidball, who served on the Board for more than 5 years and led the site committee, stepped down in January due to family reasons.  Thanks to Karen’s dedication and collaboration with our generous hosts, Camp Unity had a full year of host commitments at the start of 2019 for the first time.   We’re forever grateful to Karen for the love, wisdom and compassion she brought to everything she did for Camp Unity and its residents.

Winter Weather Needs:   The past few weeks of wet, cold weather and limited light have been challenging.   We’re grateful for any help you can provide to Camp Unity with any of the following winter weather needs:

• Wool Blankets (similar to military issue)
• Head lamps
• Rain paints – for men, sizes XXL, XL and L and for women, sizes XXL, XL and L
• Containers of durable water repellant  (such as spray on type)
• Sample carpets that can be placed on the floor of individual tents:  the tent floor size is 7.6’ by 8.6’ so either a piece similar to that in size or a few pieces that can be laid out

This is a great opportunity for a service project with others at work,  church or other faith community, or club.   If you can help, please bring donations to the camp at St.  Teresa Church. Shout out to Woodinville Church of Christ for seeking donations at their church for socks, rain jackets and hand warmers! 

Meals:   We’re so thrilled that volunteers have brought meals every day in January after the camp’s move and almost every day prior to the move.   Thank you!!   Looking ahead, there are several openings in February and March.  If you can help, please sign up on the camp's meal calendar  OR   https://campunityeastside.com/meals-2/  

Not enough time to cook?   Consider picking up and heating prepared food – such as 4 large Costco chicken pot pies are enough to feed the camp.   There are 21 people staying at Camp Unity and during the past month, one additional resident has moved to housing.  

Supply Needs:  Camp Unity greatly appreciates all who have brought supplies to the camp.   Currently, the highest priority supply needs are paper towel rolls, coffee (ground), AA and AAA batteries.  Please bring donations to the camp at St.  Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church. For more info and the latest updates, check out Camp Unity’s needs list.   OR   https://campunityeastside.com/camp-essential-needs/  

December Reflections:  We’re deeply grateful to the individuals and churches, including Northshore United Church of Christ, Wooden Cross Lutheran Church and Woven Church, that made a year end gift to Camp Unity Eastside.  Your generosity enables Camp Unity to continue to provide shelter for people in need.

We’re also very thankful to the churches and others who helped to make the Christmas holiday special for residents at Camp Unity through gifts and supplies via giving trees and other initiatives.  A big thank you to Bear Creek United Methodist Church, Lighthouse Four Square Church, St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church, Woven Church, Flex Physical Therapy Bothell and any other supporters we may not be aware of!

Your care and generosity are huge blessings for the men and women staying at Camp Unity.

What’s New with GSC?

We have great news!

All the encampments have been requesting new tents. This is especially important as they prepare for the rainy cold winter weather. With some recent generous donations and a grant from the Fales foundation GSC has been able to make a large bulk purchase of new tents and tarps for Tent City 3, Camp Unity Eastside and Camp United We Stand. Not only will we be able to fulfill the tent requests we have received, but we’ll also have additional tents to donate when new requests come in. These tents include singles, doubles, and family-size tents along with tarps for each, which make the tents last about twice as long. We have also purchased some carport tents, which the camps use for their public spaces, such as the Kitchen Tent, the Donations Tent and the Security Tent.

With winter not far away, waterproof shelter is not the only thing the camps will be needing. Winter clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, batteries for flashlights, lanterns and hand warmers will also soon be in great demand. Also, a hot meal can go a long way toward keeping someone warm in cold weather. Have you thought about cooking a meal for a camp near you? Check our the meal page on our website!

Here are the current locations of the camps we formally support and some needs that we are aware of.

Tent City 3 (TC3) is currently at The George in North Seattle.
2212 NE 125th St, Seattle, WA 98125
206-399-0412

TC3 will be at this site until mid-late December, when it will move to the campus of the University of Washington.

Requests: TC3 is asking for men’s clothing and work boots.

Also, the camp does not have access to power while staying at the George and is using a generator. Gas for the generator will be an ongoing expense while in this location. If you’d like to help, you can either go to camp and offer to fill up a gas can, or you can make a donation to GSC with an earmark for that purpose.

Camp Unity Eastside (CUE) is currently at the Carol Edwards Center in Woodinville.
17401 133rd Ave NE, Woodinville, WA 98072
425-652-9170

The camp will stay at the Carol Edwards Center until November 9.

Camp United We Stand (CUWS) is currently at the Richmond Beach Congregational United Church of Christ in Shoreline.
1512 Northwest 195th St. Shoreline, WA 98177
(206) 637-1052

CUWS is planning to move on 11/6 to St. Dunstan’s in Shoreline.

On Wednesday, October 5th, at 7:00 pm there will be a meeting at St. Dunstan’s Church to discuss plans to host. Camp residents and members of their Board will be present to address questions or concerns from the neighborhood. You are invited to come and to ask any questions you may have. St. Dunstan’s is located at 722 N 145th St, Shoreline, WA 98133.

Requests: UWS is hoping for men’s and women’s long johns (e.g. UnderArmor) socks, boxer briefs and other clothing.


Other Topics of Interest:

It’s nothing new to say that the answer to homelessness is to provide homes for people who have none. It’s also not news that the Puget Sound region does not have enough low-income housing. So, while people wait to get into housing, our area’s number of encampments has grown from two to ten. Seattle’s Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) has been experimenting with a better solution though: semi-permanent Tiny House Villages. A Tiny House is defined as a building with less than 120 square feet (e.g. 10’ x 12’), sometimes with electricity. A Tiny House Village includes a number of these small homes with a shared kitchen and bathrooms. This week, members of GSC will be meeting with representatives from LIHI to tour one of their tiny house communities and learn what is involved in hosting one. We will soon be reaching out to see if any of our church contacts would consider allowing LIHI to build some Tiny Houses on their property.

If you would like more details on any of these topics please contact Info@GreaterSeattleCares.org.

Thank you all for your support and especially your big hearts and generous spirits in doing what you can to help those experiencing homelessness.