Camping out is often the highlight of a

family vacation: spending memorable

nights on the shores of a picturesque lake

or along a scenic mountain trail. But what

if you camp out of necessity? What if

you’re not in a secure

campground under the

stars, but in a cardboard

box under an overpass?

What if your child’s bed is

not a warm sleeping bag

but the back seat of a car?

Of the 1,500 homeless

individuals served by Chattanooga’s

Interfaith Homeless

Network in the past 10

years, 900 were children. In

Chattanooga, one in four

homeless people is a child younger than 6.

For many of these children, camping is not

family pastime; it is a way of life.

You can help Chattanooga’s Interfaith

Homeless Network make a difference in

the lives of these children by supporting

IHN’s Camp Out to Stamp Out Family

Homelessness October 23 - 24 inside the

First Tennessee Pavilion. The goal of the

Camp Out is to raise awareness of the

plight of homeless families and raise funds

to support IHN efforts to give them new

hope and new beginnings.

The 14-hour fundraiser starts at 5

p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, and ends at 7 a.m.

Saturday, Oct. 24. Campsites for up to five

campers are $100.

Campers are encouraged to

be resourceful in building

their campsites, and will

compete for prizes for the

most-creative designs.

Tickets for those who do

not want to spend the night

are $15 for adults and $10

for children under 12.

Campers and non-campers

alike will eat supper in a

soup kitchen, enjoy familyfriendly

games and activities and be entertained

by talented local artists and

musicians.

Gather your family, friends and fellow

parishioners and Camp Out to Stamp Out

Family Homelessness. Registration forms

are available at all IHN congregations, or

can be downloaded from www.ihnchattnaooga.

org. Deadline for registration is

Monday, Oct. 19.