Ways to Help Tent City 4

Contact Tent City 4 direct desk - 206-618-3901

• Prepare and serve a nutritious, hot meal – Local volunteer groups provide a hot dinner for the 80 to 100 Tent City 4 residents every day of the week. It takes 5 to 8 people to make this happen.  Check out our Meals Frequently Asked Questions

Review our meals calendar at http://prem.calendars.net/tcmeals.

Email tc4meals@gmail.com, to book a meal event. The meals coordinator will help you with everything to need to know to make your meal a success.

• Donate other food supplies – Coffee, tea, cream, sugar, canned & packaged proteins (tuna, ham, chicken, peanut butter, chili, soups) canned fruits and veggies, butter, salt and pepper & seasonings. Items can be delivered to the camp at anytime, or call contact Steve Burk as above with questions or for an updated food needs list.

• Donate non-food supplies – Tents (large occupancy) with poles, tarps, ropes, sleeping bags, blankets, mats, flashlights and batteries, hand sanitizer, toiletries, and feminine hygiene. Items can be delivered directly to camp at anytime.

• Raise funds or make a cash donation - SHARE/WHEEL spends over $4000 per month on toilets, refuse, bus passes, and other administration. And each camp will have significant utilities and other monthly expenses as well. To help, send your checks to the address given above. Make them out to Share/Wheel, and please put “Tent City 4” on the memo line. Please contact admin@tentcity4.info for more information about the funding needs of Tent City 4.

• FUNDING FOR BUS TICKETS IS DESPERATELY NEEDED! In the middle of February 2010, the City of Seattle ended their sponsorship of providing daily bus tickets to residents of Tent City 4. Bus transportation is absolutely vital for the residents of Tent City 4. Please contact SHARE/WHEEL at http://www.sharewheel.org for information on how you can donate to help cover this gap.

• Special Volunteer & Supply Needs – Occasionally, unforeseen matters arise that need immediate attention. It takes the timely response from one or more volunteers to help on these occasions. If you would like to be on an email list that will be contacted when these special needs arise, please contact admin@tentcity4.info.

Other ways for faith communities to respond to Tent City 4:

Individuals and congregations can all respond to the call for support as outlined on the previous page. Yet, many times, congregations look for still more ways to nurture their members’ yearning to grow, to reach out and help others in need. Here are just a few ideas of ways faith communities have responded to Tent City 4 (TC4):

•  Put a focus on in-kind donations. Appoint a coordinator. Collect clothing and other general supplies.
•  Provide transportation for TC4 residents to appointments, job interviews, worship services, and to presentations at
future host sites.
•  Host informational meetings about poverty and homelessness in general, and TC4 in particular.
•  Know of job openings? Bring notices to camp.
•  Know of available rentals? Let the camp know of any affordable housing, rooms, and shared accommodations
when they become available.
•  Provide companionship. Come to TC4 and sit and talk with the residents, listen to their stories, share your story or
some special interest or skill, become a friend.
•  Have a serious discussion about becoming a TC4 host in the future.