CAM, Inc. Celebrates 15 Years on May 2008

With a $1,000 gift from a Volunteer to pay for our first month, CAM - Coordinated Assistance Ministries, Inc. came into existence May 1993. A CAM Client drew our logo - the Dove of Peace, bearing a ribbon that says, "Out of the Dark - Into the Light." He said this was his experience at CAM.

Jean Lushin began the Center Township Trustee's Drop-In in December 1989. He encouraged the move of the homeless day shelter to a church-related base, because of the need for someone to begin a Payee Representative Program. Several people were receiving income, yet homeless, because of not being able to handle their money properly.

To this day, we assist over 50 families with our Payee Representative ministry.

The name "CAM" came from a Task Force of Church Leaders, regarding our mission to "coordinate" and "fill-in-the-cracks" where needed, to assist the homeless and near homeless (cam is something in an engine that makes things happen.) For every year since our beginning, we have served over 1000 Clients per year. We have had many success stories and CAM has become a "family" for many of us in our community.

CAM, Inc. Greatest Success: CAM Clients "Giving to Others"

In our intake process, we ask two questions of our Clients: "What is your dream?" and "With you being helped, will you be willing to come back and help someone else?"

Because of this, we believe we are helping CAM Clients become and continue to be "Givers" when others are in need of assistance. This is why CAM has so many CAM Client Volunteers.

With 15 years under our belt, we, coincidently, had 15 men staying at CAM the first weekend of May. The "one thing" for which we are most blessed is that these 15 CAM Clients, sleeping at CAM each in addition to their own jobs, gave their time to work on a woman's house that was about to be condemned, if she did not get assistance!

A summer camp director came down sick in April - just two months before hundreds of children would be coming to camp. The women's missionary group from Judson Baptist Church could not physically help, but they paid for a van load of our men to go and work the day cleaning the camp and painting the buildings to help the director in his time of need.

Whether Volunteers, Hired, or Paid Staff, CAM, Inc exists to be a coordination of person-to-person ministries.

Please pray that the outreach ministry of CAM, Inc. will continue to be a ministry of "as you are helped, so you are blessed to help another."