Nest Community Shelter is delighted to announce the overwhelming success of the From Our Flock holiday giving campaign, as they surpassed their initial goal of raising $30,000 this holiday season, making this the largest fundraiser for the organization to date. The final total of funds raised totaled $31,200. These crucial funds will make a substantial difference in the running of Nest Community Shelter thanks to the incredible generosity of the community, dedicated business partners, and compassionate individual donors.
The funds raised through the holiday fundraiser, which ran from mid-November through the first week of 2024, will play a pivotal role in strengthening Nest Community Shelter, particularly in the area of staffing. With these resources, Nest will be able to recruit and retain a talented assistant director to support the needs of the shelter, and current executive director Harrison Holtkamp. Right now, Holtkamp serves the shelter as the sole director. An assistant director will provide the guests with greater stability and continuity of care while providing more significant support to the organization's programming. Under Holtkamp's direction, Nest Community Shelter has expanded its services to meet the needs of the unhoused population of LaPorte County massively as the demand has grown within the community. Between 2022 and 2023, Nest served 36,698 meals to shelter guests.
Despite the growing need in the community for the services Nest Community Shelter provides, funding additional staff has been a struggle for the shelter. Nest Community Shelter is funded through individual donations, corporate partnerships, community support, and grants. While these revenue streams support the shelter, grants, which bring in the most considerable amount of funds, cannot be used to fund staffing costs and are usually earmarked for a specific project and cannot be used elsewhere. The funds from the From Our Flock Holiday Campaign, which will be used for staffing the shelter, will allow for expanded programming and ensure the continuity of care for shelter guests.
With the growth and transformation of the past year at Nest Community, the organization maintained a steady housing rate between 40-41% while increasing services and higher guest counts. When asked what this outpouring of support has meant to the shelter, Harrison Holtkamp, Nest's executive director, said, "The outpouring of support we received during this holiday season has left us truly humbled and inspired our entire organization. The overwhelming response from our community has reaffirmed the belief that together, we can significantly impact the lives of our neighbors in need. We saw beautiful acts of generosity this holiday season, from local businesses and organizations giving of their time to gifts donated for our guests to food donations. This season brought out the very best of the holiday spirit in La Porte County. On behalf of Nest, I want to express my deepest gratitude to every individual and business that contributed to the success of our holiday fundraiser. Your unwavering support is a testament to the power of collective action and the spirit of giving that defines our community."
Nest Community Shelter looks forward to the new year with optimism, knowing that together in partnership with the community, they can impact the lives of those they serve. The generosity of this past holiday season will ripple on through the lives served by Nest and the greater LaPorte County community.
