Hinsdale South Young Life Will Hold Garage Sale This Weekend To Raise Money for Camp Scholarships

A faith-based organization will hold a large garage sale this weekend to help some Hinsdale South students get a chance to go to camp this summer.

Hinsdale South Young Life will sell kitchenware and furniture at the “Campership” Garage Sale, among other items, to award scholarships or "camperships," as they are being called, to those who need them.

“It’s to give an experience they would never be able to have [otherwise],” said Jen Adair, who has volunteered with the group for about 10 years. Adair said the group usually holds two garage sales a year.

According to Mark Dunning, the director of Hinsdale South Young Life, the first garage sale this year raised about $400.

“It’s an awesome way to get students to raise money for camp. It gives them ownership,” said Cecilia Mwaya, 23, a Young Life intern. “It’s a creative way of getting students involved [in fundraising].”

The cost for the week of camp is $750 for each student.

“It does cost a lot,” Dunning said. "[But] camp is an incredible experience."

According to the organization's website, activities such as a high ropes course, power tubing behind a jet boat, a climbing wall, mountain biking, sand volleyball and Frisbee golf will be available at Lake Champion in Glen Spey, New York, where teens will camp from July 29 to Aug. 6.

More than 2,000 high schools in the United States have Young Life brances, and there are approximately 22 Young Life camps in the United States.

“It’s a safe place for kids,” Adair said. The Hinsdale South Young Life branch has weekly meetings that are held at houses where students in the group live, she adds.

The Young Life chapter at Hinsdale South was started in 1998, according to Dunning.

According to the 2010 Illinois School Report Card for Hinsdale South, there are 1,825 students enrolled in the school. Out of that number, Dunning said about 400 are active in Young Life in some capacity.

“The main thing [in Young Life] is the relationships between leaders and students,” said Dunning. “It really goes as in-depth as the student wants.”

“It’s a great program,” Adair says. “High school can be a challenging time… Sometimes [teenagers] need someone outside of their family to walk alongside them."

The Hinsdale South Young Life garage sale will take place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday at 438 Ridgemoor Drive in Willowbrook.