CAMARILLO — Ventura County residents can get a feel for the obstacles faced by families struck by job loss or underemployment at the Ventura County Together’s first Potluck and Sleepover at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at FOOD Share in Oxnard, the organization reported this week in a media release.
The 17-hour event is the centerpiece of Ventura County Together’s second annual Get Together/Give Together summer fund-raising campaign. Last year, local residents gave $65,000, and 100 percent of those donations went to help families in need.
VC Together is a coalition of nonprofits and public agencies focused on helping each other address the growing demand for food, housing and healthcare in a struggling economy. United Way of Ventura County, Ventura County Community Foundation, First 5 Ventura County and the Community Commission of Ventura County formed the coalition in 2008, and absorb all administrative costs and functions. VCCF serves as fiscal agent.
The Sleepover was inspired by Erik Sternad, executive director of Interface Children & Family Services — a Ventura County Together member agency.
Last August, Sternad fasted for 24 hours, slept in his car and answered calls from residents in crisis on the 211 hotline.
“We need to bring the reality of hunger, homelessness and the lack of health care down to the personal level. Then we need to do something about it,” Sternad stated in the release. “This sleep-out is a way to bring awareness of neighbors and families who have no other choice than to sleep in their cars or outdoors.”
Representatives from social services organizations will speak from 4 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, to share stories of the needs in local communities.
“We’ve learned when people understand community needs and come together to address them, they can be very generous,” said Hugh J. Ralston, president and CEO of the Ventura County Community Foundation and a founder of Ventura County Together.
For the potluck, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at FOOD Share, 4156 Southbank Road, Oxnard, participants are asked to bring a dish that can be served cold. Guests also are encouraged to bring canned goods or fruit and vegetables gleaned from their gardens as a donation to FOOD Share. There will be live music during the meal.
Guests can tour FOOD Share’s warehouse, which helps feed more than 74,500 people each month in Ventura County through its partner agencies and multiple programs. Afterward, all are invited to pitch in and help sort food for distribution to FOOD Share clients.
Guests then can bed down in their cars in the FOOD Share parking lot.
The public is invited to participate in all or one of these events. To RSVP, go to http://vct2012.eventbrite.com.
“We ask participants also give at least $10 to Ventura County Together, but no donation is required to take part in the Potluck and Sleepover,” Ralston said.
Donations of any amount can be made online at vctogether.org. Or by texting keyword “VCT” to 91011.
For more information, contact Katrina Maksimuk at kmaksimuk@vccf.org or at 805-988-0196, ext. 114.
About Ventura County Together:
Last year Ventura County Together distributed more than $68,587 to partner agencies to provide more than 19,300 clients with food, diapers, infant formula and cereal. It has arranged shelter for 133 clients and 19 households. More than 9,440 clients have received immunizations, lab tests, medications and medical supplies such as diabetic test strips. More than 11,800 callers were connected to health and social-service providers through VC Together’s support of the 211 toll-free hotline.