Crystal Lake Jaycees Raise Over $16K for Home of Sparrow

The 2nd Annual Girls Night Out and Bachelor Auction, a fundraiser by the Crystal Lake Jaycees, raised nearly $16,000 for Home of the Sparrow.

The auction was held April 6, at the historic Dole Mansion, 401 North Country Club Road, Crystal Lake, according to Jaycees member Steve Repsys.

More than 200 peopled attended the event where they could bid on 12 date packages in a live auction. The auction prizes included rock climbing lessons for two, Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre tickets, The Chicago Botanic Garden tickets, The Shedd Aquarium tickets, and a wine tasting for two courtesy of Cooper’s Hawk.

The event also included a silent auction that included prizes such as private wine tasting events, boudoir photo shoots, and autographed sports memorabilia.

The 2nd Annual event beat the prior year's fundraising by more than $3,000, much to the delight of Home of the Sparrow representatives, Repsys said.

"We are very grateful to the Crystal Lake Jaycees for hosting this important event to support transitional shelters, affordable housing, and supportive service programs for homeless women and children,” said John Jones, executive director of Home of the Sparrow.

“Not only was several thousand dollars raised, but the event brought awareness about the increased homeless population in Northern Illinois. Third party events like the one produced by Crystal Lake Jaycees, allows Home of the Sparrow to continue its mission in helping homeless women and children achieve self-sufficiency.”

The Girls Night Out fundraiser took months to prepare and required dozens of volunteers from the Crystal Lake Jaycees and the community, as well as the generosity of many local businesses.

“It takes a lot of teamwork to pull off an event of this magnitude,” said Dina Hart, who chaired the project for the Crystal Lake Jaycees.

“All the hard work is worth it when you see it all come together for such a worthy cause. The Jaycees are already looking forward to next year’s event to benefit the Home of the Sparrow.”

Home of the Sparrow is a transitional shelter program for homeless women and children in McHenry County and Northern Illinois. Each year the program provides temporary shelter for 165 homeless women and children annually, according to the release.

Since 1986, Home of the Sparrow has provided support to more than 2,500 women and children.

For more information about the Crystal Lake Jaycees visit cljaycees.org.