Vol.

145

2014 Illinois Ppess Association winner

www.timesrepublic.info

Campout for Charity draws 120 Good Samaritans,

t

By; CAITLIN SIEVERS, Reporter

.re~rter~intranix.com
'Campers from across the state gathered in Iroquois County over
'; the weekend, to raise money for charity .
. ' Around 120 people, from various Good Samaritan clubs, parked
\',their campers and RVs at the Iroquois County Fairgrounds May
29-31 as a part of. the Prairie State Sams' 9th annual Campout for
" Charjty.
The purpose of. the event is to raise money for three charities. they
, are Dogs for the Deaf, Christmas gifts for seniors in Kankakee and
. Iroquois counties and Relay for Life in Kankakee and Iroquois coun-

ties, ;
Event chairman, Jim Landry of Bradley estimated around 60 RVs
, and campers were parked at the fairgrounds for the event.
Landry simply enjoys being with the people who take part in the
event.
"My favorite pact is the camaraderie with meeting the other campters," l:andry said. ~We're kind of like a big family."
,
:,'~\;:?uririglast year's ~\lent the club gathered around $8,000 for the
threEl charities through food sales, auctions and .donations.
'
-n;roughout the weekend, campers attend seminars, such as a two
hour talk from the National Weather Service on Friday, where members of the clubs received Weather Watchers certifications.
'
Another speaker on Friday was Watseka High School student
Hayden Schaumburg. '
'
Schaumburg, whosuffered a spinal cord injury during a football
game last fall, sharedhis inspirational story with some of the campff~.

Campers learned about Schaumburg's struggle to learn to walk

again; during a video about his time doing rehabilitation at Shriner's
Hospital.
,
He credits his determination to. life lessons that he learned on his
family's farm.
"I gained an affinity for hard work, ambition and passion,"
Schaumburg said. "I believe those things that my dad instilled in
me, that by the grace of God, have put me where I am today, standingon my own two feet, driving around, back to the things I like to
do."
,
Schaumburg was paralyzed from the neck down after his C4 and
Cfivertebrae were dislocated.
He was placed on a v~ritilatoi- and doctors were unsure if he
wau!d ever COmf: off of it. '
'
.
""They really didn't give me a whole lot of hope," he said. '''l1-ley
kind 'of discredited me."
Doctors told'his parents that he would be very needy into the
future.
"What they didn't know is where exactly I came from and what
I'm all about," Schaumburg said. '
After going through 100 days of therapy, working 4-5 hours a day,
he walked up two-flights of stairs, before leaving his rehab facility.
"Now I'm back at school, I'm back doing the things I love to do
and in such a short time, by God's grace," Schaumburg said. "Just
the way mat my community pulled together for me and just my passion to get back home, that's why I think I was able to overcome the
odds."
Schaumburg received a standing ovation from the campers, after
his talk.
'
,The Prairie State Sams met once a month. In the summer they

Photos by Caitlin Sievers

Watseka High School student Hayden
Schaumburg speaks on Friday to a crowd

o~ c~~~p-ers gathQre~a tllelroQ.,u~qi3,..Co.ullt~

Fairgrounds' for the Campout for Charity.
camp, while in the winter they meet at restaurants.
Members come from different cities throughout the state, although
most of them are from the central part of Illinois.
Landry himself is from Bradley, but said the club has some members from Iroquois County.
'
The Campout for Charity is the Prairie State Sams biggest event of
the year.
Joyce Guymon, member of the Champaign County Sams, attended the Campout for Charity for a simple reason.
'''It's one.of the best campouts there is," she said.
Member of the Roman Sams, Ralph Worden agreed.
"It's a lot of fun and we get to raise money for charity," Worderi
Said.
.