ANTIGO — William’s House of Hope, the nonprofit that has been providing aid to local individuals in need, will host several community fundraisers soon to pay off their recently-purchased homeless shelter near downtown Antigo.
The first event, called Langlade County Cares, will run from 3 to 9 p.m. this Saturday at the Heinzen Pavilion, and will include family-friendly features such as bouncy houses, games for adults and kids, food, and raffles, according to Nicole Barron, the organization’s president.
“It’s just going to be a community event, getting people out, creating a social network, spreading awareness about the shelter, and giving something for kids to do to burn off their energy as well,” Barron said. “We were planning that it would be like the pre-day thing before the fireworks, so it will be a day of fun.”
August 16 from 5 to 9:30 p.m., William’s House volunteers are planning their largest fundraiser yet: a Masquerade Gala — essentially a formal dinner party — which they are hoping could raise $50,000.
“It’s a black tie event — they’ll get a mask, and there’s going to be door prizes,” Barron said. “Then we’ll start the evening with a presenter.”
“I will speak, our guest speaker will talk, and then we will go into music and drinks, and they can move around the room, get their picture taken. It’s meant to be a night of awareness, but also to build relationships with everybody there so they can see who the board is and learn what we’re doing.”
She said attendees could take home a number of large prizes.
“We have $34,000 for resort packages that we will be raffling and auctioning off. It’s all Caribbean — we have Panama, Antigua, Barbados, Jamaica, the Grenadines. It’s either three rooms or three villas, so six people can go, and they can go up to 10 days,” Baron said. “There will also be numerous other raffle baskets. Texas Roadhouse has agreed to sponsor us. We’ll raffle off guns. I am still waiting back on Harley, because we’re really hoping we can get a bike to raffle off. There are just a ton of other businesses that are locked in for prizes that are larger.”
Barron said William’s House of Hope volunteers have assisted 90 homeless individuals in the community with hotel stays, rent, clothes, and food.
“As of today, we are up to 90 homeless that we’ve assisted,” she said. “Every day, we connect with someone that’s homeless. There hasn’t been a day where we haven’t gotten a call or a message on Facebook. We’ve seen an increase. Before it was one here and there, but the other day I had 10 calls on Thursday alone.”
Barron said all the funds the group raises are going back into the future shelter, and described the increased frequency and scale of fundraisers they have held as worthwhile.
“It is overwhelming and a lot to take on, but it’s still worth it,” she said. “We’re still pushing forward, and we’re excited to see how this is all going to play out. We’re making such good connections in the community, and people really do care, so that motivates us and keeps us going.”
Tickets for the Aug. 16 gala can be purchased in person at the shelter’s new location on 714 3rd Ave. or at Hemp House, owned by Barron’s brother. To purchase online, email Barron at nicole@williams-house.org or visit the Facebook page of William’s House of Hope for more information.
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