Gimme Shelter 2024

Are YOU up to the challenge???

NEW in 2024, Gimme Shelter will be held in 2 cities, simutaneously!  Gimme Shelter 2024 will be held in both Pekin & Peoria, Illinois!  Please join us in person or virtually!  Gimme Shelter is our annual fundraiser where you can spend the night in your vehicle or a cardboard box.  

Gimme Shelter is an event hosted by Phoenix Community Development Services to give our citizens an opportunity to help in the fight to end homelessness in Central Illinois and to raise awareness of the challenges faced by those without homes.

Gimme Shelter will be held the evening of Friday, Feb 16th, 2024. Participants can get involved in person at the Miller Center in Pekin, Illinois and/or at the RiverPlex in Peoria, Illinois.  If you are unable to join us at either location, you can participate virtually from home or other location. Participants are asked to raise $1000 for the "privilege" of spending the night outside, either in a cardboard box or a vehicle, from 6:00 pm in the evening until 6:00 am the next morning.

Gimme Shelter will:

• bring our community together
• raise awareness of the plight of those with nowhere to call home
• and provide a powerful opportunity to learn more about homelessness.

Participants will experience a bit of what it might be like to be outside, overnight, in the Central Illinois cold. Proceeds from Gimme Shelter will benefit Phoenix Community Development Services and support our continuing efforts to provide permanent supportive housing and homeless outreach services to end homelessness in our community.

We are asking our key partners to rally their friends, family, and networks to support our work. By participating in Gimme Shelter, you will help end homelessness in central Illinois, and you'll help your friends feel enriched from the experience!

Fundraising is easy to do, and it's fun! We'll even give you all the tools you'll need to make a difference. With your help we can end homelessness in our community!