NL_051619

6 | May 16, 2019 | the new lenox patriot news
newlenoxpatriot.com
Foster camp fundraiser raises over $4,000
Jessie Molloy
Freelance Reporter
Bob Spychalski
BROKER
Expires 5/30/19
• Customized Marketing Campaign
• Free professional & drone photography
• Strong online & social media exposure
• My listing’s SOLD faster
than market average
• Local Resident
630.728.8490
spysold.com
PRIDE REALTY
BOB
SPYCHALSKI
5 Star Rating
Not valid with any other offer. Prices most
vehicles, per axle, disc or drum. Most vehicles
require semi-metallic pads. Grease seals, wheel
bearings impact extra in needed. Expires 5/30/19
Everyone had a person
or activity that made
their childhood feel special,
but not everyone has
the chance to create those
same special memories
for others. For 17-yearold
Jacob Cope, creating
special memories for
kids has become a passion
project.
Cope is a former foster
child. While he was adopted
at the age of five
by his long-term foster
mother Laura Oresky, he
remembers what it meant
to be in the foster system
and treasured the opportunity
he had to spend his
summers with other kids
in the system at Royal
Family KIDS’ Camp of
Greater Joliet.
On Friday Cope and
his mother hosted their
second annual fundraiser
for the camp, a craft show
featuring raffles, a silent
auction, and other fun
opportunities to donate
so foster kids can get the
same experience Cope
did.
The event raised
$4,403, which does not
include mailed or online
donations made.
“This means a great
deal to him,” Oresky said.
“Every child deserves
a chance to go to this
camp.”
The Joliet branch of
Royal Family was started
by a group of volunteers
from Southwest Community
Church in Shorewood
in 2007 and has grown
substantially over time.
Each year the camp welcomes
between 50 and 60
boys and girls between
the ages of 7 and 11 for
one week to meet other
kids like themselves and
to take part in sports and
crafts they may otherwise
not have the ability to experience.
Royal Family is run
completely on donations,
and has no fixed location,
so it costs about $40,000
each year to cover the cost
of renting a campground
for a week and supplying
each child with their food,
supplies, and gifts, which
include a photo album of
their time at camp each
summer. The families and
foster families of the children
who attend are never
asked to pay any costs out
of pocket, so fundraising
is essential to ensure all
eligible students can attend.
“Our mission is to create
life changing moments
for foster kids, to give
them hope, and let them
know someone cares,”
said Mark Fleming. Fleming
is the Assistant Superintendent
of Curriculum
and Instruction at Will
County School District
92 in Lockport and helped
found the camp with his
wife back in 2006. “Jacob
is a really cool story. He
went to our camp for five
years and now is probably
our number one fundraiser.”
Fleming is personally
responsible for getting
Cope involved in Royal
Family KIDS’ Camp.
Cope was a student at
Oster-Oakview school in
New Lenox when Fleming
served as the school’s
principal. After learning
Cope’s background
as a foster child, he approached
Oresky about
sending Jacob to camp.
“Jacob just loved camp
when he was there,”
Fleming said. “He was sad
when he aged out and now
he’s helping other kids
and paying it forward. It’s
so encouraging. It really
lets us see the fruit of our
labor.”
In addition to his yearround
fundraising efforts,
Jacob returns to camp now
as a teenager each year as
a volunteer. This July will
be his third year working
with the campers.
Last year Jacob’s efforts
raised about $12,000
Jacob Cope (second from back left) poses for a photo
with other volunteers and some former campers.
Photos by Jessie Molloy/ 22nd Century Media
Jacob Cope (right) sells raffle tickets to residents who
showed up to his fundraising event.
for the camp, including
approximately $5,000
from the craft fair. This
year Oresky said their
goal was to raise $15,000
total while matching or
exceeding the event’s proceeds.
Before the craft fair
Jacob had already raised
over $4,000 from friends,
neighbors, teachers, and
his parents’ coworkers.
Jacob’s father, Ronald
Oresky, has received donations
from his company,
NAR Roofing, each
year for the camp, and a
fundraiser Cope held at
Lincoln Way West, where
he is currently a junior,
raised $900 earlier this
year.
For the event itself
thirty-three vendors paid
a $50 table fee to take
part. While they shopped
through the table of candles,
jewelry, apparel,
cosmetics, food, and home
decor guests could listen
to the volunteer ukulele
Please see
foster camp, 18