Habitat for Humanity supporters to rappel 21-story Schaumburg tower
Brave souls can take on a new personal challenge Saturday by rappelling from the top of a 21-story office building in Schaumburg.
On their way down, they'll have the satisfaction of knowing they're helping those in need of affordable housing locally and in hurricane-ravaged Texas through the fundraiser organized by Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley.
"It's a little bit outside of the box as far as fundraisers go," Kim McIver, the nonprofit agency's development associate, said of the High Ropes for Humanity fundraiser. "It's a bucket-list item."
The event will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 425 N. Martingale Road, a multi-tenant office building.
Local professionals from the international organization Over the Edge will oversee the event, the equipment and half-hour safety training sessions for all participants.
While the Schaumburg Fire Department also will be on hand, each rappeller will assume a level of responsibility for his or her own well-being during the five to 10 minutes spent walking down the outside of the building while supported by ropes, McIver said.
The good news: A broken window is the extent of the mishaps at earlier events supervised by Over the Edge, McIver said.
This will be the first time Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley has held this kind of a fundraiser, and it is the only opportunity nonexperienced people will have to rappel from a building in Illinois this year, she added.
The full-day event will include family-friendly activities such as a kids bounce house, as well as a rooftop after-party with a DJ and food.
The organization is asking each rappeller to commit to raising $1,000. While early registrants were asked to collect 80 percent of their donations before Saturday, there is still space available for others to register up to the day of the event, McIver said.
The main caveat is that participants will be asked to provide credit card information and will be charged the full $1,000 if they haven't otherwise collected that amount by Monday, Oct. 30.
Those who do show up Saturday without registering should be prepared to wait more than an hour if they arrive during a booked time.
As of Monday, 40 people were registered and more than $26,500 had already been collected.
People can still register online before Saturday at nfvrappel.org. Anyone at least 18 years old who weighs between 100 and 300 pounds can participate.
Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley works to address the need for affordable quality housing in a wide area of the suburbs that stretches south to St. Charles, north to Crystal Lake, west to Elgin and east to Rosemont.
About 10 to 12 homes are built in the area each year with money the organization raises, but 10 percent of Saturday's proceeds will go to the region affected by Hurricane Harvey in Texas.
For more information, contact McIver at (847) 836-1432 or kim.mciver@habitatnfv.org.