GUILDERLAND — The 20th annual tent-a-thon fund-raiser for Habitat for Humanity is coming to Tawasentha Park next week, and coordinator Nancy Ware hopes the event will raise $20,000 to mark the occasion.

Ware has been involved with the fund-raiser from its inception, when the United Methodist Church of McKownville was looking for a volunteer opportunity.

The event has since grown to include many churches, and the homes built with the money raised are called Praise Houses, said Ware.

Participants in the event camp in tents, in Tawasentha Park, for one to four nights, from Aug. 8 to 12, to demonstrate their commitment to eliminating poverty and substandard housing, and raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Each participant collects pledges from family, friends, and co-workers.

Ware said each house built requires roughly $25,000 in material costs, and the rest is all “sweat equity.” The money raised from the tent-a-thon all goes directly to the cost of materials.

The event has raised up to $14,000 in the past, said Ware, but she feels confident it could bring in $20,000 this year.

“We have been doing this long enough that people know that it’s coming and set aside money for it,” she said.

In addition to being a fund-raiser, the tent-a-thon is a good family-friendly event, she said. Each night will feature a campfire with s’mores and musical entertainment, and free breakfast and dinner will be donated by local restaurants.

Security will be provided during the day to protect campers’ belongings while they tend to their day-to-day schedules.

Interested participants may call Ware at 482-4872.