Volunteer to help families experiencing homelessness

Columbia City's
Neighbor News

Volunteer to help families experiencing homelessness

Columbia City Church of Hope is hosting families (up to 14 moms and kids) in partnership with Mary's Place. Tuesday, October 2 - Tuesday, October 16.

We need volunteers each day to:

drive van to pick up families at Mary's Place (4:30-5:30pm)
prepare and serve a warm, nutritious dinner (5:30-7:30pm)
serve as evening hosts (6-9pm)
spend the night (9pm-7am)
donate breakfast foods
clean the space

You can sign up online to volunteer. More info about all of these tasks is below, and also available on the online sign-up. Please include a phone number when you sign up online so that the coordinators may contact you if necessary.

Please contact Darla at Church of Hope (722-5651) if you have questions. Thanks!

If it's your first time volunteering: please plan to attend a brief (20-30 min) training at the church either Tuesday, September 25 at 7pm or Sunday, September 30 at noon. Mary's Place asks that we run criminal background checks on all volunteers, so we will also need your full name and date of birth. Please send info to gro.epoHytiCaibmuloC|alraD#gro.epoHytiCaibmuloC|alraD

Drive van to pick up families (4:30-5:30pm)

Mary's Place is lending us 2 vans (7 and 11 passenger) which will be kept at Church of Hope. We need 2 drivers each day to pick up the families at Mary's Place (1830 9th Ave. at Stewart St.) between 4:45-5:00pm.
We will need a copy of your drivers license at least a few days in advance for insurance purposes.

Dinner (5:30-7:30pm)

Dinner is served at 6pm. Volunteers prepare the meal in advance either in their homes or in the church kitchen. Dinner is to be a hot meal. Information on food allergies and exact numbers will be provided as the time draws near. (Up to 14 women and children, plus 4-6 volunteers.)
Please eat with the families, and clean up the dishes and kitchen after the meal.

Evening Activities (6-9pm)

Plan and bring supplies for games, crafts, movies, or other activities with the kids. If you have kids, bring them!
These activities are optional for the families—they may need to do homework, or may want privacy or rest. Please be flexible. We will pass on information about the number and ages of kids as soon as we know.
We must have at least two adult volunteers at all times and at least one female volunteer per shift.

Overnight (9pm-7am)

Spend the night. Aerobeds in private rooms are made up; bring a sleeping bag if you like.
At bedtime (9pm) turn off all lights and check to make sure all doors are locked.
In the morning, wake guests at 6am and set out simple breakfast (coffee, juice, cereal, toast). You may also pack up leftovers for the guests for lunch. They leave by 7-7:30am.
We must have at least one female volunteer per shift.

Donate Breakfast Food (time flexible)

We need food for 14 people for breakfast for one week.
Coffee, juice, cereal, bread, yogurt, eggs, animal crackers, fruit.
You can also donate money (checks may be sent to Columbia City Church of Hope, 3818 South Angeline St, Seattle 98118 with Mary's Place in the memo).

Cleaning (time flexible)

We will have a chore list posted, to be done while the families are out for the day (between 8am and 5pm). Coordinate with Darla about when/how to get into the building to clean.
Tasks include: sweeping and mopping, vacuuming, bathrooms, tidying toys and craft areas as needed.