CCM student visits once/week to tutor the children of IHN. Do you have a talent you can share?
IHNGC opened its doors in October 1991, and will be celebrating 20 years of service in 2011! This year's Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition Night will focus on this exciting milestone on Thursday,April 7, 2011 at Isaac Wise Temple.
Fencing Video
Host Congregations are area churches and synagogues that provide three meals a day, private sleeping space, and volunteers to create a "home away from home" for the families. Support Congregations assist the Host Congregations by providing donated meals and volunteers.
Host Congregations provide lodging, meals, and caring hospitality for families experiencing homelessness in our community. Hosting families allows congregations to reach out by providing families who have lost their homes with safe, secure lodging and a sense of community. Hosting also gives volunteers the opportunity to provide hands-on outreach in their own congregational facility.
The following are the basic elements needed to be a Host Congregation:
Designated space to host up to 4 families (16 individuals) for a week at a time, 4-6 times a year. Since a host congregation is providing hospitality to families for the week, the guest areas should remain set-up and secure all week. Congregations host families from about 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Sleeping Accommodations should be as homelike as possible. Ideally, each family will have a private sleeping area, often in a separate religious education classroom. Alternatively, if one large room must be used for a sleeping area, partitions will be needed to provide privacy for each family. Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) prefers congregations to purchase the 18 rollaway cots needed (2 are for the overnight volunteers), but can, sometimes, provide financial assistance.
Living Area/Hospitality Room separated into an adult lounge (with sofa, chairs, tables, and a TV) and a children’s activity area.
Two bathrooms: one for women and one for men; at least one should include a baby changing station. If you have showers, all the better, but they’re not necessary. The Day Center has showers.
Kitchen, dining area, refrigerator, and necessary clean-up items for meal preparation (dinners may be cooked at the congregation or brought in and heated).
Designated outdoor smoking area located at least 20 feet away from any building entrance.
Space for overnight volunteers to sleep, within close proximity of families. Any space can be used, for example, offices, hallway, etc.
The congregation provides all meals: nutritious cooked dinners, simple breakfasts (hot or cold) and supplies for sack lunches, bed and bath linens and various basic items. Please see host supply list below.
Volunteers
A congregation should always have at least 2 volunteers present and generally not more than 6 at a time. Volunteers can come from the host or support congregations or organizations (such as a youth group from a community organization, for example). All volunteers should be trained, either by the congregation, or by Interfaith Hospitality Network staff.
The host congregation provides an Interfaith Hospitality Network coordinator(s) to serve as the point person and communicator between Interfaith Hospitality Network and the congregation’s volunteers, as well as to recruit volunteers for the host week and attend scheduled Interfaith Hospitality Network meetings (4 times per year).
Interfaith Hospitality Network participating congregations provide overnight lodging, three meals per day, and volunteer help to house up to four families every night for a week, about four to six weeks per year.
Support congregations work in conjunction with host congregations who need extra volunteer, meal, and/or monetary support.
↑ Return to Top Several weeks before a hosting week, the Interfaith Hospitality Network Coordinator at the congregation will begin to round up volunteers for the upcoming week. There are all sorts of volunteer opportunities--in order to host Interfaith Hospitality Network for a week, volunteers are needed to prepare and serve meals, greet guests, stay overnight with the guests, do laundry after the host week, and plan and participate in activities with the guests. There are many opportunities for whole families in the congregation to volunteer; children in the program and children from the congregation often have a great time playing together and getting to know one another.
The host week runs from Sunday evening to the following Sunday morning. The Thursday before the host week, the coordinator will get a list of guests that will be staying with the congregation. The coordinator then can prepare the guest rooms, alert the meal preparation volunteers, and so on. From then on, the Interfaith Hospitality Network Coordinator makes sure that volunteers are at the congregation at all times, to greet the guests when they arrive around 5:30-6:30 p.m., to serve and eat dinner with the guests, to participate in any evening activities, and to be available during the night in case a rare emergency should happen. The overnight volunteer also puts the families on the bus in the morning at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays, and 7:30 a.m. on weekends.
After the host week, the coordinator makes sure that volunteers are available to put the congregation's Interfaith Hospitality Network space "back to normal" and clean any linens used during the week.
