Colorado – United Church of Christ
Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection (DOOR) (Denver)
Contact: DOOR National Office
PO Box 3237
Chicago, IL 60654
E-Mail: DOOR@DOORnetwork.org
Phone: 303.295.3667
Web site: www.doornetwork.org/cities
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/doornetwork
DOOR provides opportunities for service, learning and leadership development within the urban context. Collaboration, mutuality and partnership are emphasized.
Project/Focus: Groups experience the city and learn about it through volunteering at a variety of community agencies already present in the community, including soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Groups stay at facilities in the city, hear a local perspective on the city, use public transportation when available, interact with people of the city and reflect on their experiences.
Educational/Advocacy Components: The program is designed to expose people to the city in a direct way. Evening speakers, group reflection, worship and Bible study challenge people to consider biblical responses to the issues of poverty, racism, and injustice facing the city as they daily live out their authentic Christian faith. Our local city directors have created curricula based on the needs and issues facing their local communities. This educational component is relevant, trans formative and creative and speaks to the needs of those living in our DOOR Cities around the world. This summer out city directors will address systemic structural barriers affecting the marginalized (Atlanta), the effects of homelessness (Los Angeles), racial injustice (Chicago), the journey of the immigrant (Miami), and economic inequality (Denver) .
Door locations nationwide: California (Los Angeles), Colorado (Denver); Georgia (Atlanta); Illinois (Chicago), and Florida (Miami)
Time: Week long available all year. Weekends available in fall, winter, and spring.
Registration deadlines: 10 weeks before trip. If you are interested in coming after the deadline, please call the national office for availability.
Group Size: Groups or combinations of groups totaling 60 participants (summer) and 45 participants (spring/winter/fall).
Minimum Age: 13 – Some sites can accommodate younger participants. Contact national office for information.
Adult to Youth Ratio: 1:5 for high school aged youth; 1:4 for middle school aged youth
Accommodations: Housing is arranged at local churches, either on the floor at the church or on cots. Participants bring their own sleeping bag and pillow. Showers are provided. Visit the Discover section on each city’s page for specific information.
www.hoornetwork.org/cities.
Cost: Week long: $325 per participant. Sunday evening through Friday noon. Covers lodging, all meals from Monday morning to Friday evening except Wednesday evening and scheduling logistics. Weekend $130 per participant.
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La Puente Home, Inc. (Alamosa)
Contact: Shanae Diaz
601 9th St., P.O. Box 1235
Alamosa, CO 81101
E-Mail: asstdirector.volunteers@lapuente.net
Phone: 719.587.3499
Fax: 719.587.0810
Web site: http://lapuentehome.org
La Puente Home endeavors to meet immediate needs and to empower people to live independently with dignity. In the San Luis Valley over 20% of the population lives at or below the poverty line, more than 25% utilizes emergency food services at least once each year. La Puente provides emergency shelter, food assistance, transitional housing, self-sufficiency services, homeless prevention, community outreach, and job readiness training for the homeless, the hungry and community members living in poverty.
Project/Focus: The project focus is to inspire others to action through service. La Puente offers experiential opportunities to gain perspective, increase empathy, and join in the mission of service. Service days are spent engaging in service learning, cooking and serving meals at the homeless shelter, assisting at the food bank, working in the nutritional education gardens, gleaning on farms for food bank supplies, construction and painting projects, and involvement in the enterprises such as creating a window display at the thrift store.
Educational/Advocacy Components: Staff organize education and reflection activities to help participants understand the value of service and the struggles of life among the marginalized and underserved, specifically in rural areas. Issue areas include: immigration and migrant farming; gender and race; hunger and poverty; mental illness and addiction; legislation and local government; sustainable living, ecology and its larger implications; veterans and homelessness.
Time: Year round
Registration Deadline: No deadline, but summer spots usually fill up around November or December.
Group Size: Up to 15 people
Minimum Age: No minimum age, but please have appropriate supervisors for youth.
Adult to Youth Ratio: 1:6 or 1:7
Accommodations: Participants stay at host churches in the community with showers, kitchens and floor space.
Cost: $25 per person per workday. $5 per person per night for lodging at local church.
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Habitat for Humanity, San Luis Valley (Alamosa)
Contact: Audrey Liu
P.O. Box 1197
Alamosa, CO 81101
E-Mail: audrey@slvhabitat.org
Phone: 719.589.8678
Web site: www.slvhabitat.org
Habitat for Humanity builds decent, affordable housing with low-income families who are unable to qualify for conventional mortgages. You will have an incredible experience building Habitat Homes beneath the forever reaching blue skies, embraced by the Rocky Mountains.
Project/Focus: Building Houses & Building Hope by constructing affordable passive-solar homes with low-income families in rural Coloarado.
Educational/Advocacy Components: Your group leader will coordinate program. Habitat for Humanity Youth Advocacy Toolkit is available at https://www.habitat.org/volunteer/near-you/youth-programs/resources.
Time: Spring-Fall. Please contact us for application and information.
Group Size: Up to 20 people
Minimum Age: High school age, 16 years
Adult to Youth Ratio: 1:4
Accommodations: Projects are located in a beautiful mountain valley surrounded by 14,000 feet peaks. Housing is in local churches that include showers, kitchen and fellowship space.
Cost: $235 per person per week materials fee and housing donation.
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St. Francis Center [SFC] (Denver)
Contact: Susan Vaho, Urban Education Coordinator
2323 Curtis Street
Denver, Co 80205
E-Mail: susanv@sfcdenver.org
Phone: 303-960-2992
Web site: http://sfcdenverurbaned.org/
St. Francis Center is a refuge for men and women who are homeless in the metro Denver area, providing shelter along with services that enable people to meet their basic needs for daily survival and to transition out of homelessness.
Project/Focus: Work sites include, but are not limited to preparing and serving meals for the homeless, sorting donations in a food bank, nurturing and tending gardens and working with children of economically disadvantaged families, people with disabilities and the elderly.
Educational/Advocacy Components: SFC Urban Education offers groups of all ages the opportunity to learn, serve, and create hope in the vibrantly multicultural and urban community of Denver. Each experience can be fully customized to meet the needs of your group, and is appropriate for people of all ages. Whether working with us for a day, weekend, half-week, or full week, all participants will have the opportunity to volunteer in areas where they feel compelled and to learn about topics that interest them. All Urban Education experience allow for groups to dig deep, to inspire conversations about what homelessness and poverty looks like, to change attitudes and understandings, and most importantly to love and serve the community of Denver.
Time: Any time of year. One to six days experiences
Group Size: 40 maximum per week.
Minimum Age: 12 years and older.
Accommodations: SFC arranges lodging in local churches. Shower and kitchen faciliites provided. Groups are responsible for own transportation and food.
Cost: $255 per person per week; $155 per person for a half-week or $95 per person for a week-end; plus a $100 non-refundable fee is required to secure a reservation.
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