Many people in the Richmond metro area are in transition between jobs and housing, currently putting them in a state of homelessness.
Congregations Around Richmond Involved to Assure Shelter (CARITAS) is an organization designed to help families and individuals who are currently experiencing these transitions. One week each year, New Life has the opportunity to host 30-40 women and provide for some of their basic needs. It is our pleasure to offer 3 meals each day, a warm place to sleep and a hot shower for these women. Individuals and families are invited to help serve during this week.
Ways to Serve
Night Time Church Liaison
Responsibility of the overnight host is to assist the Caritas staff person that also spends the night by helping provide any needed resources. This opportunity is very easy. Arrive by 8:30pm, put snacks away at 9:45pm, turn off non-essential lights and lock front door at 10pm, wake up at 5:15am to make coffee, place breakfast items out by 6am, put sandwiches in lunch bags and deliver them to the bus driver when they arrive, and finally clean up kitchen after guests leave at 7am. Discipline issues and emergency situations are primarily the responsibility of the Caritas staff person, not the overnight host. However, you may have to make contact with church staff, emergency personnel or New Life Caritas leadership team in the event of an unusual situation.
Set Up
You will assist in unloading items from the truck, including mattresses, blankets, and luggage. You will assist with furniture arrangement in rooms to set up sleeping and dining areas for the women. Must be able to lift 50 pounds or more. Children are welcome to assist with their parents, but must be supervised at all times. Set up time will be 10AM to noon.
Lunches
Lunches can be prepared anytime during the day when the church is open. We just ask that you give the dinner team plenty of room to work, so it is best not to pack between 6:00pm and 8pm. Great for families to do together. You would be responsible for packing 35 lunches. All supplies and instructions are provided.
Dinner
Church opens at 5:30pm each night to begin dinner preparations. Your group would be responsible for preparing coffee, tea, and water as well as a hearty meal. We do not have an ice maker capable of producing enough ice so your group will need to bring in bags of ice. Dessert is optional and NOT necessary every night. After dinner has been served, you will need to clean the kitchen and prepare evening snacks (already provided) for the guests. Please plan to have someone in your group remain at church until the overnight liaison has arrived.
Laundry
We wash our guests' laundry 3 times during the week. We can't predict how many loads we will get or how big the load is. Each woman’s load will need to be washed separately. You will arrive at church no earlier than 8pm and no later than 9pm to pick up your load(s). All laundry will need to be returned to church by 6:45pm the next day.Please sign up by telling us how many loads of laundry you can do. We allow up to 16 loads of laundry each time.
Morning Clean UP
Arrive at 7:30am daily to ensure that the building is clean and ready for business. Vacuum eating area and sleeping areas as needed, wipe down tables, clean up bathrooms (the guests do clean up each morning, so this is to ensure it was done well), take out the trash in bathroom, kitchen, and sleeping areas as needed.
Church Reset
Arrive on April 1st at 11am to reset the building. All bedding and luggage will need to be loaded on the truck, furniture reset back into rooms, and tables and chairs put away. Must be able to lift up to 50lbs. Truck pick up time will be announced as we get closer to April 1st. Children welcome to assist with their parents, but must be supervised at all times. Reset time will be 11AM to 1PM