About Volunteering and Staffing the Shelter
This is a collaborative effort of churches in Washington and suburban Ramsey counties. Your help is needed to staff the shelter with volunteers. Generally, a church hosts the shelter for one week, although a larger church could consider two weeks. Small churches frequently combine to share a week. Individual volunteers are also needed. The staff works in shifts, with the first two volunteers arriving at 2:45 PM, when the earliest buses drop off children after school. After a snack and some play time, help with homework could ensue while later arriving help (5:00 PM) would serve dinner. The total number of guests each week varies, but is typically 15-30 plus volunteer staff. An overnight staff of two, same gender or a married couple, would arrive for the overnight shift (8:00 PM) and is responsible for serving a continental breakfast, setting all in order, and seeing the guests off to school or back to St. Andrews.
It takes 42-44 volunteers to staff a full week with no double shifts. A paid staff person is at the shelter for each shift change to provide an orientation and any training needed.
The shelter is not open during the day from 9 AM - 3 PM during the week. Monday through Thursday, the families are either at jobs or working toward their individual goals at St. Andrews.
There are over 30 churches involved in this project at the present time. We are looking to add some additional churches as the shelter is open every day of the year. While many games and craft materials are available at the shelter, volunteering churches may also choose to bring along (or request) supplies for specific activities.