OPEN SHELTER

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:
Columbus’ Open Shelter opened December 1983 and is currently located at 61 E Mound Street in downtown Columbus. There is no kitchen and it is dependent on area restaurants and community groups to deliver dinner three times weekly for approximately 180 men, women, and children. Parishioners from Our Lady of Peace, St. Agatha, and East North Broadway United Methodist Church initially worked together as one group to prepare food. By 2000 the group was strictly parishioners from Our Lady of Peace with the Tom and Veronica Garrity family being the last serving members from the original group.

WHO WE ARE/ WHAT WE DO:
A group of approximately twenty-five to thirty-five OLP parish families prepare and serve dinner monthly to 150-175 homeless guests---men, women, and children.  Families donate the cost, prepare the evening meal in their individual homes, then deliver and serve it at the Broad Street United Methodist Church at Broad/Washington in downtown Columbus.

WHEN:
Second Thursday of the month from 5:00-7:00
2012: January 12, February 9, March 8, April 12, May 10, June 14, July 12, August 9, September 13,
           October 11, November 8, December 13.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
We are always looking for new volunteers.
We need eight-ten individuals and/or families that would like to prepare in their home a set menu evening meal for 15-20 guests and deliver it to the OLP parking lot at 5:00 on the second Thursday of the month.
We need eight to ten individuals to help transport the dinner to a downtown church where we will serve it to our guests.
If you don’t want to cook, or go down and serve the meal, you can help by purchasing some of the paper goods, or bonus food items, or you can help us with a monetary donation. We would appreciate your help whenever you can help us.
We organize the effort each month from a master sign-up list.
You can help whenever you wish. We have individual/families that help every month, every other month, every quarter, or a month or two each year.



CONTACT PERSON: