More unsheltered people + fewer shelter beds (thanks COVID - distancing/capacity caps) + regular volunteers in high-risk categories for COVID = need to hire staff to provide overnight shelter during crisis cold weather.
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Introducing 2 newly hired Overnight Shelter Monitors.
Ted Kelly he/him
Ashley Quinn he/him
Now, each night, Sunday-Friday we'll need just 1 overnight volunteer who will be confidently accompanied by 1 staff person!
We've added 2 new volunteer opportunities:
Evening Monitor/Check-in Assistant
Afternoon Cleaning
Sign-up at bit.ly/ccwsvolunteer
And we'll use this Facebook group to share about how the shelter is going, volunteer and donation items needed. So join us! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ccwsfirstuu
In our first month of operation, with a capacity of 20 guests, we've served 116 unique individuals, averaging 15 guests per night across the 20 nights we've been open due to freezing temperatures.Thank you to all our amazing volunteers and donors, who made this possible!
Someone said each of us individually may be a snowflake, but put us all together and we're an avalanche. Together we have the power to do some real good.
We have a crisis within a crisis in our city. A variety of long term systemic factors like low wages, lack of affordable housing, aging out of foster care with no support, lack of accessible mental health and addiction recovery treatments, racism, homo/transphobia, human trafficking, all play a part in homelessness in our city. Now, we have the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, like job losses leading to evictions, leading to even more people experiencing homelessness. COVID19 also means that overnight shelters need to create 6’ distance between cots out and adopt precautionary measures, so existing shelters have lowered capacity; the primary Men’s CCWS capacity slashed from 100 to 50. Additionally, past years’ regular volunteers are staying home because many are at higher risk for severe complications and death from COVID19. The situation has reached critical as we’re seeing freezing cold temperatures and hundreds of people homeless in our community.
First Unitarian Universalist Church and National Avenue Christian Church are partnering with so many organizations and individuals to offer shelter this winter. In less than a week First UU went from entertaining the ask to opening their doors! On Saturday December 18, 2020 15 people were sheltered while temps dropped to 31 degrees, this will continue on all nights temps are at or below freezing through April, assuming we can keep it staffed. First UU is providing the building space and the heat and together we’re providing staff, volunteers, snacks, coffee, and other resources.
Please, contribute generously today, and often.
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Introducing 2 newly hired Overnight Shelter Monitors.
Ted Kelly he/him
Ashley Quinn he/him
Now, each night, Sunday-Friday we'll need just 1 overnight volunteer who will be confidently accompanied by 1 staff person!
We've added 2 new volunteer opportunities:
Evening Monitor/Check-in Assistant
Afternoon Cleaning
Sign-up at bit.ly/ccwsvolunteer
And we'll use this Facebook group to share about how the shelter is going, volunteer and donation items needed. So join us! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ccwsfirstuu
In our first month of operation, with a capacity of 20 guests, we've served 116 unique individuals, averaging 15 guests per night across the 20 nights we've been open due to freezing temperatures.Thank you to all our amazing volunteers and donors, who made this possible!
Sign in with your Facebook account or email.
We have already reached our preliminary goal and have now increased that goal. Thank you! AND, we have a new challenge gift from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. CFO will match gifts this month up to $5,500!
When we reach $14,043, that will unlock this matching grant, which will get us to double our initial goal..
If you prefer, you can send a check (which saves us all processing fees) with "SHELTER" in the memo line to:
National Avenue Christian Church
1515 S. National Ave
Springfield, MO 65804
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In less than 2 days your donations, big and small, brought in over $1,500, which was matched, so that we now have over $3,000 raised in less than 48 hours.
Is there another matching donor in the wings? I don't know, but we're well over halfway towards our total goal!
When you pop champagne or sparkling cider in the comfort of your own living room only with the people in your immediate household tonight to ring in the new year, you can also celebrate helping to keep members of our unsheltered community warm and dry and safe.
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Wow! in the last 24 hours since we announced your donations can be doubled due to a matching gift up to $1500, we have already seen over $1000 come in! Thank you. We want to make full use of that gift, and we want to get to our total goal, so please continue to give and to share this link: bit.ly/ccwsfund.
It is snowing today and shelters will be open tonight and we will be full, and still our neighbors will be left out in the cold. Pray for them and the outreach teams tonight from The Connecting Grounds.
This is a song that really touches my heart, I thought it might for you too, please forgive the overly gendered language. Neil Young - When God Made Me (Live at Farm Aid 2005) https://youtu.be/u5QjKLcod9Y
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Your donation can be doubled!
A generous pair of donors have just offered to match donations up to $1,500 between now and the end of the year.
With your donation doubled, we will more than double our current total raised! A double double! Your support means so much!
This Crisis Cold Weather Shelter has been open 5 of the last 10 nights, after just a couple of nights working out kinks, we've been at full capacity, sheltering 57 unique individuals. Thank you to all our donors and to the 30 people who have signed up to volunteer in various capacities (still room for more).
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Last night East Sunshine was at max capacity, a gentleman was actually dropped of there after the busses had already come and filled it up, fortunately we were able to get him a ride to our overflow at First UU, where we were very nearly at capacity. Last night’s winds were brutal, and tonight will be even colder. So thankful for the volunteers and donors who are making this possible.
https://www.ky3.com/2020/12/23/new-springfield-crisis-cold-weather-shelters-in-need-of-volunteers/
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Read more about the new shelter in the News-Leader: https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2020/12/18/missouri-ozarks-springfield-third-church-offers-cold-weather-shelter-homeless/3960840001/
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