We offer many services at the Urban Ministry Center, from meals and showers to employment counseling and housing, but our most important work is the building of relationships. Many of the people who seek help and refuge at the Urban Ministry Center are people who are overlooked, ignored, or even shunned. We seek to give these people, our neighbors, our love and undivided attention. The resulting relationships are what change peoples' lives, the lives of our volunteers as well as the lives of our neighbors.

The following is a list of some of our volunteer opportunities, most are performed on a weekly basis, though some volunteer on a bi-monthly or monthly.

Front Desk Volunteers: Our volunteers who oversee the activities at the front desk help set the tone for the center. They welcome our neighbors and sign them up for the various services we offer. In addition, the front desk volunteers manage the mailbox system. Over 450 people, many of them homeless and living on the streets, receive their mail at the Urban Ministry Center. Mornings, Monday - Friday, 8:30 - 12:00; and afternoons, 12:00 - 4:00.

Counselors: Our counseling ministry involves more in-depth, one-on-one contact with our neighbors, who come to our counselors with requests for transportation to a new job, assistance with obtaining identification, food referrals, medications, and housing. The Urban Ministry Center seeks to offer tangible help with these and other matters, but we do so in the context of building trusting relationships with our neighbors. As trust grows, so does the likelihood of more lasting and significant change. Mornings, Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 12:00; and afternoons, 1:30 - 4:00.

Laundry Room and Shower Check-in: Staying clean and presentable is a tremendous challenge for homeless people. One of the most valuable services we offer at the Center is a place where our homeless neighbors can wash their clothes and take a shower. Volunteers who work at the check-in desk for the laundry and shower services greet our neighbors and assist staff in maintaining an orderly environment. Mornings, Monday - Friday, 8:30 - 11:00; and afternoons, 1:30 - 3:00

Van Driver: Our neighbors struggle to access the various services offered throughout the city because so often they do not have transportation. In response to this need, the Center offers a van service on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to assist neighbors in applying for food stamps, accessing addiction recovery services, receiving medical attention, and other basic needs. As a van driver, volunteers have a unique opportunity to interact with our neighbors while providing tangible, much-needed assistance. Tuesday and Thursday, 9:15 - 11:00.

Telephone Reception: We receive a wide variety of telephone calls every day, and our telephone receptionists are key to the efficient operation of the center. Our neighbors receive calls about employment; counselors receive calls from various service agencies; staff receive calls about volunteer groups; and we have a steady stream of inquiries about ways in which the Center might be helpful to people in distress. All of these calls need to be received in a pleasant manner and transferred to the appropriate person. Mornings, Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 12:00; and afternoons, 1:30 - 3:30.

Room In The Inn Reception (December - March only): Throughout the winter months, we provide nightly shelter through our Room In The Inn program. Each afternoon, over one hundred women, children and men come to the Center to check in for this overnight program. Our volunteers assist staff in welcoming and signing up these people, and area churches arrive to transport 12 - 14 people per congregation to their church building for the night. Evenings, seven days a week, 4:15 - 6:30.

Soup Kitchen Volunteers: Since 1979, St. Peter's Soup Kitchen has been serving a nutritious meal to all who come. Now housed in the Urban Ministry Center, the soup kitchen serves a nourishing meal seven days a week, 365 days a year. Our kitchen volunteers do it all, from preparation and serving to clean-up. Mornings, seven days a week, 9:15 - 12:30.

Artworks 945 Assistant: Work with neighbors on a myriad of projects: art, creative writing, or an idea of your own creation. Monday through Saturday with flexible hours. Contact Lawrence Cann: artworks945@urbanministrycenter.org, 704-347-0278 ext. 218

Street Soccer 945 Assistant: Like sports, especially "the beautiful game"? Come join us! Monday through Saturday with flexible hours, especially important on practice nights and days of games. Contact Rob Cann: rcann@urbanministrycenter.org, 704-347-0278 ext. 218

Community Garden 945 Assistant: Enjoy working outside in the fresh air, growing food and flowers and cultivating community? We need you in our gardens. Monday through Saturday with flexible hours. Contact Don Boekelheide: dboekelheide@urbanministrycenter.org, 704-347-0278 ext. 235

Group Visitor: You can bring a small group to the UMC and learn about homelessness from our neighbors. You can supply drinks or clean tables and share a meal and conversation. Monday through Sunday, by appointment.

Education and Advocacy Partner: Facilitate a "Faces of Homelessness Panel" on or off-site for a church/school group. Do advocacy work with Homeless Helping Homeless or participate in Servant Leadership School.

Create your own volunteer opportunity: Consider your individual gifts and talents to create an opportunity you feel called to do.

If you think you might be called to any of these ministries, we would love to talk with you. Contact Jo Rizer and Barbara Conrad, Directors of Volunteer Ministries, at 704-347-0278.