Brr! It is cold and wet out there! Next week, a new overnight shelter in Maple Leaf will open for our unhoused neighbors. UUC volunteers are invited to prepare and bring home-cooked food for dinner on Sunday night, November 23, at 6 p.m. We’re also collecting breakfast items for the following morning. If you can help, please sign up here: signupgenius.com/go/10C0C44ABA72AA4FD0-60398324-dinner#.

This seasonal winter shelter, operated by Lake City Partners Ending Homelessness, will operate from mid-November till March. It will provide a warm, dry, safe place for up to 24 individuals, open from 6:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. Staff will welcome guests, manage food, provide compassionate listening, information and referrals, and maintain security. Weeknight dinners will be provided via a contract with the Hunger Intervention Program. Church and community groups are invited to donate home-cooked dinners on weekends, as well as “breakfast bags” every day. 

For those volunteers who sign up to help on November 23, hot and cold foods should be delivered to the shelter in the evening. Non-cooked and non-refrigerated items may also be brought to the table during coffee hour at church on Sunday morning.

Two volunteers ages 18+ are also needed to help serve, eat and visit with guests, and clean up. The shelter address will be provided to volunteers after sign up.

For more information, contact Judy Oerkvitz of UUC's Homelessness Ministries Team. More information about the winter shelter at Maple Leaf can be found at: lakecitypartners.org/seasonal-winter-shelter.