New York – United Church of Christ

 Project Hospitality, Inc. (Staten Island)

Contact: Pastor E.J. Emerson
   100 Park Avenue
   Staten Island, NY 10302
Phone: 718.448.1544, ext. 173
Fax:  718.720.5476
Email:  ejemerson@projecthospitality.org
Web site:
www.projecthospitality.org

Project Hospitality is an interfaith effort to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and care for people with HIV/AIDS.  Faith in Action is the educational mission program of Project Hospitality.

Project/Focus: Groups will have the opportunity to serve in a soup kitchen and food pantry, assist with food drives at local supermarkets, and potentially help clean up homes, churches, parks and beaches, among other activities.  Groups help in many ways at our emergency, transitional, and family shelters, and meet and talk with people who have experienced homelessness illness and hunger.

Educational/Advocacy Components: The orientation program includes a history of poverty, homelessness and HIV/AIDS in New York City and the community’s response to it.  There is conversation about current issues and solutions in which Project Hospitality is involved.  Throughout the week groups participate in two educational seminars, one on homelessness and the other on HIV/AIDS.  Clients having dealt with these issues share personal testimonies.  Participants are encouraged to ask questions and to continue the discussion upon returning home. Resources and ideas for follow-up on hunger, homelessness, mental illness, and living with HIV/AIDS are available at www.projecthospitality.org under “Issues and Public Policy.”  Worship, scripture sharing and theological reflection are integral to the on-site and follow-up experience.

Time: Week-long mission programs are available year-round. The program runs from Sunday evening until Saturday morning. Please email or call for a registration packet.

Group Size: Maximum of 20 people per group.

Minimum Age:  Youth must have completed ninth grade, the minimum age is 13.  High school, college, adult, and inter-generational groups are welcome. 

Adult to Youth Ratio:  1:5, entire group must include 2 adults

Accommodations:   Housing is arranged for Faith in Action groups the parsonage of Huguenot Reformed Church.  The house is located at 5501 Amboy Avenue.  It  has restrooms, shower, full kitchen with stoves, ovens and refrigerator, a number of bedrooms and plenty of room for belongings.

Cost: Total cost is $175 per person for a week-long trip.  From this amount, a $175 registration deposit for the group (non-refundable) is required in advance.

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 Youth Service Opportunities Project [YSOP] (New York)

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Contact: Lauren Ward, NY Program Manager
   15 Rutherford Place
   New York, NY 10003
E-Mail:  lward@ysop.org

Phone: 212.598.0973 ext. 107
Web site:
www.ysop.org

YSOP is committed to helping young people become part of the solution to societal problems by showing them how even their smallest actions can make a difference in the lives of others. YSOP has been a pioneer in the field of service, encouraging community participation and engaged citizenship through direct service to homeless and hungry people.  YSOP has been offering service-learning programs since 1983.

Project/Focus: Volunteers work with a variety of organizations in New York City and Washington D.C.  Sites include direct and indirect service at soup kitchens, food and clothing banks, transitional shelters, and other agencies serving people in need.

Educational/Advocacy Components: By combining meaningful volunteer work with an educational, service learning component YSOPers provide vital services to people in need and at the same time are able to reflect on their experience and broaden their perspectives.  YSOP staff provide an orientation at the beginning of the program and reflections after each period of service. During week long and overnight programs, volunteers cook, serve and share in a meal with homeless and hungry guests one evening during the week.  Guest speakers offered during week long and overnight programs and upon request.  

Time:  Service Day, Overnight, Week-long, and Service Dinner programs available year round.

Group Size: Group size requirement varies depending on program.  Minimum requirements are as follows: Service Day – 10 people, Overnight Work-camp – 20 people, Service Week – 10 people, Service Dinner – 15 people. Can accommodate 100+ people for Service Day and Week-long programs, 20-50 people for Overnight Work-camps.  For large groups, please allow up to one year for planning.

Minimum Age:  current 7th graders

Adult to Youth Ratio:  1:5

Accommodations: Simple accommodations in the Friends Meeting House are provided for Overnight Work Camps (bring own sleeping bags).  No TVs, radios, music players, alcohol, nonprescription drugs, or smoking allowed. Groups participating in  Service Weeks are required to secure their own lodging in hostels, churches or hotels in the area.

Cost: Overnight Work-camp $130.00,  Service Week $185.00, Service Day $52.00, and Service Dinner $52.00

See also YSOP in District of Columbia 

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 Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries (New York)

Contact: Lesley-Ann Hix Tommey, Urban Minister
   410 West 40th Street
   New York, NY 10018
E-Mail: 
volunteer@RMMnyc.org
Phone: 212.594.4464
Web site:
 www.MBCnyc.org and www.RMMnyc.org 

Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries serves as the social ministry arm of Metro Baptist Church.  Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries coordinates twelve on-going community programs, including among others:  after-school program, Summer day camp, teen center, food pantry, and winter clothes closet.  Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries (RMM) seeks to uplift and empower the neighborhood of “Hells’ Kitchen” by offering direct services and educational opportunities, which encourage and enable both personal and community growth.  RMM seeks to initiate a renewal of cooperative vision for social ministry in New York City and in urban centers throughout the United States.  Metro Baptist Church is part of the Alliance of Baptists.

Project/Focus:  Our Urban Immersion programs seeks to provide a theological framework that works in partnership with the ministries and service opportunities offered. Participants engage, reflect and learn as they deepen their experiential understanding of ministry in an urban context. Opportunities working in our clothing closet or food pantry are coupled with sessions on Poverty and Food Justice. Visits to historic churches and area soup kitchens are enriched by dialogue on Civil Rights and Homelessness. Work in afterschool programs provide hands-on experiences after learning about Education and Youth.

Educational/Advocacy Components: The Urban Immersion program offers the opportunity to learn, listen and serve alongside one another in the heart of New York City.  The goal is to challenge participants to ask difficult questions and explore together how faith fits into this experience.  RMM and Metro staff lead all sessions and debriefing during the group’s stay.  Group leaders are welcome to take part in leading these sessions.  RMM coordinates volunteer opportunities and informational sessions with other organizations taking part in justice work in the city.

Time: One week trips booked January – June, August -December 

Group Size: 15-25.

Minimum Age:  15 years

Adult to Youth Ratio:  1:10

Accommodations: Fourth floor of the church.  A large dorm room has 18 beds and a small dorm room has 10 beds.  Linens and towels are provided.  Housing space includes a communal shower room and bathroom.  Groups have access to the kitchen in the basement fellowship hall.  A mission team loungeoffers a comfortable space for groups to gather, relax and debrief. 

Cost: One week:  $4,000 for 15 participants or less with $300 for each additional participant.  The cost for trips of other lengths can be negotiated.

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Fuller Center for Housing (Greater New York City)

Contact: Stacey Goolsby, US Builders Registrar
               701 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
               Americus, GA  31719
E-Mail:     stacey@fullercenter.org
Phone:     229.924.2900    *Fax:  844-645-3485
Websitehttp://fullercentermacon.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FCHMacon
Register on-line:  https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=fullercenter&id=31

The Fuller Center for Housing faith-driven and Christ-centered, promotes collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in need worldwide.

Projects/Focus: Building new and repairing existing homes working with families in need.  The exact projects will be determined close to group arrival and based upon the progress of previous accomplishments of our volunteers and available resources.

Educational/Advocacy Components: Each group will receive an orientation about the community they will be serving.  This will include a discussion about poverty housing in the area, and the economic benefit of our “hand up-not a handout” approach and how this builds a Fund for Humanity, recycling homeowner payments to serve other people in need in the community.  Churches  do mission work by empowering the people they serve.