The Church of the Open Door
Mission Volunteer Opportunities
| Opportunity | Agency/Org | Description | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delegate for wider church meetings | Our Church's Wider Mission -- OCWM [About] | Be a delegate to our Association or Conference annual meeting; serve on wider-church committees. [Read More] | Deb Burich: [Send Email] |
| Administrative Support | LEAVEN [About] | Provide administrative support to LEAVEN staff and volunteers (copying, filing, etc.) [Read More] | Linda Pierron: [Send Email] |
| Advocate | ESTHER [About] | Write letters to congressional leaders regarding justice issues, write articles for The Open Door. [Read More] | Joan Jensen: [Send Email] |
| Alternative Gift Market Leadership Team | Alternative Christmas Market [About] | Help is need in organizing booth sponsorship, decoration, creating a holiday atmosphere, public relations, writing, and technology support. [Read More] | Deb Burich: [Send Email] Karen Leigh-Post: [Send Email] |
| Awareness Projects | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | Coordinate a project that promotes education about and awareness of poverty and homelessness. [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |
| Bake Sale | Alternative Christmas Market [About] | Provide goods and help sell on market day. [Read More] | Deb Burich: [Send Email] Karen Leigh-Post: [Send Email] |
| Build Bunk Beds | Project NOAHH [About] | People are needed to build bunk beds for Project NOAHH. Build them in your own workshop or coordinate a group build! [Read More] | Doug Nelson: [Send Email] Pat Hauser: [Send Email] |
| Building Homes | Habitat for Humanity [About] | Ongoing construction work on specific First Congregational building days; Women's Blitz Build Help build and re-build homes in Biloxi, MS with our partners at Back Bay Mission. We travel there once a year for a week in fall. [Read More] | Deb Burich: [Send Email] |
| Calligraphy | Alternative Christmas Market [About] | Add that special flair to personalized cards. [Read More] | Deb Burich: [Send Email] Karen Leigh-Post: [Send Email] |
| Caseworker | LEAVEN [About] | Work with LEAVEN clients to connect them to the community resources they need. [Read More] | Linda Pierron: [Send Email] |
| Cook and Serve Dinner | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | A group from First Congo cooks and serves dinner at the shelter on the third Sunday of every month from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sign up at the Mission Table in the Narthex. [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |
| Deliver produce | Plant-a-Row for the Hungry [About] | Deliver produce from the Plant A Row gardens to the Emergency Shelter, St. Joe's Food Pantry, Salvation Army and Loaves & Fishes. [Read More] | Jack Harris: [Send Email] Rev. Maynard E. Beemer: [Send Email] |
| Deliver Supplies | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | Volunteers are needed at Christmas time to collect and deliver items from a special collection via the Giving Tree program. [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |
| Donate books or fund the "Read to Me" program | Prison Ministry [About] | Donate books or fund the "Read to Me" program -- helping a prisoner "tape" portions of a book and send the book and tape to their child. [Read More] | Sara Companik: [Send Email] Stephen Otto: [Send Email] |
| Donate gently used goods | Project NOAHH [About] | Donate needed items identified by families/caseworkers. These may include a variety of items such as dressers, bikes, vacuum cleaners, dryers, baby beds. [Read More] | Doug Nelson: [Send Email] |
| E2F Pan Project - Emergency Shelter | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | E2F - Empty to Full - provides pans of lasagna & casseroles for the Emergency Shelter. Twice a year, empty pans with the ingredients list, recipe and a prayer are taken home, filled and brought back to church unbaked. Pans are collected & put in cold storage for shelter use. Help is needed to prepare the pans, distribute & collect the pans. [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |
| Emergency Shelter dinner coordinator | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | Coordinate kitchen leaders for 3rd Sunday evening of each month, check monthly sign up sheets and recruit additional volunteers if needed (minimum of 4 needed each month). [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |
| ESTHER | ESTHER [About] | Be part of the ESTHER core team at First Congo, join an ESTHER issues committee, or both. [Read More] | Joan Jensen: [Send Email] |
| Gardening - Contribute Produce or Seedlings | Plant-a-Row for the Hungry [About] | Supply produce from your own garden; start seedlings at home to contribute to the gardens. [Read More] | Jack Harris: [Send Email] Rev. Maynard E. Beemer: [Send Email] |
| Interpreter | LEAVEN [About] | Provide foreign-language interpretation between non-English speaking LEAVEN clients and LEAVEN staff and volunteers. [Read More] | Linda Pierron: [Send Email] |
| Interviewer | LEAVEN [About] | Interview clients seeking service from LEAVEN [Read More] | Linda Pierron: [Send Email] |
| Kenya Partnership Team | Kenya Partnership [About] | Participate on the team and help facilitate new projects as they continue to evolve. [Read More] | Wanda Van De Hey: [Send Email] |
| Knit or crochet | Prayer Shawl Ministry [About] | Join in knitting/crocheting prayer shawls on the second Monday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. or the second Thursday from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. of each month. [Read More] | Helen McKean: [Send Email] |
| LEAVEN | LEAVEN [About] | Serve as receptionist, a records clerk or caseworker for clients at LEAVEN who seek emergency financial assistance. [Read More] | Linda Pierron: [Send Email] |
| Octoberfest - coordinate booth | Habitat for Humanity [About] | Serve as overall booth coordinator or work a shift at the First Congo booth at Appleton's Octoberfest. (The booth supports the Greater Fox Cities chapter of Habitat for Humanity by selling grilled chicken breast sandwiches.) We are seeking 2 co-chairs for 2012. Co-chairs from the past years will guide and train - materials are well laid out. [Read More] | Deb Burich: [Send Email] |
| Office Volunteers | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | Volunteer to help in the office of the Shelter. [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |
| Our Church's Wider Mission | Our Church's Wider Mission -- OCWM [About] | Participate in a national women's or youth event; be a delegate for General Synod, link up to one of the e-mail networks of our national UCC (e.g. Justice and Peace), support global mission work as a member of FOCUS, be a short or long term volunteer -- nationally or globally, volunteer at UCC disaster work sites. [Read More] | |
| Overnight support | Warming Shelter [About] | Help is needed for overnight shifts Midnight-4am and 4am-8am. Assist Warming Shelter staff with laundry & monitoring of area. [Read More] | Mary Sullivan: [Send Email] |
| Participate in a trip | Kenya Partnership [About] | Participate in a trip to Kerio Valley, Kenya. Trips focus on relationships with our partners there, experiencing the culture, representing our church in meetings and in worship, travelling to some of the 20+ churches, visiting the hospital and nursing school at Kapsowar, visiting schools and talking with students and at varying times some small work projects (painting a church together with members there, laying some bricks for the library, etc.) [Read More] | Wanda Van De Hey: [Send Email] |
| Participate in a Work Trip | Back Bay Mission, Biloxi, Mississippi [About] | Travel with a group from First Congo to Biloxi, Mississippi, to participate in a work camp organized by Back Bay Mission staff. [Read More] | Al ("Benji") Benzschawel: [Send Email] |
| Plant, weed, and harvest produce | Plant-a-Row for the Hungry [About] | Help is needed from spring through fall. In 2011 over 5,000 lbs of produce was harvested and donated to St. Joe's Food Pantry, Emergency Shelter and Salvation Army. [Read More] | Jack Harris: [Send Email] Rev. Maynard E. Beemer: [Send Email] |
| Provide Dessert | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | Drop off desserts on the third Sunday of the month at the Shelter -- anytime that day. Sign up at the Mission Table in the Narthex. [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |
| Recipe tester | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | Test and change recipes for the E2F Pan project for the Emergency Shelter. Recipes need to be economical, easy to make and bake up well after freezing. [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |
| Restorative Justice | Prison Ministry [About] | Participate in the fall Restorative Justice Program. [Read More] | Sara Companik: [Send Email] Stephen Otto: [Send Email] |
| ReStore | Habitat for Humanity [About] | Retail help, pick up donations, tear down buildings. [Read More] | Deb Burich: [Send Email] |
| Volunteer Events Coordinator | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | Plan and coordinate a thank-you brunch for all those from our congregation who have volunteered with the Shelter. [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |
| Warming Shelter - Provide meals | Warming Shelter [About] | Provide meals. [Read More] | Leigh Grube: [Send Email] Mary Sullivan: [Send Email] |
| Work Teams | Disaster Response Ministry [About] | Participate in disaster response work teams. [Read More] | Deb Burich: [Send Email] |
| Worship at the Prison | Prison Ministry [About] | Participate in the quarterly communion services. [Read More] | Sara Companik: [Send Email] Stephen Otto: [Send Email] |
| Youth Service Projects | Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley [About] | Coordinate a project for the shelter with First Congo youth, such as serving breakfast. [Read More] | Cindi MacSwain: [Send Email] |