Walnut Hills participates in preparing and serving an evening meal on the 5^th of each month for Churches United Homeless Shelter as part of living out our mission statement: Walnut Hills a place to call home where we are welcomed and sent forth to serve.

What is Churches United Shelter? 
(Excerpt taken from Churches United Shelter Web site, www.churchesunitedshelter.org. 
Visit this web site to learn more about what Churches United is doing in our community.)

Churches United History 1992-2005: 
In the early 1990’s, five homeless people froze to death on the streets of Des Moines. Prompted by these tragedies, eight area churches joined together in 1992 with the vision of a nondenominational shelter for homeless adults - a shelter that removed barriers of cost and length of stay, and that did not discriminate on the basis of gender, race or religion. From this movement, Churches United, Inc. of the Greater Des Moines Area was born.

By 1994, Churches United had acquired sufficient community support and resources to establish a permanent facility, and the current emergency shelter was built at 205 15th Street in Des Moines. Since 1992 nearly 25,000 homeless women and men have received emergency shelter and assistive services to help them move beyond homelessness. Programming continues to evolve to meet emerging homeless and community needs.

How does Walnut Hills participate each month? 
On the 5^th of each month persons from Walnut Hills provide food items from a provided menu. They deliver the food to the church or the Churches United Shelter site by 5:30 p.m. Persons serving the meal should be at the site by 6:15 p.m. It takes 12 to 20 food preparers and 5 to 8 servers to meet our commitment once a month. You can sign up to prepare or serve one time or as many times as you would be available.

What do team members do?  
There are several volunteer jobs on Walnut Hills Churches United Shelter Meal Program Team.
(You may volunteer one time or as often as you care to participate.)

1. Menu Preparation: Plan the menus for the year following the guidelines of previous menus.  Email or give a copy of the menu to the church staff resource person, Pam Deeds who will make sure the information is shared with the scheduler. 

2. Scheduler: Having the evening’s menu in hand, the scheduler calls persons who have checked the Sunday morning stub to donate food, and/or to be a server.  The stub information is given to the scheduler by the church office staff.  Scheduling includes lining up which volunteer from the stub list will provide each item on the menu and who will be serving that particular evening.  This information is then sent to the office staff through email where it is posted in the kitchen for the Pick-Up/ Delivery person’s use as a guide.

3. Pick-Up/Delivery and sight coordinator: This job includes picking up the food for the evening meal here at the church; checking the list in the kitchen to what has been donated; arrive at Churches United Shelter by 6:15 p.m. Serving begins at 6:30 p.m.   Greet the serving volunteers and assign tasks such as serving particular items, cleaning, running, etc. 

4. Servers: Check the Sunday morning stub when you are available.  The scheduler will call you to check in with you.  Arrive to serve the meal at Churches United Shelter site by 6:15 p.m. , serving and clean up ends by 7:30 p.m.  

5. Preparers: Check the Sunday morning stub when you are available to provide food for the Churches United meal night.  The scheduler will call you to see which meal item you are willing to provide.  Bring the food items to Walnut Hills or the Churches United Shelter by 5:30 p.m.

How do I get involved?

Contact Susan Guy at 270-9226 or email.  You may rotate as a team member through a six month period or serve as a team member once in the six month period depending on your availability.  A letter updating team members, their jobs, and how to contact each one is sent at the beginning of each 6 month period to those serving as Scheduler and Pick-Up/Delivery/Site Coordinators.  Preparers and Servers are contacted as they check the Sunday Morning stub.