Open Door Ministries

Our mission is to show mercy, build community, and make disciples for Christ in urban Denver. Open Door Ministries exists to provide practical help and hope to people in urban Denver who are homeless or low-income. Our primary objective is to move people toward self-sufficiency by helping change the circumstances and life patterns that have held them captive to poverty and addiction. Through 16 distinct programs, we focus on tangible needs like food, shelter, access to education and employment training, as well as intangible needs such as friendship, hope, and Christian spiritual guidance. Since the issues faced by our friends tend to have many layers, Open Door has learned that the best way to help them succeed is to surround them with support, holistically empowering them to overcome obstacles, attain self-sufficiency, and thrive.

Volunteering Opportunities

See “contact information” below to volunteer and learn more. Opportunities may include, but may not be limited to:

Basic Needs

For Individuals, Groups, and Families • One-Time • Weekdays

Preparing and Serving/Delivering Meals

For Individuals, Groups, or Families • One-Time • Weekdays

Home Improvement

For Individuals and Groups • One-Time • Weekdays

Refinishing/tiling floors, installing irrigation system, electrical work, etc. For skilled individuals or groups/

Learning Center

For Individuals • Weekly • Weekdays

The Learning Center provides children ages 3-12 a quality education founded upon high academics and Christian character development. Various volunteer needs here.

Still Waters Housing

For Individuals, Groups, and Families • Variable Committments • Variable Times

Our Still Waters Housing program includes three homes for single women. Chayah House serves women being restored from homelessness, addictions, and abuse. Treasure House serves single moms with young children. Esther House serves women escaping the sex-trade industry. The below includes volunteer opportunities for Treasure House, Chayah House, and Esther House.

Family Room

For Individuals and Groups • Variable Committments • Weekdays

The Family Room provides a hospitable space for people to rest and access our resources.

Youth Center

For Individuals • Weekly • Variable Times

The Youth Center is a place for urban youth to belong and flourish through Bible studies, activities, and one-on-one relationships.

Women’s Homelessness Initiative

For Individuals and Groups • Variable Committments • Variable Times

Each week 20 women eat dinner at The Table and then are welcomed into the sanctuary at Open Door Fellowship where they spend the night. Overnight volunteers ensure a safe and welcoming environment for women and provide a refuge from the harsh street environment.

Open Door to Success

For Individuals • Occasionally • Variable Times

Open Door to Success is an employment training program teaching Christian work principles and holistically empowering people to move into the marketplace. The below volunteer needs are on an “on-call” basis and are only available when the need arises.

TRYAD

For Individuals • Variable Committments • Variable Times

TRYAD (To Reconcile You Able-bodied And Disabled) reaches disabled individuals through needed compassion and evangelism.

Cornerstone Home

For Groups • Regularly • Weeknights

Cornerstone is a long-term home for disabled men. Residents are taught to live life as a team, learning to help one another in day-to-day life. This allows them to contribute to the needs of others and subsequently, it affirms their dignity and lets them discover their importance.

Outreach

For Individuals and Groups • Regularly • Weekdays

Help pass out lunches and pray for homeless people: Noon-1pm on the first Tuesday of each month. Meet at the Einstein’s Bagels near the corner of 16th St. and California in downtown Denver.

Serve a Meal

For Groups and Families • Variable Committments • Variable Times

There are a few ways to serve through serving a meal: 1. Prepare and deliver a meal (that can be frozen for throughout the week) for Still Waters Housing residents. This needs to be enough to feed seven people. 2. Prepare and bring lunch for our TRYAD program. Every 4th Tuesday of each month, 11:30am-1:30pm. 3. Serve breakfast to the homeless on Saturday mornings 8-11am. For more info on any of the above meal-serving opportunities, contact us (see below).

General Opportunities

For Groups and Families • Variable Committments • Variable Times

Physical: cleaning, gardening, painting, etc. at one of our nine properties. Skilled work: construction, plumbing, electrical work, etc.

Contact Information:

Lindsay
720.975.0120
lhermayer@odmdenver.org

Megan
720.975.0103
megan@odmdenver.org

Denver Institute for Faith & Work

The mission of Denver Institute for Faith & Work is to form men and women who live with Christ in all of life, bear witness to the gospel in every area of culture, and serve the needs of the world with the work of their hands. Our mission is carried out through four programs:

Emerging Leader Fellowships — The 5280 Fellowship is a rigorous and selective leadership program for full-time professionals in Denver.

Events & Forums — We host events in partnership with local churches to help professionals engage with theology of work and vocation. We also organize public forums to address pressing issues across a wide array of professional industries. View upcoming events >>

Groups & Resources — We organize and equip volunteer-led Vocation Groups of men and women across professional sectors who are committed to thinking theologically about their work, embracing relationships, creating good work, seeking deep spiritual health, and sacrificially serving others.

Church Partnership Network — We serve local churches by offering events for pastors; sharing local stories of men and women serving God through their work; and assisting pastors with sermons, classes, and retreats focused on the integration of faith and work.

Contact Information:

Brian Gray
720.937.9518
brian.gray@denverinstitute.org

Hope In Our City

We build relationships with refugees to foster healthy community in Denver and make generational impact. Through friendships, all other needs come into clearer view. Our focus is in refugee communities, with Sun Valley being our pilot community in Denver, Colorado. It is through engaging the community holistically that true, lasting change occurs and individuals become equipped to be contributing, sustainable citizens committed to their family, community, country and world.

Volunteering Opportunities

See “contact information” below to volunteer and learn more. Opportunities may include, but may not be limited to:

Friday Recess Volunteer

For Individuals, Groups, or Families • Weekly • Fridays

A time of free-play and relationship building with youth and families in Sun Valley. Each week varies, but there’s usually a craft, some basketball, foursquare, football, kickball, and some crazy games of tag on the playground. Volunteers are welcome to bring their families.

Youth Leadership Program Volunteer

For Individuals • Weekly • Weekday Nights

Invest deeply into a group of middle or high school students, helping create a community of students who are courageous, trustworthy, and humble. Ideal for committed volunteers with a lot of grit.

Homework Hour

For Individuals • Weekly • Variable Times

Help provide a safe and fun place for kids to hang out after school and do homework or read.

Women’s Conversation Group

For Individuals • Weekly • Weekdays

Meet weekly with a group of women in Sun Valley to build friendships and create community. Ideal for volunteer women committed to building long-term, cross-cultural friendships.

ESL Class

For Individuals • Weekly • Weekdays

Meet once a week with a group of English language learners in Sun Valley to build friendships, create community, and help others become more comfortable with written and spoken English. We’re recruiting volunteer ESL Teachers (certified) and Teacher’s Assistants (no ESL experience required).

Sewing Class

For Individuals • Occasional, Regular • Weekdays

Help track and database the impact we are making in the lives of our neighbors and volunteers. Ideal for organized volunteers who don’t mind sitting still in front of a computer.

Other Ways to Give

You can give to Hope In Our City through corporate sponsorship, professional services, vehicle dontations, stock transfers, and real estate donations. Contact us for more info (see below).

Contact Information:

Ben Sooy
303.823.1918
bsooy@hopeinourcity.org

Upstream Impact

Many programs provide a temporary safety net, but Upstream Impact swims against the current to help individuals identify their barriers and empower them to build a bridge out. Upstream Impact’s objective is to see 1,000 men, women and children in northeast Denver escape poverty over the next five years. Solving the problem begins with understanding the holistic nature of poverty and requires intentional engagement and significant relationships. It also demands a focus not solely on the problem of poverty, but also on the potential of the person.

Become an Ally

For Individuals • Weekly • Weeknights

An Ally is a member of the community who volunteers to walk alongside neighbors on their journey to financial freedom. Allies become friends, confidants, and motivators who share in both the successes and struggles of life in community.

Contact Information:

info@upstreamimpact.org