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

Juvenile Justice Ministry

The vision of Juvenile Justice is to see troubled youth made new through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, being formed into disciple-makers through the intentional, consistent investment of caring members of local church bodies. JJM seeks to engage young people as they are met in a variety of youth-serving institutions (detention centers, probation, correctional facilities, group homes, residential treatment centers and emergency shelters). These valued relationships are sustained through ongoing involvement as they reenter their communities.

Volunteering Opportunities

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

Mentor a Young Person

For Individuals • Weekly • Variable Times

Lead a Bible Study

For Individuals • Weekly • Variable Times

Help With a Worship Service

For Individuals • Occasionally, Regularly • Variable Times

Contact Information:

Francine
francine@yfcdenver.org

Juvenile Justice Ministy

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

Save Our Youth

Save Our Youth is a youth development organization providing at-risk youth with educational, emotional, and spiritual skills for success through long-term mentoring relationships.

Volunteering Opportunities

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

Mentor

For Individuals • Weekly • Variable Times

Mentor an at-risk student one-on-one.

Meals for Summer Academy

For Groups and Families • One-time • Weekdays or Weeknights

Contact Information:

Trudy Swain
303.455.1126
info@saveouryouth.org

Providence Network

Providence Network is a Denver faith-based, urban transformational housing organization that helps men, women, and families heal from addictions, abuse, and homelessness to become self-sufficient, productive members of the community. In addition to housing, their holistic program includes counseling, addictions recovery, vocational assistance, life skills development, and spiritual nurturing—all within a structured environment of 24/7 live-in staff who are dedicated to offering the support and accountability needed to transition from a difficult past into a bright future.

Volunteering Opportunities

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

Crew

For Individuals, Groups, or Families • One-time or Occasionally • Variable Times

We use “crews” of people for various volunteer opportunities around our homes: Childcare, cleaning, landscaping, event assistance, food preparation, home improvements, and donating new household items (see more below).

Donate Household Items

A great way to serve Providence Network is by donating new or gently-used twin bed frames, mattresses, linens and small “apartment-sized” furniture. Contat emilymaguire@providencenetwork.org to arrange a donation.

Contact Information:

Teresa Weesner
303-860-8404 ext. 23
teresaweesner@providencenetwork.org

Sun Valley Youth Center

Sun Valley Youth Center is committed to giving Denver’s poorest neighborhood a hope for the future. With a focus on transforming the lives of at-risk youth in this low-income, public-housing neighborhood, Sun Valley Youth Center provides day care, after-school care, youth development, mentoring, and life-essentials programs to help raise up the neighborhood’s youth.

Volunteering Opportunities

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

After School Tutor

For Individuals • Weekly or Regularly • Various Times

Vital to our mission at Sun Valley Youth Center is the encouragement of our youth to succeed from all fronts, and one of our largest areas of need is dedicated tutors to help our students with their homework.

Intern

For Individuals • Weekly • Various Times

Sun Valley Youth Center’s internship program provides excelent exposure to engaging with urban youth and the surrounding community. Our interns do different activities based on their gifts, and we would love to dedicate ourselves to finding your fit in our programs

Mentor

For Individuals • Weekly • Various Times

The mentoring program at Sun Valley Youth Center allows for our students to have one buddy that they can consistently spend about three hours on one day of each week with, with the hopes that they might continue to have great influences in their life.

Maintenance Crew

For Individuals and Groups • Regularly or Occasionally • Various Times

Sun Valley Youth Center is in need of volunteers willing to work maintenance for 5-10 hours a month on weekends or pre-program hours. We are looking for individuals willing to dedicate themselves to the general upkeep of the facilities that we use each day.

Contact Information:

Diamond Sykes
diamond@sunvalleyyouthcenter.org

YoungLives

More than 20 years ago, Young Life answered God’s call to run headfirst into the chaos of teenage motherhood with the hope of Jesus… and YoungLives was born. YoungLives has never wavered from the original vision to reach teen moms by entering their world, modeling the unconditional love of Christ, and encouraging them to become the women and mothers God created them to be. Through Young Life’s time-tested methods and life-on-life mentoring, teen moms are empowered to make positive choices, set and achieve goals, and live a future rooted in Christ.

Volunteering Opportunities

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

Mentor

For Individuals • Weekly • Weeknights

Childcare at Summer camp

For Individuals • One-Time

Every summer hundreds of teen moms head to Young Life camp to hear the Gospel in a relatable and impactful way. To make it all possible, individuals and groups from around the country spend a week caring for the children of the teen moms.

 

Heart and Hand Center for Youth and Their Families

By creating a nurturing community, the Heart & Hand Center empowers all young people to realize their potential. We envision a world with no opportunity gap, where all children have access to the resources, skills, and information they need to build vibrant futures. The Heart & Hand Center provides nurturing, long-term support for 3rd to 12th grade youth in Northeast Denver through daily after-school and summer programming using a whole-child approach. In addition to the enriching programming we provide for young people, we also provide families with resources and referrals for critical needs such as housing, food, and emergency funding.

Volunteering Opportunities

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

School and Center Programs

For Individuals • Weekly • Weekdays

Program volunteers directly impact the lives of Heart & Hand youth. They help the kids with their homework, tutor them, supervise activities, host workshops, conduct art-mentoring programs, and act as positive role models.

College and Career Programs

For Individuals • Weekly • Weekdays

This program focuses on individualized post-secondary planning to promote success in high school and beyond. Volunteers can host workshops, support with college and job applications and skills, and support with the financial aid and scholarship process.

Off-Site Art Progam

For Individuals • Weekly • Weekdays

Our off-site art program volunteers dedicate approximately an hour per week to work with children through art mentoring programs. These creative sessions are therapeutic and fun for young people.

Events & Services

For Individuals, Groups, and Families • Occasionally • Various Times

Our off-site art program volunteers dedicate approximately an hour per week to work with children through art mentoring programs. These creative sessions are therapeutic and fun for young people.

Events & Services

For Individuals, Groups, and Families • Occasionally • Various Times

The Heart & Hand Center also has opportunities that allow for a more flexible time commitment. These include things like helping at a Heart & Hand event, hosting a fundraiser, offering administrative support, providing occasional IT support, donating graphic design talents, or any other way in which you feel you can contribute. We are always looking for excited and talented individuals, and love finding new ways to get people involved with our organization.

 

Royal Family Kids Camp

Royal Family Kids Camp is the nation’s leading network of camps for abused, neglected, and abandoned children. There are four churches in the Denver metro area that run these camps, the closest is Arvada Covenant Church. Camps often have associated clubs, which meet during the year to continue to mentor the children who attend camp in the summer.

Volunteering Opportunities

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

Camp Guide

For Individuals and Groups • One-time • One Week

We need guides who want to serve RFK campers and love kids. For every guide who signs up, we can make a difference in the lives of two more campers! You will be required to attend training, complete an FBI background check including fingerprinting, and have a heart for service. Guides arrive the day before camp to prepare for the campers.

Mentor

For Individuals • Weekly • Variable Times

Events Volunteer

For Individuals and Groups • Ocassionally or One Time • Weekend Nights

Contact Information:

Camp #005

Will & Mikki Le Vett
303.422.1235
arvada@royalfamilykids.org

Mentoring Club #022

Connie Williams
303.204.4669
arvadaclub@royalfamilykids.org