Mt. View Shelter
This twice-a-year direct service project is sponsored by Women of Isaiah in partnership with Values in Action, and volunteer opportunities are open to all.
What’s involved? Temple members cook dinner on site using ingredients and recipes provided by the shelter. A dinner crew of three volunteers plus a crew chief (a volunteer with previous experience) arrive at the shelter at about 4:30 p.m., cook the meal, and serve it to the residents Volunteers leave at approximately 7 p.m. after cleaning up in the kitchen. Volunteering at the shelter is fun and rewarding – volunteers have the opportunity to engage with the residents, from infants to adults, as well as to enjoy the experience of working together.
If you are unable to volunteer at the shelter, we will again be collecting much-needed supplies that the shelter requests.
Questions? Contact Lynn Harrington-Golde at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Sheri Lockshin at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
- Program Description
Program Description
Twice a year, Women of Isaiah organizes a week of volunteering that involves preparing and serving dinner to the residents of the Mountain View Family Shelter in Martinez. Shelter residents are predominantly mothers and children, and sometimes fathers as well. The shelter provides short term housing while the residents work with local agencies to find permanent housing.Each evening, a Crew Chief oversees the meal delivery, preparation, and serving. Three additional volunteers work with the Crew Chief to prepare the evening’s meal at the shelter and serve it to the residents. Currently, the shelter has a donor who provides the evening’s ingredients and the shelter staff create menus for each evening.
The Shelter also provides us with a list of supplies that they need at that time and participants can sign up to provide some supplies rather than or in addition to cooking and serving an evening’s meal.We need your help in order for this week to be successful, so please give a bit of your time to this very worthwhile mitzvah. Sign up individually or create a group and cook together. It is a fun and rewarding experience!
- Details
Details
Menus for the week have been determined in advance by the Shelter and volunteers will find these in the shelter kitchen when they arrive.
Each evening’s Crew Chief is a prior participant who knows the routine. On Monday, the Crew Chief will pick up the donated supplies from the temple office and bring them to the shelter. The Crew Chief may ask for help with delivery of the supplies.Each night 3 Preparers/Servers work with the Crew Chief at the shelter. Prior to signing up, you may review the menu for each day on the Temple’s website to determine which meal you would like to prepare and serve. Families are welcome. Children who are between 12 and 15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent.
We serve anywhere from 15 to 36 family members, depending on the number of residents living in the shelter at that time. The meal is our own dinner as well. We are encouraged to share the night’s meal with the residents in the dining area, or we may eat in the kitchen (please check with the shelter staff for their current Covid protocols).
After dinner we clean up the kitchen and put away any remaining food. In general, we arrive at the Shelter at 4:30pm and leave by 7pm.
You don’t need to know how to cook to participate. There are detailed recipes and an experienced Crew Chief to guide you.
A comprehensive set of instructions for Crew Chiefs and for volunteers is in the links below under Volunteer Guides. The Crew Chiefs and co-chairs of the program are also available to provide answers when needed.
Please use the link above to select the type of support you feel comfortable with. When you sign up, please place one and only one name in each slot for the night so that we have an accurate count of participants and their contact details. It is important to include the phone number where you can be reached the day of your participation so that the Crew Chief and co-chairs can contact you with last minute updates if needed. So, come join us, and experience the satisfaction of helping others.
- Volunteer Guides