Looking to find ways to serve others?
There are plenty of ways to get involved at National UMC. Whether you are looking for something locally or internationally, we have ways to engage you in service. From our homeless ministries to our new initiatives to feed those who are hungry, and our trips to Nicaragua, you can find ways to serve now! Are you looking for a way to serve the community or the congregation right now? You can connect immediately with any of following upcoming volunteer opportunities.
GRATE PATROL
Be part of a team making sandwiches and assembling lunch bags for the Salvation Army Grate Patrol the fourth Sunday of the month in the Vestry at Metropolitan Memorial. Sign up online.
METRO HOUSE MEALS
Volunteers are needed to donate meals. Volunteers are also needed to deliver meals prepared at our St. Luke's Mission Center to Metropolitan House. Sign up online.
Helping the Homeless
National UMC responded with a bold commitment to house the homeless in its own church buildings. St. Luke’s Shelter and Metropolitan House pioneered the small-shelter movement in Northwest Washington, modeling an effective congregation-based approach to homeless service which engages hundreds of church and community members in direct, person-to-person ministry with their unhoused neighbors. For the past twenty years, these two onsite shelters have provided stable, secure living environments that empower residents to move beyond homelessness towards self-sufficiency and permanent housing.
Additionally, National UMC has been at the forefront of efforts to advocate for more affordable housing and more supportive housing for the homeless. Working through the Washington Interfaith Network, National UMC helped Friendship Place receive city financing to launch a new "housing first" program that has moved 165 men and women off the streets and into their own homes.
Sign up online to donate Shelter meals.
Tyler Rusch Homeless Walk
Every fall, the entire National UMC community—young and old—demonstrate their support for our robust homeless ministry by participating in the Tyler Rusch Homeless Walk. The walk route starts at Metropolitan Memorial and proceeds through the neighborhoods surrounding the church.
This annual fundraising event is the principal source of funding for Metropolitan House homeless shelter, raising over $250,000 since its inception. The event is held in honor of Tyler Rusch, an 18-year-old parishioner and a dedicated Metropolitan House volunteer who died in a tragic automobile accident in 2003.
GET INVOLVED
Help with planning and publicity. Volunteers are needed to spread the word, plan refreshments, and handle set up.
Sponsor walkers and contribute to the walk. Sponsors are needed to fund youth and student walkers and to contribute to the overall fundraising objectives of the event. Donate online here.
Register to walk. Walkers can register the day of the walk or by mailing their registration form in advance of the walk-day.
Help on walk-day. Volunteers are needed to staff the registration table and monitor the walk route.
GET CONNECTED
If you would like more information or would like to volunteer, contact Metropolitan House funding coordinator Ann Michel.
Feeding the Hungry
Campus Kitchen Project
The Campus Kitchens Project (CKP), is a leader in resourceful anti-hunger programs for communities around the country. The Campus Kitchen Washington DC, housed at St. Luke’s Mission Center, engages in food recovery, meal prep and delivery on a weekly basis. Student leaders and volunteers from American University, Georgetown, and George Washington, members of our congregation, the National Cathedral, and other community organizations make this possible. We are recovering food from Mom's Organic Market, local Chipotles, and local farmers markets.
There are many new possibilities on the horizon in this year of growth, so come and join us in our work!
To learn more about Campus Kitchen at the St. Luke’s Mission Center, to see available volunteer opportunities, and have the availability to sign up online, please visit our online service calendar.
Food Preparation and Delivery. Campus Kitchen offers several shift days and times to choose from. Come and help out at one or all shifts: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 4pm - 7pm I Saturdays 10am - 1pm.
GRATE PATROL
Grate Patrol occurs one Sunday a month at both the Metropolitan Memorial Campus and the Wesley Campus. Click here to sign up.
SHELTER Meals
Volunteers are needed to donate and deliver meals to Metro House and the St. Luke's Mission Center. Click here to sign up.
If you are homeless and need shelter
All individuals residing at Metropolitan House and St. Luke’s House come on referral from Friendship Place. If you are interested in becoming a resident at Metropolitan House or St. Luke’s House, or other congregation-based shelters, please contact Friendship Place at 4713 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016, Monday between 12:30pm to 4pm or Tuesday to Friday between 8:30am to 11:30am and 1pm to 3pm. Or you can phone CCH/FP at 202-364-1419. If you need shelter immediately, please contact the DC Shelter Hotline at 202-399-7093. They will provide information on public shelters. If it is below 32 degrees, the District will provide transportation.
YOUTH VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or two background-checked adults in any Serving Pillar Activity. In the case of Campus Kitchen at Washington, D.C. we ask that there are no individual volunteers under the age of 18. If you are interested in having a group of volunteers who are under the minimum age come to the Campus Kitchen at Washington, D.C. please contact Patrick Landau to discuss.