IHN of Greater Gainesville

•	Volunteering in your own Host or Support congregation. (See list of participating houses of worship)
•	Encouraging your congregation to become an IHN Host or Support congregation.
•	Sponsoring a fund-raising event for IHN.
•	Donating items on the IHN Needs/Wish List.
•	Providing employment opportunities to guest adults.
•	Volunteering in non-shelter aspects of the program. (See below)
•	Participating in the IHN Golf Event and other fund-raising activities.
•	Donating an automobile that can be given to a guest family without transportation.
•	Making a direct financial donation to IHN.

Joining the Network as a Host or Support Congregation

If you would like for your congregation to become an IHN Host or Support Congregation, please e-mail or call IHN Director Donna Lawson, 352-378-2030 / director@ihngvl.org.

Volunteering:

If your congregation is listed as a host or support congregation and you would like to become involved in its IHN activities, please call the IHN office at 352-378-2030 and we will give you the name and contact information for the IHN Coordinator in your congregation.

In addition to volunteering in the congregational shelter, the following volunteer opportunities are available:

•

Welcome Wagon – Helping to make Guests’ new homes homey! Volunteers are needed to:

Pick up furniture donated for guest families

Deliver furniture to families’ new homes

Donate “Moving in Baskets” (see below)

•

Day Center Volunteer – Volunteers are needed to staff the Day Center during the week. Activities include answering
the telephones, helping with Case Manager’s paperwork, assisting with mailings and fund-raising activities, interacting with the guests.

•

Day Center Lawn Maintenance – Volunteers are needed to cut the grass and maintain the flower beds at the Day Center.

•	Weekend Activities for Children – Volunteers are needed to provide activities for children at the Day Center on weekends.

•	Automobile Repair – Families with little income can ill afford the cost of automobile repairs, however, access to an automobile has become almost a necessity in our society. If you own an automobile repair shop and would consider repairing IHN guest vehicles for free or at low cost, please let us know.

•	Host an Undie Sunday – Families who enter shelter are in need of socks and underwear of all shapes, sizes, and colors!! You can help by hosting an Undie Sunday at your congregation, a day when congregation members bring in various shapes and sizes of socks and underwear to be donated for IHN families.

Automobile Donations

Consider donating your used car, truck or van to IHN. Approximately half of the families who enter IHN shelter have no transportation of their own and must, therefore, travel about town via bus, if and when it’s available. Sometimes the difference between unemployment and holding a job is reliable transportation. And imagine being the mother of an infant and a two year old, trying to travel across town to a doctor’s appointment in August in Gainesville. When vehicles are available, IHN donates them to guest families. Parents who have a driver’s license and who have obtained employment and can pay for insurance and gas receive vehicles that are donated by individuals in the community. If you have a vehicle in running condition, consider donating it to IHN. The car will initially be titled to IHN, which will provide you with a tax receipt. IHN will then title the car to the family, giving them easier access to jobs, healthcare, leisure activities and so on.

The IHN Golf/Walk Challenge takes place in October each year at the Haile Plantation Golf and Country Club. The Golf Challenge is a Golf Marathon! Golfers obtain sponsors and attempt to play 100 holes of golf in a day - though Golfers can play as much or as little as they’d like. (The current IHN record is 212 holes . . . .!!!!) During the late afternoon, Walkers, who have also obtained sponsors, walk the 3.5 miles cart path around the golf course. At the end of the day Golfers and Walkers gather together with IHN staff and Board members for dinner at the Haile Golf and Country Club to celebrate funds raised to help with our efforts to provide housing for homeless families with children. If you are interested in participating in the IHN Golf/Walk Challenge this year, please call or e-mail Event Chair Susan Carr, 352-271-1003, fastcarrs@yahoo.com.

Moving In baskets are laundry baskets filled with the following paper goods, household items, and supplies. They are donated to IHN guest families when they leave shelter or transitional housing to move into homes of their own.

•	Toilet Paper	•	Paper Towels
•	Soaps and Cleansers	•	Light Bulbs
•	Dish Towels	•	Potholders
•	Dish Soap	•	Laundry Detergent
•	Sponges	•	Bathsoap
•	Shampoo & Conditioners	•	Toothbrushes and Toothpaste
•	Small Tool Set	•	Shower Curtain and Hooks
•	Garbage Bags	•	Cooking Utensils and Tools
•	Eating Utensils	•	Batteries

Interfaith Hospitality Network
P.O.Box 880
Gainesville, FL 32602-0880

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