Open Door Shelter Volunteers: Making the Time to Care

This week, guest blogger Charlotte Adinolfi returns to VolunteerSquare.com with a profile on our friends at the Open Door Shelter in Norwalk and a look at how volunteers are making an impact. - Rachel 

For Open Door Shelter in Norwalk, they have gained the help of volunteers who have taken the time to make volunteering at the shelter part of their routine. But not everyone has the time to always do this. Between work, cooking dinner, exercising, playing with your kids, visiting with friends, cleaning, among many other weekly tasks, who has time to squeeze volunteering in?

However, there are benefits of making this a routine not only for those we help but for ourselves too. Giving back can be just as relaxing as a day at the spa and as rewarding as making a good deal at work.

“I have had volunteers say to me it is the best hour of their week,” Chris Hulse, development director for Open Door Shelter, said. “People come every week to serve breakfast and get there at 5:30, 6 in the morning and don’t want their slot changed.”

Open Door Shelter works hard to make volunteering for their organization easy. Started in 1983 by pastors who noticed people congregating in the business district of South Norwalk, the organization has grown to offer a range of services. Hulse said the first mission is to keep people safe and give them shelter as well as food. Providing 95 beds as well as another 9 for overflow, Open Door Shelter provides protection for individuals and families as well as dishing out three meals a day for their clients and neighbors.

“I think it is [the program] absolutely fundamental to their survival,” Hulse said. “It is their basic needs we are fighting for and giving them.”

For those who stay and wish to attack the root causes of homelessness, case managers are provided and job training can be obtained for clients. With so many different avenues of helping these clients, Open Door Shelter has many ways you can get involved.

Hulse said volunteers most often serve meals but there are various times during the year where larger groups are needed. Holiday times as well as maintenance needs for the building require large groups. Hulse said if volunteers wish to make a more long-lasting impact and connection, they can mentor clients.

“To sustain a relationship with a client, to help them and be a voice for their life, another party interested in them that might be the attention they really need” Hulse said.

With so many options and signing up made easy, finding that rewarding weekly outlet could be closer than you think.

“A volunteer has to come with their energy and their positivity,” Hulse said. “Bring an attitude of energy and good will, exude positive energy, give freely and something may happen you cannot predict.”

For more information on how you can get involved just visit the Open Door Shelter page on VolunteerSquare.com. If you're looking for another type of volunteer opportunity be sure to visit VolunteerSquare.com and sign up for our free e-alerts. These will help match you with a project you're interested in right here in Connecticut, quickly and easily!