Seeking Church to Host Event

Hi Everyone!!

I am looking for a church and/or a very large building like a school?? to host for the summer 2009 youth mission trips groups for Group Workcamps Foundation, Week of Hope.

A Week of Hope is an intensive week of service offering teenagers an opportunity to perform hands-on service projects for needy individuals, families, and communities. At a typical Week of Hope, up to 99 youth and adults come together to provide hands-on services to individuals, families, and communities for seven (7) consecutive weeks. Week of Hope participants come from churches of many denominations across the country. The focus is not on evangelism; rather, the Week of Hope emphasizes growing teenagers’ faith through meaningful service to others.

Our current Austin project partners for the summer of 2009 include: Austin Heart to Heart Hospice, Capital Area Food Bank, Storehouse Ministries, American Housing Foundation, and Christian Women’s Job Corp, Mission Possible, Redeemer Lutheran, and the Georgetown Housing Authority: Stonehaven. This list is currently expanding.

I am currently looking for a host location(s) for Week of Hope for the summer of 2009 which begins June 13 and ends July 31. The host location acts as the “home base” for the youth groups and “home” for the two full-time summer staff. This is the place where they eat breakfast/ dinner and sleep when not out on projects. Week of Hope Youth arrive at the host facility Sunday afternoons and check-out on Friday by 10 a.m. Youth groups leave for projects Monday-Thursday by 8:30 in the morning taking with them a prepared sack lunch and return to the host location around 4 each afternoon. The youth sleep on the floor, we only need to the ability to divide the sleeping quarters according to gender. Access to a kitchen is a necessity since breakfast and dinner are prepared and served by the youth.

Group Workcamps Foundation does reimburse the host for the use of their facilities.