Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity to help the homeless in St. Paul? We’re actively looking for volunteers to serve an evening meal and show some kindness to Higher Ground residents 365 days a year.
Who Is Friends of Dorothy Day?
Friends of Dorothy Day is a registered 501(c)(3) charity whose purpose is to provide support to residents of Catholic Charities’ St. Paul Higher Ground homeless shelter.
While Friends of Dorothy Day is independent of Catholic Charities, we work closely with Catholic Charities as we seek to best serve the residents of Higher Ground. Our volunteers are comprised of men and women from churches, schools and universities, alumni groups, employee volunteer groups, and members of the community.
Our principal task is to serve a nightly meal to Pay-for-Stay residents (and a residents of a few other programs at Higher Ground), a transitional housing program for ~40 men living on Higher Ground’s 2nd floor. Our volunteers serve this meal 7 days a week, 365 days every year.
Volunteering with Friends of Dorothy Day
Volunteers are the lifeblood of both Friends of Dorothy Day as well as Higher Ground’s 2nd floor. The 2nd floor kitchen is staffed exclusively with volunteers from Friends of Dorothy Day. Volunteers serve from 7:00-9:00 P.M., serving an already-prepared meal (provided by Catholic Charities) followed by light clean-up duties. With a daily need for volunteers, and 3-4 volunteers needed for every evening, we staff well over 1,000 volunteer shifts every year.
Our History
As the autumn winds began to blow in 2010, Gerry Lauer and his staff at the Dorothy Day Center knew that after 30 years of providing shelter for those in need, things were changing. There was simply no more space to accommodate all who sought a warm, safe place to sleep. Without available staff or funds, the prospects looked bleak.
In response, Gerry and a group of volunteers from St. John Neumann and St. Thomas Becket began contingency plans.
During the cold winter months, October through March, 2 volunteers would arrive each evening at the vacant offices of Catholic Charities St. Paul, admit up to 40 guests for the night, feed them dinner, socialize with them and then bed down with them. The following morning, everyone was up at 5:30 am, shared coffee and a little light housekeeping before heading on their way by 6:30am. Overflow guests headed out to find someplace to stay warm until the overflow shelter reopened that evening, while volunteers went home or directly to work for the day. For the next six winters, no one was ever turned away who sought shelter on a cold winter night.
Thank You For Your Help
We greatly appreciate all of the work of our wonderful volunteers. Throughout the years, our guests have also been very thankful. When an opportunity is noticed to lend a hand, it seems our volunteers always go the extra yard.
