Volunteer

There are two main volunteer opportunities at Care on the Square: food preparation and downtown ministry.  Each is described in more detail below.  You can choose to get involved in either one, or both!

Food preparation

We prepare food at Cuyahoga Valley Church (CVC) and pack it for transportation to downtown Cleveland where we distribute it and minister to the homeless.   The food preparation teams meet at 9:30am to prepare and package the food for easy distribution.  The teams of volunteers use their kitchen skills to perform light food preparation and packaging.  We have opportunities to match all cooking skill levels, from leading one of the weekly food preparation teams to wrapping sandwiches.  No matter what your skill level you will be blessed knowing your time and talent helped produce a wonderful meal for people who truly need it. 

Downtown Ministry

Those who would like to serve food to the homeless of Cleveland should meet at the church by 11:30am. We form car pools with the goal of leaving CVC to go downtown around 11:45am.  

We always go to the same location (directions here) and the homeless community has grown to know about the location and the time.  There is always a line of people waiting when we arrive.   When we get there we pray, set up tables with food, station the volunteers for serving and allow the homeless to go through the line.  On occasion we have clothing available for distribution.  

We spend time building relationships with the people we meet.  Many have commented that we are like family to them.  Over time we have learned about their lives and struggles.  One of the things we try hard to do is to look them in the eyes and give them the respect they deserve but don't often get.  We offer encouragement and hope by sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ.   Through this very special time we too have been blessed to meet some amazing people facing some very challenging circumstances.  

Resources

Not sure if you are equipped to serve the homeless?  Check out the resources area from the main menu.

Sign Up Now

You can immediately see available dates and sign up online using our volunteer registration system by clicking the "Volunteer Now" link to the left, or you can sign up by sending an email to Sue at sue@careonthesquare.org containing the following information:

• Name
• Phone
• Email Address (if available)
• Dates requested (available volunteer opportunities can be seen on the Volunteer Now page.