The Big Garden - Omaha

Resurrection's host in Omaha is The Big Garden, a Volunteers in Mission site accredited by the United Methodist Church. This family-friendly serve opportunity is a mix of get-your-hands-muddy work in community gardens, education about systemic hunger and poverty, theological reflection and small-group learning. The Big Garden challenges all participants to "see the face of God in the city" as they serve.

The Big Garden also provides grants and technical assistance to schools, faith communities, non-profits, and other organizations who are interested in starting community gardens. These gardens receive free seeds and seedlings, access to The Big Garden's volunteer network, and help with educational programming for the first three years. According to its website, the Big Garden has helped to start more than 150 community gardens in Nebraska, Kansas, and southwest Iowa.

Depending on the trip, Resurrection team members may learn about:

• Food security and food justice
• Systemic issues of hunger and poverty
• Basic gardening skills
• Seed saving
• Shopping in a food pantry
• How to shop with food stamps (SNAP)
• Race and poverty
• Homelessness and working in a shelter
• Advocacy
• Food preservation
• Composting

2019 Trips - TBA

Denver Urban Matters

In Denver, Resurrection partners with Denver Urban Ministries, a Methodist human services agency founded in 1981. In its first years, DenUM ran a food pantry and clothing bank to serve Denver's poorest residents. Later, it developed vocational support services in its Jobs Services program. Most recently, DenUM developed partnerships with other Denver service agencies and began coordinating mission trips and immersion experiences for youth and adults.

In DenUM's Urban Plunge Program, team members may be preparing or serving meals; sorting and packing donations; building, repairing or painting low-income housing; or working with children or the elderly. Potential serve locations include the Rocky Mountain MS Center, Brothers Redevelopment Inc., the Food Bank of the Rockies or the Denver Rescue Mission.

Urban Plunge includes a very strong educational session with a poverty simulation, a food stamp game, and a formerly homeless guest speaker to create a deeper understanding of the problems faced by the homeless.

2019 Serve Trips - TBA

Connect to the Kingdom - Dallas

Connect to the Kingdom (C2K), located at the Tyler Street Methodist Church in Dallas, is an urban retreat and mission center committed to providing an accountable Wesleyan mission experience for participants. Potential service opportunities include: working with children at the Wesley-Rankin School; sorting and packing donations at the Crossroads food and clothing ministry; serving at the City Square health clinic; working in community gardens; or the possibility of working with a neighborhood legal advocacy clinic. Learn more about some of C2K's partnerships below:

Legacy

Legacy offers two serve opportunities: one is People Helping People, where team members help senior homeowners with minor exterior home repairs and cleanup; the other is service at Legacy Founders Cottage, a counseling and special care facility for those with HIV/AIDS.

Wesley-Rankin School

The Wesley-Rankin B3X camp is a science, math, music and arts enrichment camp for children in grades 1-8; volunteers may work with small or large groups on specific activities.

2000 Roses Foundation

2000 Roses works with women leaving incarceration, but part of its mission is to influence and challenge state and county policies that negatively affect those in the criminal justice system.

Crossroads

The Crossroads food and clothing ministry nurtures the community's low-income families by making nutritious food, education, clothing and other resources available.

Austin Street Center

This center provides emergency shelter for the homeless in Dallas, and provides access to therapeutic and case management servides.

Trinity River Mission

A community learning center that promotes literacy and teaches academic and life skills to youth in West Dallas.

Paws for Reflection Ranch

Connecting people and animals in a healing and therapeutic environment, the Ranch offers horseback riding as well as other opportunities to interact with animals.

CitySquare

CitySquare provides a range of services to low-income individuals in Dallas, including health and wellness care, housing repair, vocational training, a food pantry, legal advocacy, and the opportunity to engage in civic and community political organization.

Girls Inc.

Girls Inc. addresses the unique needs of girls in underserved communities through afterschool and summer programs  in literacy, math and science, health and fitness, pregnancy prevention, leadership and life skills, and advocacy.

Mosaic Family Services

Since its founding in 1993, Mosaic has worked with refugees and immigrants, meeting the unique needs of Dallas' multicultural community. It also serves those who have fled from homes where they suffered human rights abuses, helps victims of domestic violence, and provides comprehensive services for victims of human trafficking.

North Dallas Food Bank

The NTFB provides more than 170,000 meals a day to people in a 13-county service area in North Texas.

2019 SERVE TRIPS - TBA

Church and Community Development for All People - Columbus

In 1999, a small Methodist church on the south side of Columbus, Ohio, decided to make radical hospitality, community renewal and personal transformation the heart of their mission. The Church for All People committed to reality "the dream of a church 'for all people' that would be intentionally cross-class, multi-racial and diverse, with a new model of service and worship that was 'with' the poor, not just 'for' the poor."

First, they opened the Free Store, accepting donations and distributing clothing and household goods to those in need. Since then, they have:

• developed 40 rent-to-own homes with the help of a local builder
• created hot lunch and afterschool programs for local children
• worked with the county land bank to identify properties that could be renovated or demolished, then partnered with a local children's hospital to redevelop vacant or abandoned housing
• created community gardens
• helping civic organizations to foster new business investment and build a new library

Resurrection teams traveling to Columbus will usually concentrate on urban gardening and food security, but potential service opportunities include working at the Freedom School, the Fresh Market or Free Store, painting, landscaping or home repairs. Learn more about some of the Columbus programs below:

The Free Store

More than 40,000 families have become members of the Free Store since 1999. For every dollar donated to the Free Store, $21 is returned to the community.

First Birthdays

To support families and babies living on the south side, our host celebrates quarterly first birthday parties in collaboration with Nationwide Children's Hospital. Babies, their siblings and families have fun, receive diapers, and have an opportunity to learn about more community resources that support local families.

Affordable Housing Initiatives

Through their South Side Homeownership, Healthy Homes, and South Side Renaissance programs, the church helps low- and middle-income residents qualify for home ownership, repair and renovate existing housing stock, demolish and clean up dangerous and vacant property, and creates opportunities for affordable new home construction.

Harmony on the Southside

The innovative Harmony on the Southside program presents music and musicians that cross ethnic and cultural boundaries in a demonstration of multicultural harmony. The group mentors aspiring musicians in the community, helping children and adults discover the joy of experiencing and creating art. They also provide music lessons, and those lessons in turn provide income to musicians and artists. The group's appearances highlight and draw attention to positive community events such as the opening of new businesses, health screenings, immunization drives, and voter registration events.

Bikes for All People

Its mission is to provide reliable, affordable access to bicycles, both as a means of transportation and as a healthy recreational activity. They accept used bicycles in good condition, then refurbish and sell them at affordable prices to south side residents; routine maintenance and repairs are offered, and there are opportunity for weekly group bike rides and other fun cycling events.

Freedom School

Every summer, our host sponsors the Freedom School, a national literacy education program for grades K-12, offered to youth on the south side and around Columbus. Located at Lincoln Park Elementary School, staff members and volunteers work with small groups of students, focusing on literacy skills, extended learning opportunities, academic enrichment, leadership skills, character development, managing homework, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) enrichment, and the arts. The program is free, and each participating child receives healthy meals and snacks during the school day.

South Side Neighborhood Leadership Academy

To nurture the community and teach the skills necessary for sustained community development and engagement, the South Side Neighborhood Leadership Academy equips participants with the relationships, knowledge, skills, and abilities to help the South Side continue to thrive. The program looks for residents who want to build a safe, opportunity-rich South Side that maximizes diversity, builds relationships, secures and advances current residents, all while maintaining the unique fabric of the community. The program objective is to have graduating participants launch an ongoing community-based project that will propel transformative change in their neighborhood. 

HEAL (Healthy Living and Eating)

To foster healthy living, our host created the HEAL initiative; among the resources available to residents are:

• The Fresh Market, where fresh fruits and vegetables are available
• Community gardens
• Health screenings, wellness care and preventive care in partnership with a local hospital, offered on a sliding-fee basis
• Peer health coaches
• Couch Potato Workouts - weekly chair workouts for people of any fitness level
• Cooking classes and demonstrations
• Nutrition and health education
• Community meals
• Spiritual health coaching and mentoring
• Support groups

2019 Serve Trips - TBA