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GIHN Hospitality Code

Host Committee Make-Up

Top Ten Ways to Help

GIHN Hospitality Code

  1. It’s nice to hear your name, so learn the names of our guests, too.
  2. Labeling people creates invisible barriers. Remember that guests are guests, not “the homeless.” Labeling—whether spoken, or printed on a posted sign—creates divisions and can foster an “us” and “them” syndrome.
  3. Personal questions can be tough to answer, so don’t put guests in awkward positions by asking personal questions. If guests need to talk, give them the chance, but don’t pry.
  4. We all like to keep some things to ourselves. All information about guests is confidential. Don’t discuss guests’ situations with other people.
  5. Everyone can use a little privacy. Our churches and synagogues become temporary homes for our guests. Knock before entering a guest’s room.
  6. Sometimes we need to spend time alone. Respect guests’ needs for quiet times alone or with family.
  7. We all have bad days. Depression, sadness, and hopelessness may come. Allow guests the space to deal with their emotions. Be prepared to forgive outbursts without judging guests ungrateful.
  8. We understand and care for our children. Allow guests to do the same. Avoid contradicting guests’ instructions to their children. Always ask parents’ permission before giving things to children.
  9. Parents need a break. Offer to tutor, play with, and plan activities for interested children while their parents take a break.
  10. Adult guests should be treated like adults. Although our guests are in situations that may make them temporarily dependent on others, remember that they are adults who are capable of making their own decisions.

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Host Committee Make-Up

How does your church organize its Host Committee? Here’s the standard GIHN model.

  • Primary Coordinator: manages the program at your church, heads planning and implementation of volunteer training, communicates with last week’s and next week’s Hosts, greets guests on Sunday, the person to call if there’s a problem, serves on the Rotation Advisory Committee.
  • Assistant Coordinator: makes the master schedule and ensures that all shifts are covered, recruits and encourages volunteers, serves as backup to the Primary Coordinator.
  • Setup Coordinator: recruits and schedules volunteers to set up and take down beds and furnishings at the beginning and end of your week of hosting.
  • Meal Coordinator: recruits and schedules volunteers to prepare meals, ensures that meals are nutritious and that meals are not duplicated (lasagna, fried chicken, spaghetti, etc. only once).
  • Transportation Coordinator: recruits and schedules van drivers for mornings and evenings, checks van for needed maintenance, ensures van is gassed up and ready for the next week.
  • Supplies & Donations Coordinator: makes sure Host and GIHN pantry supplies and staples are stocked, solicits and coordinates gifts to guest families (clothing, furniture, household good, jobs, etc.)
  • Activity Coordinator: plans special activities for the guest children and adults, maintains the supply of games and toys. (Note: With kids out of school, summer offers many more ministry opportunities with GIHN for your church. It’s hard for us to imagine what an afternoon at the park or a trip to the ice cream shop means to our guest families. Outings don’t have to be expensive to be blessings.)

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Top Ten Ways to Help

When we first explain Guilford Interfaith Hospitality Network to folks, they almost always ask how they can get involved in or help with our ministry to homeless children and their families. Unless the folks asking are a grant-making foundation or the like, we try to steer them to one of our Network faith congregations. Besides being too thinly staffed to supervise and coordinate single volunteers, we believe and practice the first phrase in our mission statement, “By uniting the faith community and those who support our mission . . .” Our prayer is that Guilford Interfaith will bring folks together with and into the faith community.


That being said, here are the Top Ten Ways folks can help achieve it’s vision and mission, which are printed just under your name and address on the mailing front of this newsletter.

  1. Pray! Being a faith ministry, Guilford Interfaith seeks relies on prayer for its fiscal, material, and spiritual provision. Pray for the ministry. Pray also for our guests, that they would know peace and find strength to achieve healthy sustained independence and freedom from want, lack, and fear.
  2. Support some of Guilford Interfaith’s fund raisers. Sedgefield Presbyterian is having a Christian Rock Concert on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 7 - 10pm to benefit GIHN. Go make a joyful noise! Or, honor a friend on behalf of GIHN. This year Honor Cards are available for a suggested minimum donation of $5 each. These cards are perfect for someone you’d like to bless with a gift but who might not need or want another neck tie or scarf. These gift cards have a short pre-printed message on the back about your gift in their honor supporting Guilford Interfaith, but there’s still plenty of room inside for your personal message. To order, call us at 336-574-0333, email us at Clarke@GIHN.org, or click here.
  3. Become a regular GIHN supporter. With a $30,000 hole in our budget, we encourage you to make a tax deductible contribution today by check or click here to make contributions online. We have dozens of churches and scores of individuals who regularly support GIHN as part of their stewardship. About 35% of GIHN’s income comes directly from local churches or their members as part of their own outreach, tithes, and offerings.
  4. Arrange a Guilford Interfaith fund raiser at your church. High School senior Kay Alderson is organizing the concert at Sedgefield Presbyterian. You can do something like that at your church, maybe a pancake breakfast, a spaghetti dinner, or a hymn sing. Proceeds and love offerings can go to Guilford Interfaith to make sure our two shelters remain open.
  5. Volunteer on your church’s GIHN team. There are 57 of them out there, and all of the Primary Coordinators will be happy to help you find your place in the ministry. Every seasoned Primary Coordinator is always on the lookout for their successor as well as coordinators for meals, van drivers, laundry, and evening activities. You can become one of those coordinators or just take one of the slots in the volunteer schedule, i.e., drive the van one morning, help fix dinner one evening, or be an overnight shepherd, the easiest job in the Network (you sleep!). You could also schedule an hour so or to just “be present” at one of the day centers. You might be surprised what your presence could mean to mom struggling to keep her head up for her family, or what it might mean to a little one who needs a hug!
  6. Become a part of the Network. What? Your church isn’t one of the 57!! Well, give us a call, and let’s see how we can facilitate it joining the Network. On page one of this newsletter you read that we need 3 churches to host our families in High Point.
  7. Join a Guilford Interfaith events task force. You can help plan, organize, and execute one of our fund raisers. Right now we do a golf outing, a couple of concerts, a silent auction, and an annual dinner. Bring your talents, ideas, and energy to one (or more) or these events. Ideally, up to 20% of our funds would come from events.
  8. Join a GIHN committee. We need a few folks to plan the year-long activities of several committees: Events, Communication, Outreach, and Finance. You’ve been blessed with talents and interests. We value and need them!
  9. Join the GIHN Board of Trustees. The commitment is a bit longer than other committees, and the challenges are more strategic. The rewards of ministry leadership for Guilford Interfaith are knowing you’re sheltering homeless families not just for today, this week, or next month but for years to come. That’s the Board’s goal. Click here to see who's on the Board today.
  10. Pray some more. “Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

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