Hospitality House is the only emergency homeless shelter in Nevada County, with 69 beds for homeless men, women and children.
I’m Leah Farkas, the new Volunteer Manager at Hospitality House, and I’m looking forward to working with all the wonderful people in our community who donate their time to help further our mission.
I want to share with you all, this month’s Volunteer Spotlight: George Dunstan. George began volunteering at Hospitality House in 2005 when Utah’s Place was a nomadic shelter. He vividly remembers when guests and volunteers use to meet at the Welcome Center, and a bus would pick them up and take them to a designated church for the night. George has volunteered every week nonstop for 14-years as a shelter Monitor Assistant. He helps with guests’ immediate needs, such as providing clothes and toiletries, dedicates time to talk to guests, and has helped with the installing of beds for the Onward Dorm and in many other countless areas.
George recently told me, I quote, “Volunteering for Hospitality House has become part of my life. It keeps me going and I look forward to it every week.”
His dedication to our guests and Hospitality House’s mission to bring homeless people in Nevada County into a circle of community caring that offers shelter, sustenance, and care as we assist them in transitioning from homelessness to housing is such a blessing.
People volunteer with Hospitality House in a variety of ways, and we’re always looking for new volunteers who can help further our mission and services. If anyone listening has an interest in learning more about volunteer opportunities, you can contact me directly, Leah, at 530-615-0805 or visit hhshelter.org for more information.
Did you know? Santa Claus is taking a break from the North Pole and heading to Bread & Roses Thrift and More for a special Santa event. Santa will greet everyone that comes through Bread & Roses Thrift and More on Saturday, August 31 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.! Patrons will be treated to complimentary cookies, prepared by our culinary students, refreshments, Christmas music and the opportunity to take pictures with Santa in his swaggy summer attire. No purchase is necessary to meet Santa. All proceeds benefit Hospitality House Community Shelter.
This past week, we were blessed by many caring individuals and I’d like to give a big thank you to Alta Sierra Latter-Day-Saints, Twin Cities Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, Mountain Stream Meditation Center, Kitchen KutUps, The Home Team and Abundant Life Church for coming out to cook. To everyone who donated our most needed items last week, thank you as well!
Now down to the nitty gritty needs of the shelter for this week…
- Women’s t-shirts, sizes medium and large
- Men’s jeans, sizes 34-36
- Men’s shorts, sizes medium, large and extra large
- Men’s and Women’s sweatpants
- Razors
- Flip flops, all sizes
- Blankets
- Cotton socks
Please drop off urgent items to Utah’s Place, located in Brunswick Basin, past the DMV, at 1262 Sutton Way. For all other donations that may benefit a homeless guest or the shelter in general, please take them to the backdoor of Bread & Roses, our thrift shop, located at 840 E Main Street, directly next door to Sierra Cinemas. Guests at our shelter are given shopping vouchers for the store to buy what they need, so your donation directly helps them. All other items are sold with 100% of the sales supporting the shelter’s operations. Thank you for sticking together so that we all get what we need.