Coordinator Guidelines

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Week of Hope1515 Cascade AvenueLoveland, CO 80538

https://groupmissiontrips.com/info/partners/

Table of Contents

PageNumber

Group Cares & Week of Hope 3

Contact Information and Locations 4

Staffing 5

Community Donations 5

Lodging Facility Guidelines 5-6

Projects 6-8

Background Checks and Screening Requirements 8-9

Participant and Partner Release Agreement 10

Partner Organization Agreements 11

Service Project Descriptions 11-12

Service Project Matrix 12-13

Submitting Invoices 13

Quick Guide Summary 13

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Group Cares & Week of HopeGroup Cares is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that represents a number of different ministries,

including Group Mission Trips. Group Mission Trips offers mission experiences with the opportunities to transform lives and communities.

It was July of 1976 and more than 12 inches of rain fell in three hours near Loveland, Colorado…flooding the Big Thompson River. The river raged… washing away roads, destroying or damaging hundreds of homes, and killing 145 people. It was a tragic day for the people of the area.

In response, the staff of Group Magazine put out a call for help. Church youth groups were asked to come and rebuild local homes and the lives of those affected. Over 300 youth and their adult leaders showed up ready to serve the residents of the Big Thompson Canyon. But, as they began to help local residents it was the spiritual growth -- the boost in faith of the campers -- that made the biggest impact on everyone involved.

From this tragedy, God created a mission program called Workcamps that serves thousands of people directly each summer to fix local homes but also brings a new understanding and deeper faith in Jesus to participants. Since then, thousands of young people and their adult sponsors have participated in hundreds of camps at various locations throughout the United States and around the world. Thousands of families have received help they probably would not have otherwise received.

Workcamps are held in various locations throughout the summer to provide home repair to the elderly, low income and disabled. Group Mission Trips wanted to add an element of service that created a sustainable presence in the same cities, year over year, and provided volunteers for other local non-profit agencies in that city. In 2005, Week of Hope began as so many powerful ideas do -- with incredible need.

Week of Hope is a volunteer community service camp where we partner with several non-profit

organizations, churches, and residents to bring hope and happiness. A typical camp consists of approximately 100 youth and adult participants representing as much as 3,200 hours of volunteer service per week for 7 consecutive weeks. Participants pay a registration fee, which covers the cost of food, lodging, and programming. Youth groups are split up to work with participants from other groups, providing them with the opportunity to make new friends from across the nation.

All participants are matched within a small crew that usually consists of one adult and five youth. They perform simple, yet meaningful, relational tasks. They give freely of their hard work and time while also digging deeper into their understanding and faith in Jesus. Depending on the number of participants, they are able to serve approximately twelve projects each week.

The camp lasts for seven consecutive weeks for five days each week during which the participants are housed in a local church, school, or community center. Depending on the facility, campers may sleep on floors of classrooms or dorm rooms, eat group meals in a cafeteria, shower in locker rooms or similar facilities, and gather together daily for evening programs.

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Contact Information

Project Manager: Adrienne JustusPhone: 1.800.385.4545, x 4456 or 970.292.4456Address: Week of Hope

1515 Cascade AvenueLoveland, CO 80538

Email: ajustus@group.com

You can view all forms on our Partner Page of the Group Mission Trips website:https://groupmissiontrips.com/info/partners/

LocationsAustin, TX* Nashville, TNCharleston, SC Orlando, FL*Cincinnati, OH* Pittsburgh, PAGrand Rapids, MI San Diego, CA*Indianapolis, IN Minneapolis, MN*Kenosha, WI* Wayne County, NYLoveland, CO* York, PA*

*Indicates a preteen week included as one of the 7 weeks at this location. Some locations have a preteen week, others do not. Preteen youth are 10-12 years of age.

Staffing

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Three Summer Staff will be in charge of running Week of Hope in your community during the summer. Each of them are college students from around the country. They come to Colorado for two weeks of training and then drive to your community for the summer. The same team of 3 will remain all 7 weeks of camp. There will also be a Site Leader, who is local to the community. Each of them fulfills a unique role.

The Program Leader leads the morning and evening program, delivering a high-quality, interactive, faith-building experience for up to 100 participants weekly. The Program Leader also serves as a spiritual leader at camp, visits project sites to take pictures and encourage crews, and manages the camp office.

The Project Leader leads the service project experience for all participants at Week of Hope, building strong relationships with community partner organizations and ensuring the highest quality service project experience for participants. The Project Leader assigns participants to crews and visits sites daily to check in with the partner organization and encourage crews.

The Hospitality Leader leads the hospitality experience at Week of Hope, ensuring delicious, high-quality meals are served, and the facility is a welcoming and fun environment for participants. The Hospitality Leader guides teams of participants to help prepare each meal and keep the facility clean as well as runs media for morning and evening programs.

The Site Leader supports youth leaders and the camp by checking in at the lodging facility daily, building relationships with youth leaders, resolving issues, and providing encouragement, wisdom and areas for improvement to staff.

Community DonationsEach summer the youth bring goods to be donated. We want to make sure these are items that benefit your specific community. Please tell us what type of goods are most useful and who they will benefit so we can get this information to those attending. Think about the lodging facility or any of the Partners – are there items they could use? Is there a specific need in the community that always runs low? Examples include diapers and wipes for a local mission, school supplies for a community school drive, hygiene products for the homeless, home goods for a local Ronald McDonald house or food to restock a local food pantry – we want to bless your community!

Lodging Facility GuidelinesWeek of Hope Lodging Facility Requirements:

◻ Allow Week of Hope staff to access, and begin residing in, the facility at least five days before the camp begins in order to set up. Staff will continue to reside in the facility through the final Saturday of the last camp week.

◻ Parking for at least 10 vehicles.◻ Allow Week of Hope access to and use of a large meeting space for up to 110 people.◻ Allow Week of Hope access to all areas of the facility. If there are exceptions, please provide a map

showing those exceptions. ◻ Allow staff and participants to use the facility’s kitchen to store, prepare and serve food for up to 110

people during the seven weeks of camp. Week of Hope staff will purchase all food for the camp weeks.

◻ Allow staff and participants to maintain a clean facility including all areas that are in use by Week of Hope.

◻ Provide approximately 4,400 total square feet of open floor space for participant sleeping quarters (40 square feet per person, up to 110 people) with separate space for females and males.

◻ Provide two small sleeping quarters for male and female staff that will be used all summer.◻ Provide use of restrooms with at least four toilets per gender and use of showers if available on

campus. ◻ Provide a facility maintenance representative to remain “on call” as needed.

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◻ Provide necessary security for the building based on the other events taking place and the surrounding area.

◻ Photographs and/or video and sound recordings of your staff, facility and clients may be made during the project(s). Your organization authorizes the use of such material by Group Mission Trips for its purposes.

Group Mission Trips will purchase all food and beverages, as well as paper plates, utensils, and cups. In cases where the Lodging Facilities have plates, cups, utensils, and a commercial dish washer, Week of Hope, with permission, will use those instead.

Group Mission Trips will reimburse the lodging facility. Choose ONE of the following options:

◻ Charge Week of Hope actual utility and supply costs incurred only as a result of our stay in the facility: This is calculated as the cost difference between the week(s) of use, and the previous year utility and operating costs (i.e. July 2015 cost minus July 2016 cost = amount charged to Week of Hope). Week of Hope will be responsible for 25% of the costs associated with week(s) during the summer where camp is cancelled due to lack of registration and the lodging facility is only used by the 3-4 Summer Staff (when a week is cancelled we will let you know ASAP so you have the chance to refill the week).

◻ Building usage fee of _______per_______. This fee is an all-inclusive fee to cover utilities, supplies (paper products and cleaning), and any other costs besides damages. Week of Hope will be responsible for 25% of the costs associated with week(s) during the summer where camp is cancelled due to lack of registration and the lodging facility is only used by the 3-4 Summer Staff (when a week is cancelled we will let you know ASAP so you have the chance to refill the week).

Group Mission Trips will reimburse the lodging facility within 30 days of receiving invoices.

InsuranceGroup Mission Trips carries liability insurance, which will be in effect for each Week of Hope. This insurance is in place to cover unforeseen accidental damage to property as a result of Week of Hope business. Group Mission Trips can provide Partner Organizations and/or Lodging Facilities with a certificate of evidence of insurance upon request. Your Project Manager will help you with this if needed.

ProjectsWeek of Hope Projects must:

Accommodate crews of 6, 1 adult and 5 youth, Monday – Thursday from 9:00am to 3:00pm. PRETEEN (ages 10 -12) weeks must accommodate crews of 6, 1 adult and 5 youth, Monday,

Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00am to 2:00pm and from 9:00am to 12:00pm on Tuesday A relational focus to the service Enough work to keep every person on each crew engaged Be flexible Have a visible and long-lasting impact Connect with the people being served Be appropriate for Christian teenagers from a broad range of denominations Be within a 30-minute drive of the lodging facility Have someone available on Monday morning to meet and greet the crew and show them around

(Coordinators will provide Mission Handbooks to the Partner Organizations prior to the youth arriving)

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How many projects:

The actual number of service projects required will vary at each Week of Hope and will depend on the actual number of campers that register as well as the design of the projects. Our goal is to recruit up to 110 youth and their adult leaders for each of the seven weeks. Each project must use at least six people to ensure that there is at least one adult at each project. It is our desire for every camper to build meaningful relationships with one another and with the people they are serving. Serving in smaller groups fosters an environment where relationships can build and grow, so ideally we would like to identify at least one project for every 12 campers (approximately 10 projects per week). This is not a requirement, however, and we will evaluate each service project individually. With larger community projects, larger groups may function very well. You may also have projects that do not have work for the entire week but they really need help for 2 days. You may combine this with another project and have a crew work on one project for 2 days and another for 2 days.

Materials and supplies:

Each Partner Organization will be responsible for providing all supplies and materials needed for each service project (unless you are able to secure a donation of materials needed). All materials and supplies will need to be at the service project location when the campers arrive to serve. This means that purchases and deliveries will need to be made prior to the camp. If materials and supplies will need to be brought to the location each day, a Partner Organization representative will need to be assigned to ensure that this happens. In certain cases, the Week of Hope volunteers may want to bring supplies and materials with them. If they ask, have the Partner Organization communicate the needs or have a list of items ready.

Backup Projects:

Because unforeseen situations can arise, it’s very important to have several backup service projects available. Backup projects may be needed for many reasons. Possible examples include, but are not limited to: inclement weather causing an original service project to be cancelled, illness of Partner Organizations, projects are sometimes completed by another group or individual prior to the Week of Hope, or if an original project does not take the estimated amount of time and the campers finish early. We recommend, at a minimum, that each camp has five backup service projects ready to activate on short notice.

Service Ideas: Making food baskets and distributing them to needy individuals or families Organizing and leading small Bible club programs or Vacation Bible School Tutoring children – Summer Reading Programs Summer Feeding Programs Organizing and implementing sports camps for inner city or underprivileged kids Programs for a nursing home or assisted living facility Programs with Senior Centers Read out loud to seniors with poor eyesight Landscaping- beautification for individual residents that need extra help Serving meals at a homeless shelter Working with individuals with developmental disabilities (planning local field trips or other projects) Assisting with respite care services for children, seniors, or developmentally disabled Preparing and delivering Meals on Wheels

If at a resident’s home and you finish early, you may also:

Install smoke detectors/alarms – change batteries Install new light bulbs, change vacuum filter bags or furnace filters Cook meals and freeze for easy heating Clean and organize garage, basement, closets Minor interior or exterior painting Clean and repair bicycles or toys

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Trim hedges, trees, bushes and dig out dead plants Wash windows, screens, gutters, and down spouts Repair fences, patio furniture, clothes lines Organize and discard piles of unwanted stuff Add mulch around landscaping, plant trees, shrubs, flowers Clean ovens, refrigerators, pantries, cupboards, pots and pans Scrub showers, shower curtains, wash rugs, fixtures Vacuum furniture, fixtures, carpets Plan a picnic with the neighbors Organize card games, play trivia Set up and help with garage sale Create a Bible Study or create a journal or scrap book Ask questions about their past

Background Checks and Screening RequirementsUnfortunately if a Partner Organization requires their own background check or parental signatures on their own release forms or if they require a TB test to allow volunteers to participate, we cannot provide this information. All participants that are age 18 or older must submit to a national background check and it cannot be older than 2 years old from the camp start date. The background checks are kept at the participant’s church and the pastor will electronically verify that the participant has a background check on file and that it meets Group’s requirements.

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Participant and Partner Release AgreementAll participants verify that they have seen, read, and agree to the Release Agreement as well as the Code of Conduct. This also includes the follow statement including Partner Organizations. “Upon recognition of the inherent risks in the nature of the work involved and for the opportunity to participate in a mission trip, by your signature, you release and discharge Group Mission Trips, and its directors, officers, employees, vendors and agents from liability”. If you need proof that Group Mission Trips has a Release Agreement for a participant, check with the Summer Staff and they can provide verification.

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Partner Organization AgreementsThis is the first document you will secure from each of your Partner Organizations. These are due on or before January 15. This agreement collects basic information and outlines Partner responsibilities as well as Group’s responsibilities. The second page allows Partners to tell us about their organization (mission, background, goal, Week of Hope schedule while serving – this is only necessary for new Partner Organizations). This background information may be used on the Service Project Descriptions to create excitement for the crew that will be serving at this Partner Organization during the summer.

Service Project Descriptions

On Sunday, the first day of each Week of Hope, Summer Staff will distribute to crews their “Service Project Descriptions”. This provides all the necessary information to the crew so they know what they will be doing, who they will be serving and hopefully the information about “who you’re serving” will help the crew get excited for the week. These are crucial to the success of the summer. All Service Project Description are due on or before April 15th. Be sure to include Driving Directions from the lodging facility to the service project location on the second page.

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From April 15th – 30th we have an in-house team that reviews, as a double check, every Service Project Description for the coming summer from the perspective of a crew. This is why it’s so important to get your Service Project Descriptions done by the April 15th deadline. If the team is concerned about any of the projects, we may ask you to gain additional information and clarification.

It is encouraged to find more work after the deadline as back up projects are always needed. Any special requirements must be included in the appropriate field of the Service Project Description. Be sure to find out the special requirements. It is highly recommended that the Week of Hope Coordinator stay in contact with Partner Organizations to ensure there is enough work each week.

Verify with all Partner Organizations they will have projects on the 4th of July and days that proceed and follow. Be proactive and ensure the campers will be busy even on holidays. Some successful ideas are: car washes, food drives, care packages, individual resident projects, assisting holiday activities, etc.

Service Project Matrix

It is key to track Partners (the number of campers they request) against registration numbers for the entire summer. Crews are typically made up of 5 youth and 1 adult so the number of campers requested should be 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, etc. Registration numbers will fluctuate often, so tracking is important. A Matrix structure for tracking will be supplied by your Project Manager – once you populate the Matrix, it will calculate how many people over or under you are for each day of camp throughout the summer. Your Project Manager will keep you up-to-date with registration numbers to fill into your Matrix. See below for an example of a Matrix. The Matrix is a common tool used to communicate with your project manager as the summer approaches.

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Submitting Invoices

Please submit your invoices on January 15, May 15 and August 15. You can find the Invoice Form on your online resource in either a Word Document or an Editable PDF. Partner page: https://groupmissiontrips.com/info/partners/

Quick Guide Summary

◻ December 15 – Lodging Agreement signed and submitted and showers secured

◻ January 15 – Send Invoice for first payment ($800 or $600)

◻ January 15 – Partner Organization Agreement (POAs) completed and submitted to PM

◻ April 15 – Service Project Descriptions (SPDs) completed and submitted to PM

◻ April 15 – Initial Matrix submitted to PM

◻ April 15 – 30 – In-house review of all SPDs from the perspective of a crew – questions answered

◻ May 15 – Send Invoice for second payment ($1550 or $1250 or $500)

◻ June 1 – Confirm Partners for the summer

◻ June – Initial meeting with Summer Staff

◻ June – July – Address any issues with Partners as the need arises

◻ August – Final meeting with Summer Staff

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◻ August 15 – Send invoice for final payment ($800)

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