Room In The Inn Winter Coat Drive

Men’s Clothing Drive- New and Used Clothing Accepted

Drop off in the Narthex through Sunday, Oct. 12.

Saint Matthew hosts men experiencing homelessness each winter through our Room In The Inn ministry. These men rely on Saint Matthew, not only for a nice filling meal, a refreshing shower, and a safe, warm place to sleep, but also for critical clothing and supplies to keep them warm during the bitter winter months. Saint Matthew hosts men on the second and third Thursday of each month from November through March.

The MOST NEEDED item is heavy, warm, winter coats. These can be new or used. Clean out your closet and bring in what you are no longer using. In previous years, our guests have taken all the winter coats that have been donated, so the need to restock these winter coats is paramount.

Volunteer with Room In The Inn

There are many ways you can volunteer with Room in the Inn. Each week we host guests the following roles are needed:
Drivers: Pick up guest at the downtown RITI campus between 5 and 5:15 p.m. and bring them to campus. Drivers will also pick up guests the following morning between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m. from Saint Matthew and return them to the RITI downtown campus.
Hospitality: Set up Cohan-Hansom Building for guests arrival, pull out mattresses, make beds, arrange tables for dinner, set up clothing.
Meals: We provide our guests with three meals: Dinners are full meals and generally home-cooked. Volunteers providing dinner can split the meal up with other families if needed. Families providing dinners are encouraged to stay and mingle with our guests, but not required to. Breakfast is generally sausage biscuits, or an egg casserole, milk, OJ, cereal.  Lunch is a sack lunch complete with sandwich, chips, snack, a piece of fruit, and water.
Innkeepers: Arrive around 7 p.m. or come for dinner at 6 p.m. and will spend the night with our guests. Two inkeepers are required for each night and one must be a male.
Fellowship: Bring a side dish and join our guests.
Shower Assistant: Assists the shower coordinator to ensure each guests gets a clean, hot shower. The assistant will clean showers between each use and at the end of the night. Must be a male. Time commitment is from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Laundry: Pick up laundry on Friday morning and returned the clean linens by the following Monday.

There are additional opportunities to volunteer with RITI throughout the year including sorting and taking inventory, washing donations, and other tasks as they arise. Please contact Rhea or Mary if you’d like to get involved. The weekly volunteer slots can be found at this link.

Other Needs

There are many other items needed and additional ways to contribute to Room In The Inn. Gift cards, in denominations up to $25, are accepted and will be handed out to guests. Room In The Inn has an Amazon Wish List with clothing items and other supplies which will be shipped directly to Saint Matthew.  Of course, financial contributions are always accepted as well. If you chose to purchase new items, the most needed sizes are XL and XXL, and sizes 36 and up for pants.

Room In The Inn at Saint Matthew distributes:
– WINTER COATS
– Hoodies and Sweat Shirts
– Sweatpants
– Blue Jeans
– Winter Boots and Athletic Shoes
– Thermal and Long Underwear (new only please)
– Hats and Gloves (new only please)
– Socks and Boxer Briefs (new only please)
– Gift Cards- Target, Walmart, Fast Food, Convenient Stores, etc… (Denominations of $25 or less please)
– Other items as found on the Amazon Wish List

Please note, Room In The Inn does not accepting summer, business, or women’s attire. Please consider donating these items to Graceworks. If you have any questions, please reach out to Rhea Forte (615-828-5950) or Mary Peters (615-308-1930).

Donations may be placed in the bin across from the sacristy until October 12.