Church of the Good Shepherd

NEST Jobs

Nest Job Descriptions and FAQ

Cooks buy the food, organize and prepare the meal, and instruct the servers how to serve the food. Many of our cooks donate the food, but if you would like to be reimbursed please save your receipts and send them to the director at Good Shepherd Church.

In addition to actually preparing and cooking the food for about 60 hungry people, the cooks are in charge of planning the menu and obtaining the food. Many of the cooking teams actually donate the food or some of the food. However, we will be happy to order the food for you through our normal church wholesalers. The church office has a form to order food. If you donate food save your receipts for tax purposes and the NEST coordinator will counter-sign them for your records. At least one of the cooks should stay through serving time to instruct the servers on what the menu is and how to serve it.

Dinners should have a meat, a green vegetable, a starch, bread, and dessert. The church provides coffee, tea, other beverages, paper plates and plastic utensils.

Breakfast should be simple and easy to prepare. Egg casseroles are a big favorite and the night crew can put them in the oven for you. Sausage biscuits, hot oatmeal, cold cereals are all so good. The church provides coffee, tea, milk, and orange juice.

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What do the evening greeters do?

Our Church is a bused location—versus a downtown church where the guest walk to the door each night. The Bus picks up our guests (the homeless) at the Social Services Building on Brambleton Avenue. Depending on how many people show up each night, there may or may not be a lottery (drawing of numbers) for available spaces. Good Shepherd can accommodate 60 total guest.

The Bus arrives back at the Church after 7:30 P.M. each night.

Greeters should be at the Church and ready by 7. A long banquet table is placed in the hall next to the water fountain in a position blocking the hall going to the washer/dryer. Two Greeters sit behind the table facing the hallway going to the day school doors. There are two sing in sheets (one for each greeter) to check Ids and write each guest’s name. NEST officials have given each person a pass with Good Shepherd’s name and the guest’s name on it. In general (i.e. not strictly enforced) they like for us to check for an ID in addition the colored pass. The colored passes change form week to week as the churches change. In years past we handed them a meal ticket (either home made or bought on rolls at the novelty store) to be used to get a breakfast the next morning. Since we are bused location this is an unnecessary step and if you have enough help at breakfast it is easy to control the food serving situation (so everyone gets at least one breakfast).

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What do the bus riders do?

At least one of our volunteers rides the bus (leaving around 7 p.m.) from the Church to the SS Building. One volunteer drives to the SS Building ahead of time (also around 7 P.M.) to help organize the guest and/or help in the lottery

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What does the overnight crew do?

OVERNIGHT TEAM should arrive by 9:30 PM. As the food service volunteers finish cleaning up in the kitchen and dining area, you will be transitioning in.

OVERNIGHT INSTRUCTIONS In the past our guests have started to hit their sleeping mats right after dinner. As we see this happening, we will start to dim the lights in the back of the room. LIGHTS OUT AT 10 PM and make sure the guests maintain quiet. Two volunteers should stay awake and 1 or 2 rest. There are sofas upstairs for you to get a little nap.

One awake “keeps watch” in fellowship hall sitting near the kitchen serving window so you can see the door going into the library. Obviously, you need to keep the men out of the library and the women out of the fellowship hall. They will be up and down all night using the bathrooms. One awake monitors hallway/commons area—bathroom activity—NO SMOKING! Smoking is only allowed in the courtyard, so monitor this area too. Night Crew read on—

MORNING ROUTINE: Between 4-4:30 am, begin coffee on the tables outside the kitchen window (not in the social hall where the guests are sleeping) Wake up guests with an early wakeup sheet beside mat. Morning Crew arrives by 5 AM to prepare a light breakfast. Lights on at 6 am; breakfast follows. All guests get a bag lunch as they leave on the bus by 7 AM. Stack mats & blankets down hallway wall across from the courtyard.

Sweep and mop fellowship hall and hallway outside kitchen. Please make sure kitchen is clean for dinner team. Help in cleaning the bathrooms.

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What about women guests?

The Female Guests will be escorted to the Library so it is a good idea to have another volunteer at the table so the coordinator does not have to leave the registration area. Mats and Blankets for around 10 women will be arranged in rows on the floor. Women will use the bathrooms in the back hallway near the washer/dryer. Make Big Signs for these doors.

The Men will use both bathrooms in the front hall near the kitchen door (make big signs for the doors covering up the Women’s door sign). Mats and blankets for about 50 will be arranged in rows on the floor in the back of the social hall. The doors in the back of the social hall (near the Chapel/Library) will be blocked by a table to keep them out of the back hall near where the women will be sleeping.

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What do food servers do?

FOOD SERVERS should arrive by 6 PM to set tables, make coffee (decaf only), pour water, place the sleeping mats on the floor, and in general, get ready for our guests. When the guest arrive we will give them a few minutes to settle in and freshen up. Then when the cooks are ready the servers take the food from the kitchen on carts and serve each quest a plate. Generally seconds are available. After dinner the serves clean the tables, take out the trash and help clean up the kitchen. The coffee pot is made ready for the night crew to turn on around 4 am.

What does the morning clean up crew do?

The morning clean up crew stacks all of the mats in one or two piles, folds the blankets, and sweeps the floor. The tables are cleaned from breakfast and trash is taken to the outside cans. Give the janitor a hand by taking the first stab at the bathrooms by mopping the floor.