Chicago Week-Long Program
Registration procedures
Schedules
Cost
Open House Weekends,
Transportation
Insurance
Other Logistics
If you are considering a trip, you may contact
the Brian Sales, Chicago City Director or Christie Sears or 303-295-3667
Who Can Participate?
The
DOOR-Chicago program is designed for participants from junior high to
high school to intergenerational and beyond and is open to all
denominations. We ask that one adult sponsor accompany every five youth
who make up the group. For a week-long experience, DOOR-Chicago can
accommodate groups of up to 70 total participants (youth and sponsors).
Smaller groups may be paired with other small groups, a practice that
allows participants from different places and denominations to share in
service.
What Will You Do?
A typical week in
Chicago begins on arrival Sunday evening after supper and ends with
departure after lunch on Friday. A one-to two-hour
orientation/logistics session Sunday evening helps prepare everyone for
the week. Your group will be divided into work teams, (4-6 participants
with one adult sponsor as designated leader) that are also your meal
teams. Meal teams are responsible for preparing and cleaning up after
all meals eaten together by the group. Groceries, menus, and cooking
instructions are provided and a DOOR-Chicago staff person is on hand
for reference.
Once assigned to work and meal
teams, participants generally stay with those same teams for the week.
Work teams usually spend each day at a different service assignment.
Our goal is for all participants to have a variety of experiences that
they can share with each other.
Examples of service assignments are: preparing and serving meals at a
soup kitchen; helping with homeless children’s programs, cleaning
feeding kitchens and shelters, urban gardening; meeting and listening
to groups and individuals who are working for change in the city,
conversing and worshiping with city folks.
What Will The Schedule Be Like?
To see a Typical Week-Long Schedule
Although the schedule varies and is flexible, a typical day may go as follows:
Evening sessions include worship, presentations, and group
reflection. Thursday evening is set aside for a time together to help
participants reflect on and process what they have seen, felt, and
learned during the course of each day. This is perhaps the most
important time of the week. Issues raised are addressed in light of our
calling as Christians to love others and to respond to those in need.
On Wednesday evening a formal reflection time is not scheduled. DOOR
does not provide supper on this evening so most groups choose to eat
out and spend the evening seeing more of Chicago. (Please keep in mind
that some work teams may not finish their assignments until early
evening).
Cost and Registration for the Chicago Week Long Program
Participant cost is $295.
This covers food, lodging, materials for service experiences,
and program administration. Our registration process has several stages:
- Registration:Return
the group application and $75 per person
registration fee. This deposit will be applied, in its entirety, toward
your total group cost and will hold your requested date.
- Deposit:
- For groups coming in the spring, between February 1 and May 31: $100 per person deposit is due on January 15.
- For
groups coming in the summer, between June 1 and August 31: $100 per
person deposit is due on March 1 (groups smaller than 40).
If your group is larger than 40 people and you sign up before January 1, 2008, your $100 deposit is due February 1, 2009.
- For groups coming between September 1 and January 31: $100 deposit is due 10 weeks prior to your trip.
This deposit is per person.
This means that if you deposit for 10 people and only bring nine, you
lose the $100 deposit for that one person. You may increase your numbers, if space is available,
with a telephone call to us. Again this deposit is non-refundable.
Upon
receipt of this deposit, we will send you an orientation package,
including a statement of funds received and balance due upon arrival.
The orientation packet is intended to prepare your group for the DOOR
experience, and we strongly recommend you take the time to go over it
with your whole group.
- Balance is due 3 weeks before arrival.
- All funds received must be in U.S. currency.
- For groups registering after Mar 1, please contact the Christie in the National Office for deposit schedule.
Start the registration process for your trip by filling out our Online Registration (Fill out, print and send in with deposit), or if you prefer, filling out a PDF version of the Registration (Print, fill out, and send in with deposit.).
Open House Weekends
The purpose of the leader's open house weekend is to help you prepare
your group to come to DOOR. Over the weekend you’ll be able to stay in
the facility, tour the city and some of the partner sites, as well as
meet other leaders. In many weekends we discuss culture, service,
conflict management, team building, preparing your group for your trip
and reentry- as time allows. Groups that go on short-term mission trips
trained and well-prepared accomplish more, understand their experiences
more deeply, and enjoy their trip more. The learning becomes
life-changing and lasting.
We invite one leader from each
group to attend the open house weekend, but others may come along for
only $50 per person. For more information about the open house
weekends, visit our Open House page.
What To Bring To Chicago
Go to the: Chicago Packing List.
While
in Chicago, groups stay at First Church of the Brethren on the west
side of the city. Each participant should bring a sleeping bag,
sleeping mat, a towel, and toiletries. Work clothing is a must and
other casual/sport clothing as desired. There are no laundry
facilities. Participants should also bring Bibles and notebooks. The packing lis will be included in the orientation
materials sent in the spring.
Transportation
The
DOOR-Chicago program relies on a combination of public transportation
(trains and buses) and the vehicles you come in for transportation of
your work teams to and from service assignments around Chicago. You are
responsible for driving your own vehicles around the city. If you are
thinking of coming by plane, train, school or touring bus, you have two
options. First, you may rent vans in Chicago as needed to transport
your group to service assignments. Second, you may choose to use public
transportation for your entire experience. There is a $18 additional
cost per person. If you choose the public transportation option. Riding
public transportation throughout the city is often a valuable learning
experience and a good way to see the city from a local perspective. For
those arriving in school or touring buses, you may be required to park
your bus somewhere other than the host site due to limited parking
space.
Chicago does have a locked parking lot behind First Church of the Brethren that participants can use.
Health Insurance
While
participating in the DOOR-Chicago program, there is always the chance
that volunteers will need medical care. Accidents can and do happen
while at the service assignments, during recreational activities and
free time, even on the trip to and from Chicago. Since the DOOR-Chicago
program does not carry medical insurance for participants, we ask that
group leaders make sure that all group members have insurance and that
the DOOR-Chicago Medical Release Forms (sent along with orientation the
materials) are completed and available to our staff while your group is
in Chicago.
And Finally...
Additional Chicago Information
In
addition to learning about service, we hope participants will encounter
Christ in new and exciting ways, AND have fun! DOOR-Chicago staff tries
to be sure that not all your time in Chicago is spent working or being
involved in serious discussions. We have built into the schedule one
free evening, and free time each afternoon. Recreation activities
include playing basketball, soccer, and frisbee in a nearby park. We
invite participants to bring other games and recreation equipment with
them.
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