Denise Childers presents gift cards to Mario Wright for the homeless. Photo contributed
Throughout the winter in Fairfax County, many churches open their doors at night to house the overflow from the local homeless shelters. The main goal is to get the homeless off the streets and into a warm building during the dangerously cold nights. Great Falls United Methodist Church (GFUMC) signed on with Volunteers of America Chesapeake to act as a Hypothermia shelter for a week in January and then again in March. Each night, homeless individuals from Baileys Crossroads Community Shelter were brought by van to GFUMC to sleep for the night. In the morning, they were shuttled back to Falls Church. During the week of Jan. 25-31, GFUMC hosted between 25 and 30 guests each night. Members of the congregation and the United Methodist Men donated money to purchase gift cards for CVS, McDonald’s, and Dunkin Donuts. Pastor Denise Childers presented Mario Wright of Volunteers of America with $845 worth of gift cards to be distributed to the homeless during their stay at GFUMC.
The second Hypothermia week at GFUMC was March 8-14. The church hosted an Italian night on Sunday, March 8. Church members served dinner to 30 homeless people that night. The Youth Group at GFUMC collected 137 pairs of socks to be distributed to the homeless during the March shelter. Finally, the United Methodist Men hosted a movie and game night on Thursday, March 12. Dessert was provided for the homeless guests as they played board games and watched movies.