Chicago Weekend Program
These DOOR information sheets are intended to help your group plan for your experience, by providing background on the DOOR program, specifics on who can participate, registration procedures, schedules, cost, transportation, insurance, and other logistics.
Who Can Participate?
The Week End program is designed for participants middle-school age and beyond and is open to all denominations. DOOR asks that for every 5 participants there is one adult leader. We can accommodate groups up to 50 total participants. Smaller groups may be paired with other small groups, to allow participants from different places and denominations to share in their experiences.
What Will You Do?
To see a Typical Weekend Schedule
A typical DOOR week begins upon arrival for supper on Friday, ending with departure after worship on Sunday. An orientation session Friday evening helps prepare everyone for the weekend. Evening sessions may include listening to presentations from speakers that relate to the experiences of the weekend or taking walking tours through one of Chicago’s many ethnic neighborhoods.
Examples of service assignments are: preparing and serving meals at a soup kitchen; helping with children whose moms may be living on the streets; lawn and building maintenance for seniors; stocking shelves in food banks; sorting donated clothing; touring a homeless shelter; meeting with groups working for change in the city; conversing and singing with senior citizens.
When Can we come to an Urban Encounter?
DOOR welcomes Urban Encounter groups all year around, with only a few exceptions. Please contact us with the weekend that works for your group.
Cost and Registration for a Weekend Program
To see Chicago's Weekend Calendar
Weekends are $95 a person. This covers food, lodging, and materials for service experiences, and program administration. Our registration process has several stages:
- Return the group registration and the non-refundable $25 per person registration fee. This deposit will be applied in its entirety towards your total group cost and will hole your requested weekend.
- 2. A 50% deposit is due ten weeks prior to your trip. This non-refundable deposit is per person; meaning if you deposit for 10 people and only bring 9, you lose the deposit for that one person. You may increase your numbers only with a telephone call to us. Upon receipt of this deposit, we will send you an orientation package. This 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 upon arrival.
- All funds received must be in U.S. currency.
What To Bring To Chicago
- Sleeping Bags, Pillow
- Tolietries
- Walking Shoes - Most agencies require closed toed shoes
- Jeans, T shirt for service on Saturday
- Dress clothes for church - no jeans, no tennis shoes
- Bible, Journal
Transportation
DOOR Chicago's weekend program relies on public transportation for Friday and Saturday. We provide the day pass to cover this expense. If you drive in, we have a parking lot at First Church that we use for cars and vans. If you plan to bring a bus, please call 312.545.3667, so we can make arrangements for parking. If you would like to bring the train into Chicago, we can buy a weekend pass for you and send it to you for an extra cost of $4 per person (The extra cost of a longer term weekend pass).
Health Insurance
While participating in the Week End 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 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 Medical Release Forms (sent along with orientation the materials) are completed and available to our staff.
Additional Chicago Information