Miami Week-Long Program
This
information is provided to help your group plan for the DOOR-MIami
experience. It provides background on the DOOR program, specifics on
who can participate, registration procedures, schedules, cost, Open House Weekends, transportation, insurance, and other logistics.
If you are considering a trip in 2007-2008, please review our 2008 Updates.
Who Can Participate?
The
DOOR program is designed for participants from high-school age, college
age and adults and is open to all denominations. DOOR asks that groups
provide one adult sponsor per every five youth. Smaller groups may be
paired together, allowing participants from different places and
denominations to share in service.
What Will You Do?
A
typical DOOR-Miami week begins upon arrival Sunday evening after supper
and ends with departure after lunch on Friday. A three-hour
orientation/logistics session Sunday evening helps prepare everyone for
the week. For service assignments and meal preparation, your group will
be divided into teams of 4-6 participants with one adult sponsor as
designated leader. 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 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. However, due to the nature of some
assignments, there are cases where we will ask the same work team to
stay at a site for more than one day. Our goal is that all participants
will have a variety of experiences that they can then share with each
other.
Activities of the week may include working
alongside migrants in the field or engaging in recreational and
learning activities with their children; interaction with homeless
people at a homeless shelter by serving food or singing with them;
sorting donated food or clothing at a redistribution center; lawn and
building maintenance for individuals; walking through various city
neighborhoods; meeting with and listening to groups who are working for
change in the city. There will also be times for reflection on the
events of the day.
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 Denver. (Please keep in mind that some work teams may
not finish their assignments until early evening.)
Cost and Registration for the Miami Week Long Program
Participant cost for 2008 is $275.
This covers food, lodging, materials for service experiences, t-shirts,
and program administration. Our registration process has several stages:
- Registration:Return
the group application and the non-refundable $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, 2008.
- 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 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 your registration process for a 2008 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, fillout, 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 Miami
Go to the: Miami Packing List.
While
at DOOR Miami, Groups will be welcomed at Wesley Hispanic United
Methodist Church. Wesley is on the NE corner of Coral Gables and
the western end of Little Havana. It is very accessible to/ from
the Miami airport. Participants will be sleeping on the floor in
various rooms. Each participant should bring a sleeping bag, sleeping
mat, a towel, and toiletries.
It is important to note that
many of the agencies that we work with require volunteers to wear long
pants. Every participant must have at least one pair of long pants
appropriate for work in situations where they will get dirty such as
painting, cleaning, serving food, or yard work. Keep in mind that there
are no laundry facilities at the church. Comfortable walking shoes,
casual/sport clothing as desired, and insect repellent are strongly
recommended. Remember to bring sunscreen, a frisbee, soccer ball,
guitar and other recreation and entertainment ideas. Participants
should also bring Bibles and notebooks. A detailed list of what to
bring will be included in the orientation materials.
Transportation
When
unable to use public transportation, It is our policy that we will rely
on the vehicles you come in to transport your work teams to and from
service assignments as well as around the city to various events. You
must provide appropriate transportation (one seat belt per person) for
your entire group throughout the entire week. You may also choose to
use public transportation for the entire week.
Please see the options on the registration form for cost.
Health Insurance
There
is always the chance that volunteers will need medical care. Accidents
can and do happen while at the service experiences, during recreational
activities and free time, even on the trip to and from Miami. 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 Medical Release Forms (sent to groups along with orientation
materials) are completed and available to our staff upon arrival.
And Finally...
Additional Miami Information
In
addition to learning about service, we hope DOOR participants will have
fun! The DOOR staff tries to ensure that not all your time in Miami 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 volleyball, soccer, basketball and
frisbee at the church or beaches in Miami as well as exploring parts of
the city on your own.
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