Centenary Cares
Centenary CARES is an outreach ministry of Centenary United Methodist church located in the heart of downtown St. Louis. CARES opened its doors in December 2005 and in its first year of service served over 50,000 meals to homeless and food insecure persons. Through September 2007, CARES has served over 54,000 noon time meals.
Although CARES offers meals, CARES is not a “soup kitchen,” CARES is access to human social services. CARES staff provide a welcoming environment where people can come in and rest and get out of the elements. CARES offers sanctuary. CARES offers many services including providing a permanent mailing address, voice mail boxes (in partnership with the Human Development Corporation), and birth certificates and identification, all services that lower barriers to shelter and employment.
CARES also has an Emergency Pantry that gives away personal hygiene items and emergency food to individuals. In the colder months, CARES also gives away coats, scarves, hats, gloves, blankets and socks.
Breakfast Club
(In Partnership with St. Peter and Paul)
7-9:30 a.m., Monday - Friday
Lunch
Noon - 12:30 p.m., Monday - Friday
CARES ask volunteers to make a 4 hour commitment from 10am to 2pm. Volunteers help prepare, serve, and clean up the meal. Volunteers are welcome to eat with our guests or wait until after others have been served.
Dinner
5-5:30pm, Sunday - Thursday
CARES ask volunteer groups to make a 2 hour commitment from 4:30 to 6:30pm. Volunteers help serve and clean up the meal. Optimal group size is 8-10 persons. Minimum group size is 6 persons.
ServeSafe regulations require volunteers to be 16 years of age to work in the kitchen and 14 to serve on the hot serving line. Volunteer one day, once a week, or once a month. We are flexible. Individuals and groups welcome.
Other opportunities to serve
If you would like to volunteer, but serving in the kitchen is not your thing, call us or stop by and visit and let’s talk about all the exciting ways you can get involved. Or if your schedule does not permit you to volunteer, but you would like to make a financial contribution, checks can be made out to Centenary CARES and mailed to the address above. Contact Genny Schumacher to volunteer.
The Trail
an experiential learning opportunity…
The Trail is the journey a homeless person walks on a daily basis to try and get their nutritional and other basic human needs met. CARES, an outreach ministry of Centenary United Methodist Church, offers an opportunity to walk The Trail.
If you are homeless you might wake up in a shelter, on a park bench, or in an abandoned building and walk to Centenary Church for breakfast. After breakfast, you walk from place to place trying to get your nutritional and other needs met until you eventually find yourself back where you started, a shelter, a park bench, or an abandoned building.
Centenary CARES offers an opportunity to walk an abbreviated Trail. For $10, you get a guided tour through the streets of downtown St. Louis, a Trail t-shirt, and the opportunity to learn through experiencing The Trail. The Trail is approximately 4 miles of walking and takes about 2 hours.
The Trail is offered on demand and on the availability of the trail guide. For morning trails, individuals and groups are asked to arrive by 9 a.m., so that the walk actually begins by 9:30 a.m.. Individuals and groups who walk during the week, Monday through Friday, are welcome to eat with our guests at noon.
Please wear comfortable shoes and bring a water bottle. Each participant must sign a “hold harmless agreement”.
Urban Mission Outreach
a place to stay while in mission in St. Louis, Missouri…
Download the Urban Mission Outreach form.
Stay with us whether you are doing mission work with CARES or at other agencies. CARES has 10 bunk beds (20 beds) in 3 separate air conditioned sleeping rooms on the third floor. Individuals need to supply their own bedding.
The cost is $25.00 per person per day and includes a continental breakfast, lunch (or sack lunch if teams are working offsite), dinner and daily showers. All meals are subject to days we are serving. A listing of area restaurants and visitor attractions is provided for teams so that your time in St. Louis is fun, as well as, spiritually fulfilling.
Teams can choose to serve at CARES or serve elsewhere in the city and use CARES facilities as a resting place at the end of your mission day.