Photo By Staff Sgt. Jonathan McElderry | Courtesy graphic read more read more
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The Minot Men’s Winter Refuge is a nonprofit men’s homeless shelter that provides food, shelter, clothing, transportation, shower facilities and basic medical care for up to 15 men per night from Nov. 1 to April 30.
Several Minot Air Force Base volunteers recently helped the refuge care for homeless men overnight and assist with job and housing applications.
“Our main goal is to help homeless men get back on their feet and into their own housing,” said Mike Zimmer, Men’s Winter Refuge executive director.
The organization also provides food, clothing and transportation funds to any homeless individuals who reach out to them year-round.
To make this possible, Zimmer noted more than 80 percent of the shelter’s volunteers are from base.
“We have an amazing amount of Airmen who volunteer,” said Zimmer. “When I first started working at the shelter, there weren’t many volunteers, but after contacting the base, it’s to a point where about 25 of 30 nights within a month are covered by the base’s volunteers.”
He added that an average of 30-40 Airmen volunteer per month and often do so more than once.
Overnight volunteers stay from 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. and drivers volunteer for an hour either in the morning or afternoon.
Senior Airman Audrey Blake, 5th Security Forces entry controller, is a frequent volunteer.
Blake, who has volunteered for more than a year, said she enjoys volunteering so much that she tries to bring in as many volunteers to help the organization.
“It feels great to give back,” Blake said. “My experience volunteering at the shelter makes me passionate about volunteering and encouraging others to do the same.”
Zimmer also noted his appreciation for the assistance from Minot Airmen.
“It’s truly a blessing for us to have many military volunteers help out,” Zimmer said. “Thanks to them, I never worry about anything going wrong while I’m not there.”
For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, call 701-822-2585.
| Date Taken: | 04.04.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 04.04.2017 13:23 |
| Story ID: | 229145 |
| Location: | MINOT AIR FORCE BASE , NORTH DAKOTA, US |
| Hometown: | MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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