CURRENT EVENTS

Refuge from the Cold 2019

Refuge from the Cold is the annual fall fundraising banquet for Severe Weather Shelter Network. This years theme is “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

The purpose of the event is to bring together individuals, groups and partners to celebrate the work being done to provide emergency overnight shelter for individuals living on the streets of the suburban corridor on the west side of Denver.

Event guests will have the opportunity to bid high on Silent Auction items, visit the See the Need tables and purchase items necessary for our shelter guests survival on the streets. There will be an opportunity during the evening for each guest to make a special financial gift in support of Severe Weather Shelter Network.

Your gifts given through this event will directly impact shelter guests with items like shoes, backpacks, socks and most importantly emergency shelter on life threatening winter nights.

We look forward to meeting and welcoming you to this year’s event!

When: Saturday, November 2, 2019 from 6 PM to 8:30 PM

Where: Bethlemhem Lutheran Church and School, 2100 Wadsworth Blvd, Lakewood, CO 80214

Order your tickets today by clicking on this link: Refuge from the Cold 2019

Past Events:

Arvada Harvest Festival Parade

Come see Severe Weather Shelter Network at The Arvada Harvest Festival Parade!
Due to Road Construction the 2019 parade will begin at balsam St. & Ralston Road, and ending at Holland St.

When: Saturday, September 7, 2019

Time: Starts at 9:00 a.m. and ending about 1:00 pm.

Where: Old Town Arvada Festival Parade

Judges Stand: Located at Field & Ralston Rd.

Englewood Block Party

Stop by Severe Weather Shelter Network’s booth at The Englewood Block Party! This festival is a street party that brings together friends and families to celebrate the Englewood community. The 3400 block of South Broadway will be closed to traffic and filled with people, food trucks, concerts, a beer garden, kid’s activities, local vendor booths, and much, much more.

Admission is free!

When: Saturday, September 28, 2019 from 3 PM to 9 PM

Where: 3400 Block of South Broadway

Bingo Night at Some Place Else Brewery

SWSN is hosting Bingo Night at Some Place Else Brewery! Cards will be $5 each and benefit SWSN. We are also excited to let you know that the Brewery is donating 10% of their proceeds for the entire day to SWSN! Wow!

Lynn Ann will be our Bingo caller for the night. You don’t want to miss that one! We look forward to welcoming you and your friends.

Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 5:30-8:30

Radical Kinship: An Evening with Father Greg Boyle

Change The Trend welcomes Father Gregory Boyle from Home Boy Industries to Englewood, on Friday, August 9, 2019 at 6 PM. Father Gregory will speak about Radical Kinship To Change the Trend.

World renowned author of “Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion” and “Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship”, founder Father Greg Boyle, S.J. of Homeboy Industries, is coming to Colorado to address our community friends and Change The Trend, a collaborative effort working to mobilize and equip Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan communities to constructively engage the issue of homelessness. Come and hear the stories of compassion, kinship and transformation.

Member organizations of Change The Trend will have booths in the gallery outside of the Auditorium before and after the event to allow visitors to ask questions and make new connections.

For more information about Change The Trend and our partner organizations visit our website at: https://changethetrend.org/mission/

The Event is free to the public. Please be sure to reserve your seat through Eventbrite. Seating is limited and we want to welcome as many people as possible!

Change The Trend is raising money for 2 projects through this event to benefit people living on the streets:

Showers and Laundry facilities at Giving Heart Englewood: Your gift given today helps us take steps toward meeting the financial need! Amount to be raised is $75,000.
First Month’s Rent Fund: The Change The Trend Resource Navigation program assists people experiencing homelessness in a pathway to a life off the streets. Many times it is a challenge to come up with the necessary first month’s rent when ready to transition into housing. A Stronger Cord will receive and distribute this money as the need arises. Amount to be raised: $10,000.

You can give your secure gift today through this link:

https://newhorizonsfoundation.com/projectsdonate/446-a-stronger-cord/backing

Please designate all gifts “Evening with Father G” through the drop down box provided.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Volunteer Opportunity at Mile High Nationals

Severe Weather Shelter Network has been given an opportunity to man a Food and Drink booth at Mile High Nationals this year. We will host the booth on both July 20th and July 21st.

We will need 9 volunteers for each shift to man the booth well.
Saturday: 9am-3pm; 3-9pm
Sunday: 7am-12pm; 12-5pm

All volunteers will have an opportunity to watch the drag races either before or after their shift. SWSN will provide t-shirts for the day so we are coordinated and identifiable.

Please contact Tracy Thayer to confirm your participation as a volunteer for either day.

tracy@swshelternetwork.com or 720-515-9313

SWSN Booth at Drawing the Line

First Friday’s at the 40 West Arts District is always a good time! June 7th the theme is “The Circus” with a focus on line drawings. SWSN will host a booth for this event and is in need of Volunteers to help with the booth to sell Popcorn and Peanuts to visitors. We will also be sharing information about SWSN and opportunities to volunteer next fall.

We need 3 volunteers between 6-7:30pm and 3 other volunteers between 7:30-9pm.

Contact Tracy Thayer to confirm your assistance for this event at tracy@swshelternetwork.com or 720-515-9313.

40 HANDS in forty days is a local fundraising and awareness campaign. The 40 HANDS staff have invited 40 nonprofits in the Denver area to come together for this 40 day campaign.

Severe Weather Shelter Network is one of the 40!

Each of us have shared our vision and mission through an organization profile page to help visitors learn more about how we are engaging our community in positive and life changing ways. Severe Weather Shelter Network is thrilled to share and invite the broader community to engage with the work we are doing in our communities!

Did you know that Severe Weather Shelter Network is currently the only shelter in Jefferson County and the west end of Arapahoe County?

Did you know that Severe Weather Shelter Network is made up of more than 700 volunteers, 35 church partners and 12 service provider partners?

Did you know that we have provided shelter for 400 individuals so far this season?

You can join us today by going to the 40 HANDS in forty days page and giving a gift in support of our work.

Check it out today and help us reach our goal of $10,000!

Refuge from the Cold

Annual Fall Fundraising Dinner

Every November Severe Weather Shelter Network hosts our fall fundraising dinner, called Refuge from the Cold. This fun event includes a number of pieces that are intended to help our event guests learn something more about what we do and who we are and of course to raise necessary funds for the work to which we are called.

This year we are hosting See the Need Fund the Need again. This is an opportunity for event guests to purchase material items needed by our shelter guests. Your financial gift might purchase a pair of boots, a sleeping bag or even a tarp. These items are distributed to our guests as the need is elevated to us. On any given shelter night it is not to uncommon for one of our guests to show us their desperate need for a new pair of boots. Sleeping bags and backpacks tend to be items needed over the course of a shelter season…and beyond.

New this year, we will host a Raffle. We have 7 entertainment packages that will be highlighted as part of our Raffle. Some of those packages are:

  • A summer weekend in Keystone
  • A night at the Brown Palace with tour tickets for Denver Center for the Performing Arts
  • A night at the Hilton Gardens Inn with 2 tickets to the Arvada Performing Arts this season
  • 2 Tickets to the National Western Stock Show Rodeo

Each guest will receive 1 free ticket as they check in. Additional tickets will be available for purchase at $10 each to increase your chances of winning one of our prizes. A great opportunity for you to win a fun family activity…a blessing for Severe Weather Shelter Network to receive the funding necessary to provide emergency shelter.

Our Keynote Speaker this year is John Parvensky. John is the CEO for Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and has served in that role for the last 34 years. He will be speaking to us about the power of collaboration to bring about change that benefits everyone in the communities we serve. Severe Weather Shelter Network is honored to have John join us for this annual event.

There is no upfront cost to attend this event. You will be given opportunity to give a financial gift in support of the work of Severe Weather Shelter Network during the evening.

The Journey Home 5K Walks

Raising awareness regarding the realities of life on the streets

Severe Weather Shelter Network is hosting 2 walks in partnership with our organizational partners in September. We are very excited about this collaborative event and hope you will join us!

The purpose of these events is threefold: 

  • Raise awareness in the broader community regarding the realities of life on the streets
  • Provide immediate connection points to volunteer with organizations that are making a direct impact in the lives of people experiencing homelessness in our community
  • Raise necessary funds to continue the work we are doing on behalf of and with those we are serving

The Journey Home South                                                                   The Journey Home Central/North

Saturday, September 15, 2018    9am-1pm                                    Saturday, September 22, 2018     3pm-7pm

Centennial Park Englewood                                                             Memorial Park Arvada

4630 S Decatur St                                                                               8101 W 59th Ave

Englewood CO 80110                                                                         Arvada CO 80002

5 organizations will receive funding benefits from these 2 events: 

  • Severe Weather Shelter Network (Event Host)
  • Mean Street Ministry
  • Living Well Shower Trailer
  • Giving Heart Englewood
  • HAAT Force South Metro

These partners have been very important in the building out of the network and the provision of emergency overnight shelter on life threatening winter nights. We have selected these organizations to benefit with us this year.

12 partner organizations have been involved in the planning and implementation of The Journey Home and will be represented in our Camp Expo on the day of the events.

Check out this link for more information about the walks and how you can get connected and registered to walk today! 

We look forward to welcoming you and your friends!

Severe Weather Shelter Network is now recruiting volunteers for the new Lakewood Warming Site!
We are excited to partner with the Lakewood Elks Lodge in the use of their building and their volunteer corp to bring this much needed resource to our shelter network.
What is a Warming Site? 
Warming Sites are a very important part of our shelter experience. Shelter guests go to Warming Sites to wait for transportation to the Host Site where they will have dinner and spend the night. The Warming Site provides a warm place for our guests to get in out of the cold for about an hour, confirm their reservation for the night, have access to bathrooms and hot drinks.
Volunteers help make the space welcoming and safe for our guests. A good listening ear is always welcomed by our guests as they debrief their day and begin to relax before going to the Host Site.
What volunteers are needed? 
7 Team Leaders (One for each night of the week)
35 Hospitality volunteers (5 for each team)
What roles are included in the team? 
Team Leader: The point person for the night. The Team Leader is the one who delegates other roles to additional team members and is the primary contact for drivers and the Host Site where guests will be spending the night.
Hospitality Volunteers:
     ~ Greeter: One person to greet guests at the door as they come in
     ~ Bathroom attendants: One male and one female to monitor bathrooms
     ~ Check in: one person to check guests in against the nightly roster
     ~ Hot Drinks: one person to manage coffee and hot water supplies
     ~ Roamer: one person to roam tables and engage with guests
 How can you get connected to help? 
Contact Lynn Ann Huizingh at lynnann@swshelternetwork.com or 720-515-9313 for more information and to register for the training on the 14th.