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ENQUIRING: HELP HOST A DINNER AT MARY MAGS DINNERS

Host volunteering is 3 hours on a Saturday night, 5pm - 8pm

PLEASE CLICK ON THE STEPS BELOW & FOLLOW THE SIMPLE EMAIL PROMPTS TO START YOUR HOST INVOLVEMENT 📧

We love having new people join!

*Hosts coming as a one off with an organised group don’t need to fill out these steps; your group organiser is sharing your details with us — however, if you come back independently, please follow these steps below

  • Thank you wanting to come and help host at Mary Mags Dinners

    ➝ Action Required: Please copy and paste the questions below and email your responses to hello@marymagsdinners.org

    —-

    EMAIL SUBJECT: STEP 1: Enquiring about volunteering for my 1st night helping host

    Hello Mary Mags Dinners,

    This is my STEP 1: Enquiring about volunteering for my 1st night helping host

    1. My full name:

    2. Email:

    3. Mobile number:

    4. Why I want to help host:

    5. All the Saturday dates in the next **5 weeks I can help host volunteer from 5pm - 8.00pm:

    6. How I heard about Mary Mags Dinners:

    —-

    Not in email:

    Please note: We only have a limited amount of first time host slots and total host numbers, per Saturday night, you will be allocated to 1x night, according to roster numbers

    Minimum Age To Host: Please note all hosts must be aged over 16. Hosts aged 16-17 need an adult supervisor for the whole night. The 16-17 year old and adult supervisors’ details need to be entered.

  • What happens after you send the above enquiry email?

    You will receive an email response on a Wednesday or Friday about which Saturday date you gave works for host volunteering + the names of the host coordinators for that night

    On your night: Introduce yourself to the host coordinators and they will welcome you and guide you through everything involved - we look forward to having you along

    Please also familiarise yourself with the structure of the night, found throughout this help host page

  • After you’ve come to help host on your 1st night and you’d like to come back (which we encourage + welcome), we organise a 2nd time to come and help host

    ➝ Action Required: Please copy and paste the questions below and email hello@marymagsdinners.org

    —-

    Email Subject: Organising my 2nd night helping host

    Hello Mary Mags Dinners,

    I am at STEP 2 - Organising my 2nd night helping host

    1. My name:

    2. What night I have helped host:

    3. All of the Saturday dates in the next 1x month I can help host from 5pm - 8.00pm

    —-

    You will receive an email response back about your 2nd night on a Friday

  • Please note: You join the roster if you continue hosting at Mary Mags Dinners after 2 times helping host

    We love having more people join our amazing community 🙂

    ➝  To make host volunteering a monthly rhythm of your calendar, you simply copy and paste the questions below and email hello@marymagsdinners.org

    —-

    EMAIL SUBJECT: STEP 3: Enquiring about joining the monthly host roster

    Hello Mary Mags Dinners,

    I am at STEP 3 - Joining the monthly host roster

    1. What nights I have already helped host:

    2. All Saturday nights in the next 3x months I can help host from 5pm - 8pm

    —

    Your nights will be spread out; we aim for 1x a month (unless otherwise stated by you):

    APPROVAL TO JOIN THE ROSTER:  Please note you do need approval from our chairperson/board member to join the roster. You being approved or denied to join the roster is simply confirmed via email response, once you have filled out the above questions.

    This process is to simply stop scammers/others from accessing the personal roster details etc.

Host Volunteering Overview + How the Night Runs

Mary Mags Dinners host volunteering is 5:00pm - 8.00pm (3 hours) on a Saturday night,

Together, we look to serve our hungry, lonely and homeless neighbours, since 1991

  • Arrive at 5:00pm

    We ask all our host volunteers to please arrive at 5:00pm to help set up for the dinner and meet your coordinators and other host volunteers for the night. There’s an overview of the night at 5.30pm run by the coordinators.

  • Dinner Served at 6pm

    At 6pm we welcome our guests and begin serving our first course, homemade soup, followed by mains then dessert. We also make our guests water, cordial, tea, coffee or milo.

  • Takeaways & Pack Up at 7.15pm

    If there is left over food we provide takeaways after dessert has been served. Together all the volunteers farewell the guests and together help to clean and pack-up the night.

  • Debrief at 7.45pm & finished by 8.00pm

    We finish our night with a debrief led by the coordinators. This involves touching base, sharing any encouragements, concerns or needs noticed during the evening. We finish the night with some quiet reflection/prayer and then head home.

Host volunteers enter into these side doors between the Mission Hall and pub at 5.00pm

If the door is shut, knock and someone will let you inside

FAQ: HELPING HOST

  • On Saturday nights from 5pm - 8.15pm

    28 Moore Street, St Mary Magdalene Church Kaurna Country/Adelaide City

  • Minimum age to come to host volunteer at Mary Mags Dinners is strictly age 16.

    Host volunteers aged between 16-17 need an adult supervisor. With a ratio of 1x adult supervisor to 5x volunteers aged between 16-17.

  • Think of it like simply setting up dinner for 100 people coming over to your place (but we’re at the Mission Hall)

    We set up the tables, prepare the plates, cups, chat with guests, have a quick bite, offer hot drinks

    ..and then pack up the tables, clean the toilets and debrief how the night went

    The food cooking and heating in the kitchen etc, is done by rostered cooks on a separate roster

  • Yes, please follow the steps above and click the link

  • All (16+) are welcome at our table. We have guests who are experiencing and at risk of homelessness, living in government housing, experiencing financial difficulty or simply looking for community

    Please note the meals are strictly for guests aged 16 years and older, younger children can not attend Mary Mags Dinners

  • Yes, please get in touch via email and we can help answer any questions and help facilitate your group coming and helping host

    Please note: We have a max of 5 people per group, per night

    When more than 5 people are interested, we simply recommend groups to be spread out over numerous weeks

    When host volunteer groups are aged 16-17 years old, they need an adult supervisor to be included

    (1 adult : 4 x 16-17 year olds = totalling 5 people in the group)

  • The host coordinators are all volunteers (from all different professional backgrounds) who have been volunteering with Mary Mags Dinners for extended periods of time.

    They have good relationships with the guests, in-depth knowledge of the structures, help keep the nights safe and lead the night for all guests, hosts and cooks.

  • No one is paid, our governing board and all people involved are 100% volunteers

  • Closed shoes, loose-fitting casual clothing for inside and outside weather.. that might get a little bit of soup or washing up water spilt on them

  • There’s free street car parking in the surrounding area. Next door to St Mary Mags Church is paid parking

  • No, host volunteers do not need to show a police check

    The host coordinators all have police checks



FAQ: JOINING THE MONTHLY HOST ROSTER

  • If you’re able, the set rhythm is 1 x Saturday a month for 3 hours, 5pm-8pm

    Some hosts do 2x over 3 months and of course, if you need a month/roster off, that’s okay

  • The meals run from February - December on Saturday nights

    We are closed the week before Christmas & the whole of January because of the heat and volunteers unavailable

  • We are an inclusive community from all different backgrounds and love having new host volunteers join this amazing charity!

    You can see on our amazing hosts and coordinators here

    We have 40-50 people on the host roster spread out to approx 8-10 hosts each Saturday

  • We create quarterly rosters, asking for everyone’s availability in
    advance through a Google Form, however, you can join at any time throughout the year

  • You are supported by our coordinators and experienced host volunteers each time you’re on + we have a white board at the start of each night with information and pictures
    (this website page also has lost of information)