About Hypothermia
From the Sunday after Thanksgiving to April 1st, FACETS works closely with more than 50 faith communities to create pop-up shelters during the coldest months of the year for our most vulnerable neighbors. Our Hypothermia Prevention and Response team ensures that anyone who needs it has a safe, warm place to sleep for the night. Our hypothermia shelters are open every night of the week and provide dinner and breakfast the next morning.
Burke Presbyterian Church will serve as one of the shelters from February 15-22, 2025.
How do I get involved?
There are many ways to get involved. We have a sign up genius for the many volunteer needs required to host Hypothermia. You can sign up here. If you would like to volunteer your time for a meal, but don’t want to be the lead, please contact Jocelyn Callister and she can help you connect with a team.
You can also donate financially to Hypothermia. All donations directly support the Hypothermia program at BPC. You can make a financial contribution here.
Words from our Volunteers
I have been blessed to have been the Breakfast Coordinator for our Hypothermia Relief program since we started hosting it. As a lover of breakfast myself, it gives me great joy to help others to provide this first meal of the day to our guests before they head out to whatever the day brings them, just as I do for myself the other 51 weeks of the year. Served with lots of protein, carbs and love, feeding our neighbors is one of the gifts I am honored to do each year.
-Jocelyn Callister, BPC Hypothermia Shelter Coordinator
I became the contact person for the hypothermia program in 2015. At that time we were in partnership with Westwood Baptist Church. I made it a personal goal to make it possible to open BPC to the hypothermia program and host people here in our church. My faith calls me to do this work. I believe it is our job to help those in our community who need us most. I love how this program brings everyone together and fosters a sense of welcome and togetherness. -Mara Ashby, BPC Hypothermia Shelter Coordinator
I set up a Foot Washing station during BPC’s Hypothermia Relief Program last February. What I thought was going to be solely a service to our guests turned out to be an unexpected gift to me. Washing our guests’ feet I learned was about recognizing that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, is a child of God and deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. I felt this on a deep level, seeing Christ in people you would most probably miss otherwise. I saw us as all bruised and blistered from the frictions and collisions of walking through our daily lives. Although few words were spoken at times, the simple act of washing another human being’s feet felt sacred. -Susan Kipp, BPC Hypothermia Volunteer
