Volunteer Of The Month: Carolyn Heim Helps Make SPUMC Home For Guests Experiencing Homelessness

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For over 30 years, men and women experiencing homelessness have found shelter in area houses of worship during the coldest months of the year through Winter Relief, a program coordinated by Arundel House of Hope. Each week, a local house of worship provides guests with a warm place to sleep, meals, activities, companionship, spiritual guidance and more.

Severna Park United Methodist Church (SPUMC) became a Winter Relief host site in 2012, and congregant Carolyn Heim stepped up to volunteer immediately. As SPUMC’s site supervisor, she oversees the efforts of roughly 200 volunteers and a leadership team of about 15 people who make Winter Relief possible for two weeks each year.

In addition to countless hours of planning and preparation, Heim spends every afternoon, evening and morning of SPUMC’s Winter Relief weeks in November and February at the church she has attended since 1987. She makes it a top priority to learn every guest’s name by day two, to help them feel like the church is truly their home while they are there.

Heim shared that SPUMC’s army of Winter Relief volunteers give of their time not only through preparing meals, providing transportation and hosting activities, but also through unique kindnesses to help guests feel loved and at home. Professionals within the church have provided dental cleanings and haircuts, and congregants have washed laundry in their homes, played games and shared meals with guests, and more. In the fall, Heim added, volunteers hold a large bonfire for guests, and in February, guests enjoy an ice cream social.

“There was one year that one guest basically told us that he felt like every time he walked in our doors, that he felt like he was home, so that was really meaningful to us,” Heim recalled. “Part of what we do … is all of our volunteers that happen to be at the church each evening – the ones cooking, the ones that host, myself – we all sit down with (the guests) and eat dinner, and we talk to them and hear their stories, so for somebody to say that – that they felt like they were home – made us feel like we were doing the right thing.”

Echoing Jesus’ teaching that it is a greater blessing to give than receive, Heim emphasized that the volunteers gain so much from the experience of serving during Winter Relief. She encourages those interested in serving to get involved because “it’s an opportunity to do a mission right here at the church without going off to Costa Rica or somewhere else.”

Heim is familiar with missions abroad, as well, having served on trips to Utah and Costa Rica. She has volunteered on SPUMC’s missions committee, on the finance committee, as a Sunday school teacher, as president of the United Methodist Women, and more. She previously took disciple classes at the church – 34-week intensive Bible studies – and later taught them as well.

Heim is an avid reader who enjoys playing pickleball and going for long daily walks with her husband, who recently offered to serve as assistant Winter Relief site supervisor after another volunteer stepped down. She began her career in banking, and today she books cruises on a part-time basis. A resident of Shipley’s Choice, Heim has three adult children and two grandchildren, and she is involved in the Assistance League of the Chesapeake and the Junior League of Annapolis.

Heim expressed gratitude for the dedicated volunteers who help host Winter Relief each year, sharing that they all do a great job and many return to serve year after year. She acknowledged that one day she will need to find her replacement as site supervisor. But for now, she continues to serve, noting that it touches her heart.

“Our church’s mission statement is ‘Love. Serve. Follow.’ In providing effective leadership to our Winter Relief program, Carolyn embodies all three: Love for God and neighbor, a compassionate serving heart, and a powerful example of what it means to follow Jesus in our time and in this community,” said the Rev. Ron Foster, lead pastor of SPUMC. “She has done a fabulous job of mobilizing volunteers to serve and making hundreds of guests feel loved and valued.”

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