LATEST NEWS

The Open Shelter would like to thank the Church of The Messiah, United Methodist of Westerville, Ohio for their decades of support, commitment, devotion, compassion, loyalty, and love to our mission and those we serve. Church of The Messiah members have helped us in many ways, from providing gifts for our Christmas program through their… Read more: Many Thanks To Church Of The Messiah!

The Open Shelter and those we serve were blessed! Thanks to St. Andrew & St. Agatha Church, we were able to provide a nourishing and delicious Holiday Meal for over 250 homeless and marginally housed men, women & children and also some special guests we invited! We were also able to make Christmas bright and… Read more: YOU Made Christmas Bright!

The Holidays can be a joyous time for many but can also be stressful and even depressing for some, especially those we serve. We talked to a few of our guests and one of our longtime volunteers to understand what the Holidays mean to them. “Family and celebrations. Some are happy, some are sad. Some… Read more: WHAT DO THE HOLIDAYS MEAN TO YOU?

“I am from Venezuela. We left there because the economic crisis is bad. There is no work or food. I came through the jungles of Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Mexico. In Mexico, I got on a train. I jumped the mesh fence into Texas to surrender to immigration.” “I was happy because I had… Read more: Marieliz’s Journey

THANK YOU, ENTERPRISE MOBILITY! The Open Shelter would like to give a HUGE, heartfelt THANK YOU to Enterprise Mobility for being such wonderful supporters of our mission, “Staying Behind With Those Left Behind.” Through the Enterprise Mobility Stronger Together Employee Giving Campaign, Enterprise Mobility team members have made significant contributions to our grassroots efforts of… Read more: Thank You, Enterprise Mobilty!

The Open Shelter has an August Match Mania Update…and it’s a wonderful one! YOU not only met the $5000 match, but you blew by it!!!!! There are probably still donations coming in, but as of right now— a total of $13,123.00 has been raised!!! That means The Open Shelter gets a $5000 gift promised by a loyal donor of… Read more: YOU MET THE MATCH!!!

The Open Shelter was honored to participate in the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association Charity Night at Eldorado Scioto Downs.We were part of 10 charities that were selected. Each charity was paired with a horse for that night’s 8th race. The winning charity would receive $10,000, with second place getting $5000 and third place receiving $3000!… Read more: OHHA Charity Night!

The Stonewall Columbus Pride March is a very special event in our community. It is wonderful to see so many coming together to share joy, love, and PRIDE. The Open Shelter is honored to be a part of it for everyone, but especially for our Deputy Director of Day Services, Solomon Dean. Thank you to… Read more: Proud To Be Part Of 2024 Stonewall Columbus PRIDE

Our 2024 Father’s Day was a Fantastic Event thanks to YOU! Over 30 dads were treated to gift bags, hygiene and body care items, new ball caps, and a delicious meal thanks to City Barbeque, the Worthington Dairy Queen, Kroger, and Phetymany Somphan! Thank you to Hope & Noah Gibson and AnneMarie Buswell for volunteering,… Read more: Thank You For Making Father’s Day FANTASTIC

Martin is a guest The Open Shelter and YOU have assisted for nearly a year. He grew up in the area we are located now, on Parsons Avenue. Martin is not hesitant to help out where needed, whether it is helping clean up our Day Room or helping unload donations that YOU bring to us.… Read more: Martin Matters