D.C. Justice Programs Logistics & Details
To our participants and their families and loved ones, we are taking the situation around COVID-19, its variants very seriously. This situation has required a level of flexibility and vigilance from all of us. As we enter into communities with a desire to learn and serve, we also must remain sensitive to their needs. The communities where we serve have been some of the most vulnerable to COVID-19 and suffered the majority of the losses here in DC. In our commitment to being good, respectful visitors, we will abide by the following policies.
COVID-19 POLICIES:
We also know many of us come in with various experiences of the past years, whether having experienced sickness ourselves, having lost loved ones to COVID, or having heightened anxiety because of the virus. We anticipate being sensitive to these feelings and experiences during the plunge.
Our mask policy will follow the mask policy of our church host St Teresa of Avila church. As of fall 2023, the church has a mandatory indoor masking policy for church services (that may change). We encourage participants to bring a few masks of their own, to wear when appropriate. We know there may be a variety of feelings about masking or distancing and will see to foster an environment of respect.
Vaccines will not be required for participation in plunge 2024.
During the plunge, we will ask you to self-monitor for symptoms. If someone develops symptoms we will provide a space for quarantine until you are able to arrange transportation home.
FOOD:
We will provide all meals and simple snacks for the duration of the plunge program. To keep our costs low, we do almost all our shopping at Aldi. Expect basic breakfast and lunches (coffee, milk, cereal, fruit, sandwiches, chips). For dinner, we will serve a hot meal either catered or cooked by participants and staff.
If you have dietary restrictions or needs please put them on the registration form so we can do our best to accommodate you. Also feel free to bring extra snacks for yourself or to share! Please refrain from bringing peanut products.
MEETING AND HOUSING SITES:
Students will be housed in a church or community center. We will provide a basic air mattress for your use but recommend bringing bedding, pillows, or a sleeping bag. We will be sleeping on the floor. You will also need your own towel and toiletries to use in the shower area. Students will be housed with students of the same gender (usually students of one gender use the basement floor/room for sleeping, and we house all other students in the 5 2-person rooms on another floor). If you have any questions, talk with your campus staff.
The neighborhood of the plunge does not have any hotels or regular visitors housing. Each of our host churches and sites are graciously opening up sites not usually used for housing to welcome us. These hosts allow us to spend significantly less than we would be if we were using a hotel or a retreat center in town (which would make the program cost easily double what it does!). Our housing sites are in older buildings with limited hot water. For some, this week may feel like “roughing it.” We encourage participants to come prepared to receive the hospitality offered and recognize the gift of proximity these church partners are giving us for the week.
Here is a glimpse of the spaces (click to enlarge):
TRANSPORTATION:
Students arrive to the plunge via their own cars and we offer parking nearby. Students are responsible for the cost of transportation to and from the plunge program. We include bus fare for the duration of the program in the program fee.
SCHEDULE:
DC Plunge (spring break) days are a mix of 3 key components. First, we will always have some time out in the community either doing direct service, attending church, or doing some structured activities to learn the stories of people of the city. Second, there will always be a time of sharing, processing, and connecting with other students. And finally, there will always be some up-front teaching connecting justice in the city to scripture and the call of the people of God in the world.
The order of the components varies by day, but we're usually eating breakfast around 8-9am, doing activities in the morning and afternoon, gathering for hot dinner around 6pm and finishing up by 9:30/10pm. (Before the optional late night conversations and hang out times!).
Arrival is usually about 9am Saturday morning and we seek to end the week by 3pm Wednesday afternoon. We encourage you to make your travel plans around these times so you can participate fully.
FREE TIME AND HOMEWORK TIME:
There will be some free time each day during the plunge, sometimes between activities to grab a snack or a conversation with a neighbor. Other times you'll have time to check out a local shop or go on a walk.
While you're welcome to use that free time for homework, we'd recommend leaving it until after the plunge ends Wednesday afternoon. We don't have wifi available at the ministry site and we'd love to encourage spending time focused on one another and God. And hopefully the second half of spring break will be plenty of time for rest and homework.
Questions:
Contact director Kate Denson, kate.denson@intervarsity.org