THE CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER MISSION STATEMENT

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• THE CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER MISSION STATEMENT
• Christmas in October is the leading volunteer
  organization that, in partnership with the
  community, rehabilitates the houses of low-income
  homeowners, particularly the elderly and
  disabled, so that they may continue to live in
  warmth, safety, and dignity.

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WHAT WE DO

• Volunteers may complete a variety of tasks
  interior and exterior painting, caulking,
  cleaning gutters, installing insulation,
  repairing and weatherizing doors and windows,
  installing wheelchair ramps and hand rails,
  clearing away brush, trimming trees, and removing
  trash. Tasks such as carpentry, roofing,
  heating, electrical, and plumbing are usually
  considered skilled jobs.

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BEING A HOUSE CAPTAIN

• As a House Captain, you are crucial to this
  program. You will be in charge of meeting with
  the residents, inspecting the house (s) you have
  chosen, determining what projects you and your
  volunteers are capable of completing, determining
  the material requirements, and organizing your
  volunteers so that the repairs can be
  accomplished on Event Day.

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• SELECTING YOUR HOMES
• See demonstration.

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• INSPECTING YOUR SELECTED HOMES
• When you visit the home and meet with the owner,
  check over the listed repairs to see which items
  you can do and which will need a skilled
  contractor.
• On critical skilled items, such as water heater
  not working or no heat or water, file the
  Emergency Skilled Request Form included in this
  packet to the office as soon as possible. This
  form can also be found on our website.
• In some cases, you may have to reject a home. If
  the house is in good condition and you would not
  consider it needy, simply thank the owner for
  their time and inform Christmas in October that
  the house does not need to be in the program.
  You may then select a different home from our
  database.
• Make a complete materials list and labor needs
  before you leave. Extra trips may be necessary
  to complete a good list.
• Tell the homeowner what time to expect you on the
  event day (800am is best). Make them aware that
  some skilled work may be done in the weeks prior
  to event day.
• You may want to take pictures for discussions
  with your team members.

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SELECTING YOUR PROJECTS

• Our purpose is to help needy families with
  health and safety issues. When you select a
  house and find that your volunteers cannot
  perform all repairs, make only the repairs your
  team can complete. It is better to help the
  homeowner with a few projects than to begin
  projects that cannot be finished.

DO NOT START ANY JOB THAT YOU CANNOT FINISH IN
ONE DAY.
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• POWER OF BEGGING
• Enclosed in your packet is a Skilled Help
  Request Form. Please use it only if you have
  already tried to get a friend, relative, or a
  local company that you know to help you. Many
  small businesses are willing to help if they are
  asked. We provide the material for projects, so
  it is just a matter of finding the labor. Your
  local roofer, electrician, plumber, tree
  specialist, or carpenter will often be more than
  willing to donate one day of work for a good
  cause. If you cannot find a skilled laborer,
  send in one Skilled Help Request Form for each
  skilled request. Fax each form to our office at
  816-531-6444.

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• TRASH
• Note New procedure for trash. There will be NO
  Event Day pickup. Make every effort to place
  trash in plastic bags provided by CIO and NCAP
  (Neighborhood Cleanup Assistance Program). These
  special bags will be picked up on each
  neighborhoods normal trash day. All bulk trash
  will be picked up by the city beginning the
  Monday after event day and throughout the
  following week. If you need a dumpster, fax a
  request to the office at 816-531-6444 at least 2
  weeks in advance. Please inform all residents
  that their trash will be picked up and not to
  call the city.

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• WAREHOUSE
• The Warehouse is located at 3261 Roanoke Road,
  Kansas City, MO (west of 31st Southwest Blvd).
  Warehouse hours are listed on page one. Check
  your assigned pick-up day. These pick-up times
  are not cast in stone. If you need a time not
  assigned, just come in or call for confirmation.
  Every effort is made to provide each House
  Captain with the necessary materials to do the
  job. Primary items such as paint, painting
  materials, insulation, ladders, yard tools, etc.,
  will be available.

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• WAREHOUSE CHECK OUT
• All materials provided you at the warehouse
  should be listed on a check out form. All ladders
  must be included. Please take only what you need
  and bring back what is not usedpaint rollers,
  brushes, caulking, etc. Anything we can use
  again should be returned. Leave any opened paint
  cans with the homeowner. Many volunteers believe
  that these materials are donated, but they are
  not! We receive special discounts from local
  businesses, but we pay for everything. If
  possible, return all ladders and leftover
  materials on the event day and then enjoy the
  after party!

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• VENDOR CARDS
• We provide vendor cards to help you get
  materials you need to complete your job that we
  do not have in the warehouse. If your company or
  group provides you with a budget for each house,
  use those resources first and then use the vendor
  card. Vendor Cards will be given to you when you
  check out at the warehouse. Strasser Hardware
  (which has just about everything), Schutte
  Lumber, and Builders Surplus are our three
  primary vendors. Together, they should cover any
  additional materials you need. You are permitted
  to charge materials to these vendors. Simply
  present the card when checking out, and the
  vendor will call us to approve the expenditure.
  Paint-related items cannot be purchased at any
  vendor.

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GUTTERS

• Note New procedure for gutters. CIO has its own
  gutter machine! In order for us to provide
  gutters, your team must prepare the house. If
  the house has fascia and soffits that are rotten
  or in bad shape, they must be repaired and
  painted before any new gutter can be installed.
• See demonstration.

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If your team has the skills to install new
gutters

• Carefully measure the house for the guttering
  required and send in a Skilled Help Request Form
  prior to event day. We will fill your order at
  the warehouse or at the designated pick-up site.
  We will have it ready for you to pick up on event
  day. If it is a big job, we will deliver the
  guttering to the job site.
• Please note The sooner you call in the order,
  the sooner we can fill it.  Do NOT wait until
  late on event day to ask us to fill your order. 
  A gutter station will be available on event day
  for you to take your gutter order and pick it up
  later. This will be the same station as the
  Glass Station. If you do turn in an order on
  event day, remember that you must do it early
  enough so that you will have time to install them
  later that day.

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• If your team cannot install new gutters
• Make sure that your houses (including soffits
  and fascia) are ready for CIO to install the
  gutters at a later date. Fax the skilled request
  form to us at 816-531-6444.

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• WINDOWS, GLASS SCREEN REPAIR
• All glazing and screen repair will be done at the
  Glaziers Training Center.
• There will be a drop-off station at 3200 Wayne.
• (2 blocks East of Paeso)
• Christmas In October will pick up window and
  screen frames and take them to the glaziers. We
  will return them to the drop-off station as soon
  as they are completed.
• For this to work properly, each window and screen
  frame must have an address sticker .
• Include a cell phone number and the name of the
  person to call when they are ready.

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• If you only need to have glass cut, please call
  Dave Schultz (816-289-3675) at the Glaziers
  Training Center, located at 105 West 12th Avenue,
  North Kansas City, MO, with your measurements.
• Glazing materials will be available at the
  warehouse and drop-off point.

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AFTER PARTY

• 300 to 600 at the Warehouse on Event Day.
• Bring back your ladders and leftover material,
  and then share beer and brats with Christmas in
  October volunteers and staff! Hang out with other
  groups and share stories on how the day went.