Collaboration
Relationship turned into shared action and care that shows up.
New Orleans is not short on people who need help, and it is not short on people trying to help. What goes missing is the connection between them.
So most of what we do here is not new programming. It is showing up alongside churches, organizations, and neighbors already doing good work, and making it easier for the rest of us to join in. There is a way to volunteer here for just about any schedule.
What’s coming up
The Good Samaritan Initiative
Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Central City · every Tuesday, 1:30 to 3:00pm
Every Tuesday afternoon, congregations from four traditions gather in Central City to share a meal with neighbors experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. A hot meal, gently used clothing, hygiene supplies, and shelter vouchers for the Salvation Army.
Through July 2026... 1,304 meals, 1,018 guests welcomed, and 329 shelter vouchers connected, carried by 341 volunteers.
Bring food. Serve a plate. Sort clothing. Or just come sit down. Every one of those is the work.
Inside the Tuesday Meal
One question sits printed on every table.
People experiencing homelessness get approached constantly with questions about needs, eligibility, and problems. Curious Conversations asks something else entirely... what is your favorite smell, and what makes it so good. Guests and volunteers answer the same question.
If you volunteer, you get a small card that says the thing worth saying out loud: you do not need to fix anything. Pull up a chair. Ask the question. Listen more than you speak. One real conversation is enough.
Nearly all of our regular volunteers are over fifty, and so are most of our guests. Which means what is actually happening on Tuesdays is older adults building belonging for other older adults. We did not plan that. It is one of the best things about it
Here is what it can look like. David was introduced to me by the pastor at Mt. Zion after he mentioned that the app he uses to find free meals did not list our ministry at all. That one conversation became a weekly one. Somewhere in there we learned he had spent years as a chef in fine dining kitchens, and he has since shared his recipes with us, hoping some of them might end up on the table at the very meals he now attends.
Curious Collabs
Some of the best things we do belong to somebody else.
When an organization we trust is doing good work, we treat their events like ours and invite our people to show up. No duplicated effort, no territory, just more hands in the room. We call those partners our Circling Partners... the people and organizations we keep circling back to.
If you are looking for a way to serve and Tuesday does not work, this is usually where we point you.
And if you run an organization and this sounds like something you want, we would rather build with you than around you.
Curiosity in the Wild
We keep Little Free Libraries around the city. Take a book, leave a book, no card and no due date. 190 books went home with neighbors in Central City so far this year.
Want one where you live or work? We will help you figure out whether the spot is a good fit, get it standing, and keep it stocked. And if you already have one, we can help you keep books in it.
Foster the Families
Sometimes a Thursday night conversation turns into wanting to actually do something. When that happens, there is a Tuesday.
The Curious Code
However we gather, this is what holds the room.
Respect beats being right... always
Make room for fun... it helps us connect
Listen first... more than you talk
Respond with curiosity... questions before conclusions
Gather the good... leave with something worth carrying
No performance required.
Curious Collabs
Two doors into the same room.
Meet the Krewe
Second Line Brewing · monthly
Showing up somewhere new can feel a little uncomfortable. This one is built for that.
No big question, no assigned tables, no one putting you on the spot. Question cards on the tables if you want them. The Curious Dip of the Month, because snacks lower the stakes. People start rolling in around 6:15, things loosen up by 6:30, and we are usually done by 8. Come late, leave early, nobody tracks it.
Curious Krewe
Nola Brewing · monthly
Every month the community votes on one question, and that is what we talk about.
We break into tables of six, because six is small enough that nobody disappears and nobody has to perform. There is a facilitator at each table keeping things honest and moving. You can share as much or as little as you want. Passing is always fine. Some of the best nights have come from people who mostly listened.
New around here? Start with Meet the Krewe.
Curiosity shows up in other places too
There is a conversation table every Tuesday at the Good Samaritan Initiative in Central City, and there are Little Free Libraries around the city with no card and no due date.