Open Doors
Doors often represent places of transition. 1 Corinthians 16:9 says, “There’s an amazing door of opportunity standing wide open for me…” We believe God is doing the same thing for you! Don’t focus on the hardships you might be going through. The troubles you are facing are temporary. They won’t last forever, they have to come to an end at some time. Begin to look with great expectation for the new things that are happening behind the scenes. New opportunities to take you further than you've ever gone before.
Matthew 7:7 says "knock and the door will be opened to you". The only reason someone would knock on a door is if it was closed. Have some "closed doors" in your life? Knock! If it doesn't open, knock on another one. Keep pressing forward until the right door is opened to you. Don't let discouragement or defeat settle in. Some doors are closed on purpose, or it's just not the right time. By all means, don't beat them down! Just keep knocking on doors until the right one opens.
At the Dream Center we've had our fair share of closed doors. We've been looking for a facility of our own for longer than we would like. But we keep "knocking". Our open door is coming! AND we keep serving our community, now more than ever, with much needed resources. We're like Holly (above), no closed door can keep her from making a difference in other people's lives. Though she should be preparing for her long awaited Rutgers graduation, instead of a cap and gown, she is serving at the Dream Center in gloves and mask!
Some say that when one door closes, God opens a window. We don't know about you, but we're not crawling through any windows! When one door closes, God's opens a bigger and better door. Better than you could ever imagine.
Natalie Fortunato, Executive Director
On the Front Lines with Food
When parents arrived at the National Park Elementary School to pick up breakfast/lunch packets and school related items on the last Monday in March, they were pleasantly surprised with a supply of groceries as well. The Dream Center has partnered with the National Park Elementary School in the past, so we contacted the school principal, Mrs. Carla Bittner to see how we could help during the current shut down. When she mentioned that the parents were stopping by the school to pick up supplies for their kids, we asked if we could provide groceries as well. She loved the idea.
Immediately, we reached out to our current retail and wholesale food partners, as well as a host of other local businesses to join us in meeting the needs of their local community. Even in the midst of logistical challenges and increased demands, the response was tremendous. Volunteer, Edward Schultes, who oversees all pickups and deliveries said, "Without exaggeration, in one week we picked up nearly two tons of fresh produce, dairy, frozen meats, and baked goods from local businesses, mostly from Pureland".
Businesses such as Rastelli Foods Group, Albert's Fresh Produce, Taylor Farms, Uptown Bakeries the makers of Wawa baked goods, Bonduelle Fresh Americas the home of Ready Pac, as well as South Jersey's own Heritage's Dairy Stores, and National Park's Guarino Sons Produce. PIM Brands topped things off by providing a special treat for the kids, thousands of Welch's Fruit Snacks.
Over 150 families from the school and the local community received the supply of groceries "curbside" as they lined the street in front of the school with their vehicles for pickup. Each parent and volunteer practiced safety guidelines, while at the same time exchanging a friendly hello and hearty thanks.
Principal Bittner expressed her gratitude to our food partners in this way, "Blessed, grateful, overwhelmed, thankful. These are just a few words to describe our appreciation for the generosity of your business. Your donations enabled us to provide much needed sustenance for the families of National Park and gave us all a needed morale boost. A simple thank you is not enough to express how we feel about your ability to give back during this time of uncertainty. We are grateful!"
Michael Green of Albert's Fresh Produce shared with the Dream Center, "We're very grateful to be able to be a small part of the services you and your team provide in this desperate time of need. Among all this anxiety and uncertainty, it's amazing to see the kindness, generosity and love of your team be a beacon of light and hope for so many families in the community. Thanks for all you do".
Earlier in the month, we provided turkeys and groceries for families at another local elementary school, thanks to a Food Drive for Heritage's Dairy Stores and from Uptown Bakeries. Each week we continue to deliver food to local agencies who are in greater need than ever. In other words, there's no shut down at the Dream Center. Our volunteers are "superheroes" that we can’t do without!
Woodbury High School Day of Service
BIG thanks to the 30 Woodbury High School students and staff for volunteering earlier this year as part of their Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. You were SUCH a big help in re-purposing one of our offices for future use! We appreciate YOU! #SJDC #BreakingTheCycleofPoverty
News
Pajamas for Hunger - West Deptford Middle School hosts their Second Annual Pajamas for Hunger Cereal Drive on behalf of the Dream Center.
Furniture - Another load of furniture being delivered to a family in need thanks to partners like you. We connect people who have resources with those that need them! It's a blast! #BreakingTheCycleofPoverty
United Way - We are so blessed to receive a generous donation from the United Way of Gloucester County "Live United" Mini-Grant Program. Thank you Impact Committee for helping us fulfill our mission more effectively.
