Give it all away!
Thousands of pounds of clothing have been donated to the Dream Center over the years. Due to our limited distribution space, we inspected, sorted, and stored them to give out when we move into a new building. Not any more! Our new building will come, but this Fall, we decided it's time to pass along our adult and junior size clothing to those who need them NOW. More importantly, when we provide clothing or other resources for those that need them, we are expressing God’s love in a very tangible way (Isaiah 58:7).
Over 50 boxes/bags of children's and men's clothing was delivered to the Volunteers of America in Collingswood (right). Thanks to you, there are a multitude of homeless men and children in South Jersey wearing clean and comfortable clothes, right now!
Over 20 boxes/bags of women's and children's clothing was donated to the Hispanic Family Center in Woodbury, and 20 more donated to the Fig Leaf Shop at the First Baptist Church in Pitman, and 20 more donated to Jeanette's Closet in Woodbury. Over 12 boxes of new women's clothing with tags was donated to the Center for Family Services to pass along to the residents of their safe house in Gloucester County. Over 100 bags was delivered to the Philly Dream Center (below), who had just opened a Women's Outreach to minister to those in the Kensington region. Another 140 bags and boxes were donated to other partner agencies.
We are now using our space to serve families who need infant to size eight clothing. We have lots more children's clothing to sort if you have time! Please let us know HERE. Thank you!
BIG Blessing from the State
We were so blessed to receive a visit from Assemblywoman Heather Simmons and Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (left) with some very BIG news. They are blessing us with our largest donation to date to purchase a refrigerated truck! This is huge for us, a whole new level of outreach is here. Having a refrigerated truck will help us safely transport donated perishable food items from our wholesale and retail partners to our facility and to our partner agencies. This will also help us increase the number of wholesale partners outside of our current “safe transport” range. Lastly, we will be able to offer an increased supply of fresh produce, dairy and meats for our guests, so they will be less likely to stretch their grocery dollars by buying cheap, less nutritious foods for their family. Please enjoy the full video of this very special occasion HERE. More details to follow on the truck...
Hunger Action Month a Great Success
Hunger Action Month is a perfect time for us to get the word out about food insecurity in our region. Thanks to the generosity of faithful donors like yourself, we received over $1500 this past month through our Virtual Food Drive to help purchase groceries for our Curbside Resource Pickup. Thank you!
Increase in Appointments at Curbside Resource Pickup
Another trunk full of groceries! Each week we provide groceries, baby items, personal hygiene items, and small household items for families who visit our Curbside Resource Pickup. This Fall we increased from 11 appointments to 20 appointments every 15 minutes on Wednesdays. This is in addition to the food and other resources we deliver to our partner agencies throughout the region four days a week. Here's what one of our guests had to say about what they received during their visit... "I couldn't believe the amount of snacks and food I received. I burst into tears" - G.F., West Deptford
Ammons ShopRite Food Drive in Mullica Hill
Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the customers at the Ammons ShopRite in Mullica Hill, we received over 1,000 pounds of food and personal hygiene items at our Food Drive in October! We appreciate Store Manager, Mr. Hamilton, and Cynthia for helping to make all this possible. We had a ton of fun with our dedicated and hardworking volunteers, who couldn't wait to ring our "thank you bell" every time someone gave. Three of our Board Members got in on the action too (below: left to right, Melinda, Deirdre Hilari)!
News
"Big Jim" donated his services to repair one of our commercial refrigerators. It was the first refrigerator donated to the Dream Center, so it meant a lot to us for Big Jim to bless us in such a special way.
Monday morning...someone donates a crib. Monday afternoon...Inspira's Parent Linking Program requests a crib for a teen mom with a new baby. Wednesday afternoon...the crib is picked up by Sam and on it's way to the new mom along with diapers, baby clothing and other supplies. This is why we exist.
Once Upon a Child in Deptford donated a heap of leftover Summer clothing to us! Almost 1,000 pounds of clean, adorable, lightly used, newborn to toddler items! We'll be going back again to pick up Winter items after the first of the year. WHAT a blessing!
It was so much fun loading up Mastafa's car with groceries to celebrate ownership of his new home. Last month, the Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity gave him the "key" at their Habitation event and we wanted to add to the blessing with food for his family and some new pots and pans.
Two pallets of Prime and 50 cases of Rifle Coffee drinks! That's what Paul Konrad donated to the SJDC this fall. Our guests LOVE them!
Natalie had the privilege of attending the first Garden State Office of the Food Security Advocate Conference in Mt. Laurel in October. She was joined by over 340 other participants who play a big role in providing food for struggling families in NJ. The speakers, networking and information shared was all very helpful in exploring new possibilities for the Dream Center.
The Deptford Mall Macy's selected the Dream Center as the recipient of their "Round up at the Register" campaign. With every "cha-ching", their customers blessed the families we serve with the resources they need!
Natalie had the privilege of attending the Leadership Dinner hosted by PBF Energy celebrating employees who give to their United Way of Gloucester County campaign. She also had the pleasure of meeting General Manager, Michael Capone, and sharing the mission of the SJDC with the group.
We received a call from a trucking company who had 450 packages of hot dogs that they needed to donate. We bought some matching buns and started distributing them to our guests, just in time for a Labor Day picnic...or any time!
Elisha Elliott and the staff at McGuinness Funeral Homes hosted a Food Drive on behalf of the Dream Center, yielding over 100 pounds of non-perishable and essential items.
We were so blessed by the visit from Councilman Peter Del Borrello III of Washington Township, who toured our facility and picked up some diapers and wipes for a single mom in his district.
Real Strategies...Real Possibilities...and REAL compassionate toward struggling families in their local community! We are so grateful for the partnership and financial support of Aspire Wealth Group.
Wish List…
We exist to connect people who have resources with the people who need them. Do you have these items? If yes, please email kristin@southjerseydreamcenter.org to schedule a time to stop by with your donation. We TRULY appreciate you! Thank you!
