A New Shopping Experience
Thanks to a $15,000 grant from The Zallie Community Foundation, we transformed the entrance to our donated facility into a "mini-marketplace" where our guests can now "shop" for their refrigerated and frozen items. We will continue to pre-bag their non-perishable items, but they will be able to select dairy, produce, meats, and frozen meals for their families. We were able to fill the 2 refrigerators and 2 freezers and give our guests a Heritage's certificate for a free gallon of milk thanks to a mini-grant from the United Way of Gloucester County. Our goal is to restore dignity to our guest's shopping experience and hand select items they prefer. We also offer coats and hoodies in this area, as well as items we've received from our Amazon donations. One last shout out to DDS Painting for donating their services to paint our new shopping area. Our guests are loving this experience, and we are loving watching them shop!
“ Bike Builds” + SJDC = 50 Bikes
The SJDC partnered with TeamBonding for two "Bike Builds" at the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel and the Borgata Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City. Never having heard of a Bike Build, this was quite an awesome experience. TeamBonding creates events for companies to build morale and teamwork during their annual off site meetings. The two companies were OwnCompany and Sev1Tech at the two different venues. The employees were divided into teams, given a box with bike parts and tools, given a set amount of time to build the bike, take the finished bike through an obstacle course, then do a 20 second pitch on the bike. Over 450 employees participated in the two builds and they built 50 bikes and donated them to the Dream Center. Natalie attended both events and had the opportunity to share the mission of the SJDC. 18 of the bikes were delivered to St. Matthew's Baptist Church in Williamstown (bottom right photo), and the remaining 32 bikes were donated to agencies all across South Jersey thanks to Jeff Saunders of Pop's Dream and Campbell's Express Trucking.
The SJDC Featured on Comcast Newsmakers
Our Executive Director, Natalie Fortunato, talks with host Candace Kelley of Comcast Newsmakers about what the SJDC is doing to help break the cycle of poverty in South Jersey. She also shares her hope of finding a 20,000 square foot space where those in need can "shop" at no cost to them for their families, while also participating in life skills workshops, job readiness programs, and faith-based studies to help them break the cycle of poverty...from the inside out. Watch the show HERE.
True North Church Record Breaking Food Drive
One way to describe True North Church is...a place of generosity! They have overwhelmed us again with over 4310 pounds of donated food, paper products and toiletries, a record high at the Dream Center! Who does that? They do!!! With over 50 people on our waitlist for food, their generosity will significantly impact our community.
Pajama Drive an Awesome Success
This past Christmas season, we teamed up with the Deptford Mall to make dreams come true for over 500 children in our local community. Thanks to the generosity of mall shoppers and the Deptford Mall parent company, Macerich, we were able to gift brand new children's pajamas to families in need. Our recipients include the Eleanor Corbett House Women's Shelter, the Woodbury Child Development Center, Family Promise of Southwest New Jersey, Center for Family Services: Mother-Child Residential, Sexual Violence Outreach, and Victims of Domestic Violence (see below). The Deptford Mall also honored a "local hero", Tracy (above, center), for her outstanding dedication and compassion for the families we serve at the Dream Center.
Generosity Abounds at Zallie’s ShopRite
We had another outstanding Food Drive around the holidays at the West Deptford ShopRite! Thank you to all the volunteers, customers and staff who helped us collect just over 1,000 pounds of MUCH-needed food. We were so moved by the generosity of people as they gave bags of food and multiple gift cards. Big shout out to The Zallie Community Foundation for hosting us again.
Third Annual Pickleball Against Poverty Underway
Registration is well underway for our Third Annual Pickleball Against Poverty Tournament on March 23, 2024 at Total Turf in Pitman. We welcome 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 players to come out and "Play for a Purpose!" in our one-day, round robin, Mixed Doubles and Men's and Women's Doubles tournament. Enjoy the video snapshot below of last year's tournament. Register today...only 75 spots left! Full details HERE.
In The News
New Pots and Pans
True North Church donates 30 sets of new pots and pans to the Dream Center. Big thanks to Noah for helping load this precious cargo. 15 sets were already delivered to Family Promise of Southwest New Jersey for families transitioning into their own homes. All we can say is "Let's get cooking!"
Students Share the Love
Lenape High School DECA students and National Park Elementary School students each hosted a Food Drive on behalf of the Dream Center, collecting over 300 pounds of groceries and personal hygiene items. We are so blessed to see our youth caring for others. If you would like to host a Food Drive, learn more HERE.
New Amazon Partner
Our Amazon family is growing! We added the West Deptford Fulfillment Center to the "amaz-ing" list of Amazon locations where we pick up slightly damaged, discontinued, or returned items. This facility donated three pallets of much-needed cleaning supplies, baby items, food, and personal hygiene items.
Loads of Toys
My Friends House Recovery Center donated a van AND truck full of gifts from their Toy Drive. We are so blessed to be the recipients of the toys, which we distributed to families across the county.
Faithful Partners
Please welcome our new partners!! These faithful chickens donate fresh eggs to the Dream Center every week. With the cost of eggs these days, what a blessing this is. And all made possible by Skeeter Heritage of Heritage's Dairy Stores. Now that's farming with love!
Another Warm Welcome
We give a "warm" welcome to our new partners at Jefferson Health - New Jersey, who hosted an Outerwear Drive. They collected an abundance of hats, gloves and scarves to pass along to our guests and to the homeless during code blue alerts.
Thank you!
Big shout out to The Wawa Foundation for blessing us with a generous grant to continue providing much-needed resources for South Jersey families.
