More Than Enough

Though sometimes our shelves can get to critically low levels, especially in the summer, we have never gone without enough groceries to provide for our guests. Not one time. And we never will. Why? God is our Provider, He supplies all our needs (Philippians 4:19). He is our Source. He deeply loves and cares for the people we serve. We look to our Heavenly Father, just like Jesus did, as to how to feed so many hungry people (Mark 6:31-44), and He always multiplies what we have.

How? Through generous and loving people like you. He touches the hearts of people to share their resources with us, host a Food Drive, raise funds, or participate in our events. He sends the most wonderful, giving, and loving people our way who have His heart of compassion for the families we serve. We simply connect the people who have resources to the people who need those resources.

But wouldn't it be better to connect people with their Heavenly Father directly to provide for their needs? We love to help people get through hard times (we've all had them), but our greatest desire is to help people find their God-given purpose and thrive in every area of their lives, especially financially. God said He will never fail us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He wants to take all of us from having not enough or just enough, to having more than enough to meet our needs and the needs of others (2 Corinthians 9:8). That's why we exist, that is our mission.

We Beat the Heat!

We are so thankful to the The Zallie Community Foundation for the privilege of hosting a Food Drive at the West Deptford ShopRite in June. The customers donated over 1300 pounds of food, toiletries, cleaning products and personal hygiene items, as well as gift cards, cash and online gifts. We could not have had such great success without our hardworking and faithful volunteers who withstood the 98 degree heat for such a great cause. WHAT a labor of love and compassion for the families we serve!

Gloucester County Cares

We were blessed to be recipients of over 400 pounds of food from the 19th Annual Gloucester County Cares About Hunger Food Drive. Thanks to their business partners, they collected, sorted, and distributed over 5,000 pounds to various agencies throughout the county.

Holman “Give Back” Event

In May, Natalie, our Executive Director, was invited by the Holman Community Affairs Department to a "Give Back" event at their Mt. Laurel campus with about 25 employees. She shared the Dream Center mission, then hosted a game show called Know More Poverty (Family Feud style with buzzers and all!), before they packed 75 grocery bags with donated food items. The game show winners proudly wore their medals while they packed the grocery bags and loaded the van. It was a great success and a whole lot of fun.

True North Kids Make Big Waves

Hot off the press! True North Kids raised $5,000 to donate to the Dream Center to purchase food at their "Scuba" Summer Camp last month. We continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity of the True North Church family in Mullica Hill. There is such a genuine heart of giving and compassion that resonates from Pastor Jesse, the staff, and the congregation. Thanks to True North, we are now able to re-stock our fridges and freezers with much needed dairy and meat products for our guests.

Got Diapers?

Did you know that 1 in 3 families struggle to provide their child with a basic essential - a clean, dry diaper? Or that babies need an average of six to ten diapers a day, costing families about $100 per month per child? Every week we receive requests from parents seeking diapers, and thanks to our partners, we never turn anyone away. During Mother's Day, over 2,500 diapers were donated by various groups and businesses, including Johnson Matthey in West Deptford (top photo), The Bank of Princeton in Sewell (bottom photo), as well as Back in Motion Chiropractic in Pitman.

Third Annual Pickleball Against Poverty Tournament

Through our Third Annual Pickleball Against Poverty Tournament on March 23rd at Total Turf in Pitman, NJ, we raised over $30,000 after expenses. There were 115 players, over 40 volunteers, and lots of spectators stopping by throughout the day. Enjoy a video (below) from NBC10 Philly who featured our tournament on the 6pm and 11pm news! Look for tournament photos on our South Jersey Dream Center Facebook page HERE.

In the News

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HOME DEDICATION - We had the honor of sharing in the celebration with Nafesa, her family, Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity, and all the volunteers that worked so hard to make this new house into a home! We joined in the festivities with our customary cart full of groceries and new pots and pans donated by True North Church.

IT’S HARVEST TIME - For years, Cassaday Farms, a 2500 acre farm in Monroeville, has been providing donated fresh fruit and vegetables to the Dream Center to pass along to our guests. Produce is a luxury to people who are on a strict grocery budget, so offering our guests high quality, highly nutritious food is what we love to do. Each week we pick up several cases of various produce that was harvested at the farm, which will continue into the fall. We are so thankful for Cody Cassaday and his family for making this possible.

“JAW’S” GIFT BAGS - Ron Jaworski's organization, Jaws Youth Playbook, got in on the action surrounding Mother's Day by donating special gift bags to pass along to moms through our Curbside Resource Pickup.

PETS GOTTA EAT TOO! - We are so grateful to our new partners, Daminger's Natural Pet Foods in Sewell, for donating pet food every month to the families we serve. Dogs and cats bring so much joy to people's lives, especially during hard times. Now Daminger's is making it possible for families to use their pet food money for other things! How kind is that?!

RECORD AMAZON DONATION - We received another AWESOME donation from the ACY1 Amazon Fulfillment Center...over 3,000 pounds of product on four pallets! Our largest donation from Amazon to date. We needed to rent a 15 foot U-Haul for this one! We need our own box truck to be able to pick up more and more food, household items, person hygiene items, and more!

DO YOU LOVE OUR MISSION? Want to help us break the cycle of poverty in South Jersey in a fun way? We would certainly appreciate your vote. It's super easy and only takes about a minute. Enter our name for the Non-Profit category (#20), then click "Next". THANK YOU! Please go HERE to vote!