Shopping with No “Check Out”
Wait, is that a small grocery store? Sure looks like it, but it's the Dream Center's new Marketplace design! Since we began our Curbside Grocery Pickup in 2020, we've given our guests pre-selected food of our choosing. Last year, we invited our guests into our facility to select their dairy, produce, meats, and bread but we still pre-selected their dry goods. This year, our guests can now select ALL their groceries. As seen in this photo of our first "shopper", they can finally decide for themselves what food they want and need for their families. We took the limited space we have in our donated facility and transformed it into a Marketplace where people can "shop" with no "check-out" at the end. Giving people the choice to select foods that meet their health needs, their palate, and cultural preferences provides a more dignified experience and builds confidence and self-esteem. We are so thankful for our donors, retail partners and volunteers that have helped to make this possible.
Record Breaking Food Drive
5310 POUNDS! That's what the True North Church in Mullica Hill donated to the Dream Center! What an overwhelming GOD SIZE blessing to the families we serve. We are so thankful for Pastor Jesse and the True North Church Family. They have such a huge heart of compassion toward those in need. It took us weeks to sort and date all the items, and several months to distribute them.
The Sorting Continues
We finally finished the tedious work of sorting the mounds of children's clothing that we had accumulated...thanks to the Nemours Children's Health employees, the management staff from Gloucester Premium Outlets, and Acenda employees. It was all worth it when we delivered hundreds of bags of clothing to two Salvation Army Residential locations in Philly, our new friends at Tru Partnership, and several other agencies. We especially enjoyed donating 11 containers of brand new women's and children's clothing with tags to the Center for Family Services Gloucester County Safe House (below).
Helping a New Mom
Renee from Acenda couldn't fit another thing in her loaded vehicle! She packed it full of household and baby items to take to a new mom that just received her own apartment. If you look closely, there's a baby in the photo below surrounded by all the donated items, which also included a heap of groceries. We were so blessed to be a part of this special occasion.
Pajama Drive a Great Success
Oh what fun we had at the Deptford Mall PJ Party! We not only received a generous donation from the mall to purchase cozy pajamas for the families we serve, but they also honored two of our longtime volunteers, Edward Schultes and Nate Chandler, naming them local "Heroes" for their dedicated service to the SJDC. The party didn't stop there...the RiverWinds Community Center also collected pajamas on our behalf (left), along with Kim Mehaffey of Berkshire Hathaway, and others. Over 550 pajamas were donated overall. What a joy it was to see moms and dads that visited the Dream Center selecting new pajamas for their little ones (below).
Hundreds of Toys
For several months leading up to Christmas, our guests selected from hundreds of new and very lightly used games, dolls, puzzles, toddler and infant toys, trucks, and so much more. Toys that were donated by Amazon, individuals, and our new partners at MLB Recovery in West Deptford. They not only shopped for new toys, but wrapped and labeled each one. We were also blessed by two families that donated an adorable pre-school kitchen set and a giant Frozen castle, which are now being enjoyed by dozens of children at the Woodbury Child Development Center (below).
Annual fundraiser is around the corner
All "picklers" are invited to join us on March 22nd at the Players Courtyard Pickleball Club in Moorestown for our Fourth Annual Pickleball Against Poverty Tournament. 100% of the proceeds from this fun-filled, competitive, round robin, doubles tournament supports the families we serve. The brackets are filling up quickly, so all who are interested need to register today! Full details HERE. We also have lots of volunteer opportunities HERE.
We attribute the great success we've had to our amazing players, volunteers and very generous sponsors. Including our Lead Sponsors - West Deptford Energy, Holman, and The Zallie Community Foundation. They have each supported us in overwhelming ways through Food Drives, generous financial donations and grants, Thanksgiving Baskets, and more. They are leaders in their communities by helping to alleviate hunger and poverty. We are so thankful to God for their partnership. We are also very thankful for our other Tournament sponsors listed below, as well as Nemours Children's Health and The Bank of Princeton.
in the news
Project Search Students
It was such an honor to meet with the students of Project Search at Jefferson Health. We had so much fun talking about dreams and goals... and what perfect timing, everyone was excited to get their vision boards started for the New Year. Their future is packed with great things!
United Way Mini-Grant
What a blessing to be one of the recipients of a United Way of Gloucester County "Live United" Mini Grant. Thanks to the generosity of their donors, we were able to purchase much needed dairy items for our guests.
Circle of Love
Circle K International, the collegiate branch of Kiwanis, is one of the world’s largest student-led collegiate service organizations. We are so thankful for the Rowan University Circle K Club for donating handmade toiletries kits to pass along to our guests...each with a small note of encouragement.
Student Council Gives Back in a Special Way
What do you do with over 550 pairs of new pajamas? You sort them and get them ready to give to families in need! Thanks to Ms. Bennett and a kind-hearted group of West Deptford Middle School Student Council leaders, they got the job done.
Families Helping Families
It's people like Natasha that make it possible for us to provide supplies and equipment to new moms who have so little to welcome their new baby home. We are so thankful and blessed to simply connect those who HAVE with those who NEED.
Nutrition Major Volunteers to Sort Food
Morgan, a Junior Nutrition Major at Rowan University, donated over 20 hours to the Dream Center to help sort hundreds of food items. We also consulted with her about offering healthier food choices for our guests. It was a pleasure to work alongside her.
Loaf Bread is Back!
Thanks to Flowers Foods. They donate over 250 loaves of Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder Bread, Nature's Own, bagels, and more to the Dream Center each month. Our guests LOVE them!
A Labor of Love
Lauren, from the Paulsboro School District, is a godsend to the families she serves who are truly struggling to make ends meet. Here she is again, "shopping" and gathering household supplies and groceries at the Dream Center and hand delivering them to a single mom with children. This is why we exist.
Support from Knights of Columbus
The Dream Center is so grateful for Nick, Bob and all the Knights of Columbus at St. Margaret's for their wonderful financial support to purchase shampoo, conditioner and diapers for our guests.
Great Start to the New Year
What an awesome way to start the new year...the Wawa Foundation has once again blessed us abundantly with a very generous grant to support our Food Distribution Program. We are so thankful for their continued partnership and goodness.
Grocery Outlet Giving
Please join us in welcoming the Sicklerville and Gibbstown Grocery Outlet Bargain Markets to our growing list of retail partners. They have already donated thousands of pounds of awesome but imperfect items to pass along to our guests. What a huge impact they are making in their local communities in more ways that one.
Year in Review
Did you have a chance to check out our 2024 Impact Report that was emailed along with your 2024 Contribution Statement at the end of January? If not, no worries, see the full report HERE. What an outstanding year it was! BUT the best is still yet to come...
