This Winter Newsletter is jam-packed with exciting happenings at the Dream Center over the past few months. We’ve got an update on our “New Shopping Experience”, an interesting “Bike Build”, a Comcast Newsmakers feature and so much more.
Fall 2023 Newsletter
Winter 2023 Newsletter - Why We Exist
Summer 2022 Newsletter - Fundraiser is a "Slam Dink"
Winter 2022 Newsletter - We're Busting at the Seams
Enjoy this issue as Founder, Pastor Joe Fortunato shares about the SJDC’s need for a new facility. You’ll also read about how the SJDC partnered with the county to help victims of the September, 2021 tornado, our Executive Director being among the 2021 Super Women in South Jersey Magazine, and more…
Your Summer 2021 Update is Here!
Winter 2021 Newsletter - Move On or Move Forward
The Dream Center finished strong in 2020 and they’re off to a great start in 2021. Enjoy an article by our Executive Director “Move On or Move Forward”. Read all about the Thanksgiving Food Distribution, West Deptford Township Diaper and Wipes Drive, and how the New Jersey State Police are making a local difference.
Fall 2020 Newsletter - Would You Miss One Meal, So Others Don't Have To?
Let’s have some fun this Thanksgiving and join in the fight against hunger together…full details inside! AND how the Deptford Mall and the SJDC partnered together for the “Million Meals Challenge”, who delivered 14 pallets of food to the SJDC, another Habitat for Humanity home receives groceries, grants received to purchase a commercial refrigerator and freezer, and more!
Summer 2020 Newsletter - Homeless to Home-Full
“My family had a very rough 2019, we spent the whole summer in a family shelter due to some tribulations…” You are going to be so blessed by Kim’s story of how the Dream Center helped her make a new house a home. Also featured is our partnership with the USDA “Farmers to Families Food Box Program” and Habitat for Humanity, as well as an important update about Dodge Hunger 2020 and our efforts during COVID-19.
Spring 2020 Newsletter - Open Doors
Fall 2019 Newsletter - The Clipboard
Our Fall Newsletter opens with The Clipboard, a thought provoking look at your specific purpose, and how easy it is to discover your God given “assignment” on this earth. Following, is a quick overview of our 2019 Dodge Hunger Dodgeball Tournament, including photos and a fun video clip. Also featured is an update on a new agency partner and more of the latest news at the SJDC.
Summer 2019 Newsletter - Change: From the Inside Out
Awesome things happening at the Dream Center! It all starts with “Change: From the Inside Out”, our lead story and an inspiring message of how to make difficult but lasting steps forward. Also, an exciting new change with Robins’ Nest and our ongoing partnership to help struggling families. Lastly, we have some introductions to some of our retired volunteers and group volunteers that make what we do possible…and fun!
Spring 2019 Newsletter - Are We a Charity?
Fall 2018 Newsletter - Teams Battle it Out on the Court in the Fight Against Hunger
The fight against hunger is taken to the courts at the Seventh Annual Dodge Hunger Dodgeball Tournament. We hope that events like this encourage citizens to continue to help their food-insecure neighbors, said Joe Njoroge, former interim CEO of the Food Bank of South Jersey. Also featured in this issue are holiday food drives that are making an impact on local families.
Summer 2018 Newsletter - Saving Seniors Money and Time
Gloucester County Senior Nutrition Program Site Manager, Norlyn Garlic tells the Dream Center, "Some of our guests go with little food or no food at times. When they arrive, sometimes they haven't eaten since the day before or longer", at which time, she likes to send home a little extra for those who are really struggling. Also featured in this Summer Newsletter is the story of a man who finds himself starting over after working a good paying job for many years, how one volunteer has been impacted by the Dream Center, and a snapshot of what our Dodge Hunger Dodgeball Tournament is all about.
Spring 2018 Newsletter - Good, Better, Best
"We think the Dream Center is the best Food Program around but...", is what one guest shared with us at our first ever Focus Group meeting held earlier this month. Read all about the wonderful feedback we received and steps to take to move the SJDC forward. Also in this issue, updates regarding volunteer "RE-cruitment", and our search for a new location.
The Best of 2017
In our Winter Newsletter we take a look back at 2017's biggest moments, the activities and innovations that shaped an extraordinary foundation for us, and what we're looking forward to in 2018. Pastor Joe also shares a tremendously encouraging brief video message called Hope for a Brighter Tomorrow, and offers a digital download to a free booklet. Lastly, don't miss our feature story about the lives that are changed through a simple thing like receiving unexpected food for their families.
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
In This Issue: Pastor Joe and Natalie share a video update of the latest happenings with the search for a new facility for the SJDC. Two feature articles also include first, a moving story from one of our guests that found themselves in the midst of domestic violence, and second, what the SJDC did to help students who were missing meals at nearby Rowan University.
While We Are Seeking
Remember the 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping? Well, let us tell you about our own blockbuster hit called While We are Seeking! Meet the cast...
As we continue to diligently seek a larger facility for the South Jersey Dream Center, we have actually increased our reach in the local community! That's right, when one door closed, multiple doors opened. Meet Jeff! Every Tuesday morning we continue to pick up donations at the Mantua Target. Close to 1,000 pounds of meat, dairy, produce, paper goods and non-perishable items are loaded into the van each week and off we go.
Hope for Hopeless Times
There may be seasons in our lives where it seems as if our challenges are coming at us simultaneously from every direction, and we are completely inundated by problem after problem. Perhaps the strain of a financial challenge led to cracks in your marriage. Maybe the development of a health condition resulted in reduced hours at work, or losing your job completely. Or you've lost a loved one, or a close relationship has been severed. Under the accumulated weight of it all coming against you at once, you feel as if your entire life is spiraling out of control and falling apart. Day by day, your circumstances and options appear to be fast deteriorating despite your best efforts to salvage things.