St. John's (Boonton) CDC

"The 'Great Truth': Episcopalians Are Softies"

We will be starting our tenth year of serving the working class families of Boonton, ten years since the “Great Truth” was revealed. To the people of the Diocese of Newark, it must seem more like a hundred that we have been standing in front of them with our hands out -- dragging kids or pictures of kids that dared them to resist.

Pictures like the “Urchins Against the World” to the left resulted in letters still on file such as this one to ACTS/VIM, "Enclosed is our financial accountability statement for the December 2001 grant in the amount of $7,500," and another, "On behalf of St. John’s Community Development Corp, I would like to thank the Diocesan Outreach Committee for the generous 2003 grant of $12,000. The funds will be used to operate our Community Summer Camp Program."

Before the era of the "Great Truth," we struggled. The monthly meetings of the first year revolved around hundreds of dollars and handfuls of children. Our corporate fund drive had not done as expected, and our founder, the Rev. Stephanie Wethered, had to have several meetings on whether we should continue.

Then the “Great Truth” dawned. Episcopalians are softies. We got out the pictures, sent them to the Diocese and individual churches, and began to write thank you letters.

We still work with the people in Boonton, but in greater numbers and in more ways than we used to. We are much more knowledgeable about services available for the needy and are frequently used to find those services. The most recent after school program and summer camp were our biggest and best yet and will be until 2011 when we will surpass them. As you can see, the original urchins grew up nicely and now help with the new ones who continue to arrive. And, God willing...

Episcopalians will continue to be softies.

Submitted by Tim O'Donnell

From farm to shelter meals via Christ Church, Ridgewood

Christ Church, Ridgewood pursues several forms of “hands-on outreach," but one of the most compelling connects the rural, suburban and urban realms of our metropolitan area. The result, when all goes as planned, is a delicious and nutritious meal for the residents of the St. Paul’s Men’s Shelter in Paterson.

The chain starts with the owner of a community-supported organic farm in Warwick, N.Y. who shares the bounty of her fields by inviting us to pick surplus crops and glean the fields. The farm is in the Pine Island section, which has some of the best soil in New York State, and some of the blackest. Volunteers literally get their hands (and feet) dirty. But they never realized pulling potatoes from the ground could be such fun.

The Christ Church workers take the produce back to the big church kitchen where they clean, slice and dice the harvest to help make a meal for the St. Paul’s shelter. (Sometimes they also cook enough food for themselves, and sit down afterward to eat and talk about how they’re going to get that dirt out of their nails.) The next day a volunteer reheats the meal in the Christ Church kitchen, and a team drives to Paterson to serve it. Extra vegetables are also delivered to the Center for Food Action in Saddle Brook, for distribution with the weekly grocery bags to needy families.

Everyone benefits from this arrangement, none more than the people of Christ Church, who get a chance to farm, to cook, to serve and sometimes to eat together. Above all, we get a chance to do God’s work, the greatest blessing of all.

Submitted by Rick Hampson

Feed the Solution Program

Paper bags decorated by children from every congressional district
highlight the importance that a good breakfast and lunch can have on learning.

"Food for thought can't live without it"

Most everyone has donated food to help the hungry. Many have cooked and served a hot meal. But on May 18, thousands of children all over the state provided their voice, and by doing so may contribute to providing millions of dollars that can help feed hungry children for the next ten years.

Every five years congress reauthorizes the programs that provide low-income children with free lunch and breakfast and summer and after school meals. In an effort to educate lawmakers, the Anti-Hunger Coalition asked children to write a message on lunch bags that conveyed how important breakfast and lunch are to their ability to learn. The result - thousands of bags with creative and insightful tag lines (like the title) from EVERY federal legislative district in New Jersey were displayed at a Press Event in Trenton and then forwarded to the appropriate Congressional Representative along with the information about hunger and the school meal program in their district.

Through the many congregations and community partners in the Feed the Solution Program, 83 towns and over 1,100 children throughout the eight counties of Diocese were able to join the campaign. Deacon Diane Riley brought their voices with her and joined Congressman Frank Pallone, State Assemblyman Gary Schaer, Ellen Teller, Director of Government Affairs for the Food Research Action Network, faith advocates and other members of the Anti-Hunger Coalition for the event.

Submitted by Deacon Diane Riley

The Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown -- 25 Years of Service

Over 1 million meals. Over 100,000 volunteers working over 600,000 hours. Twenty-five years of service. Watch Bishop Beckwith, Executive Director Terry Connolly, and others relate the history of the Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, in this moving video.

Written and produced by Diana Wilcox of Redeemer, Morristown

The Apostles' House

"A generous man will himself be blessed,
for he shares his food with the poor."
Proverbs 22:9

Sometimes it takes another person to help us appreciate what we have and show us that nothing is impossible. The other day I stopped for a moment in front of The Apostles' House building and a woman came up to me in tears. Just leaving the food pantry with bags of food she wanted to thank me. Recently she lost her job, had two children at home, and was afraid that her car was going to be re-possessed. She was temporarily living with her mother, a senior on a fixed income.

The Apostles' House has been a cornerstone of care for the most vulnerable families in the Newark and surrounding Essex County area for over 25 years. The Apostles' House Food Pantry continues to serve the highest number of individuals through any program of this type in Essex County . In 2009, we served 14, 036 individuals, compared to 10,336 in 2008, and 7,303 in 2007. Hunger is getting worse due to economic conditions. The high cost of living, rent, gas, and food all create a higher level of food insecurity.

Record numbers of homeless and hungry families are coming to us seeking help. The number of homeless in New Jersey is unacceptably high and may go even higher as more families face the very real prospect of losing their homes to foreclosure. Housing is a basic right and essential for the healthy growth and development of children. However in every state, housing costs outpace wages and public assistance for low income families. For families in this situation, even a seemingly minor event can trigger a catastrophic outcome.

Submitted by Cindy Santamaria

Episcopal Community Development

One year ago, Episcopal Community Development had a budget of $700,000, and a staff of 5.5.Fast forward to the Alleluia Season of 2010, and ECD has doubled its budget & tripled its staff. Not bad for a tiny non-profit that was launched with diocesan funds in 1990. In fact, ECD has enjoyed diocesan support every year since.

In the last year, ECD has added 2 new programs: The Clinton Hill Community Resource Center (CHCRC) in Newark’s South Ward provides a wide variety of services to this historically underserved community including free meals to children, summer camp, job placement services, and computer training. A Foreclosure Counseling program established in February, 2009 has an 85% success rate of keeping at-risk families in their homes. Consequently, ECD is considered one of the most effective counseling agencies in the state.

Known foremost for its affordable housing development, it is perhaps this department that achieved the most phenomenal results: ECD has been awarded $8 million through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to rehabilitate abandoned foreclosed houses and recycle them back into the market affordably. ECD is on track to rehabilitate or build 400 affordable housing units in the next 4 years, which will impact its Newark and Irvington target neighborhoods more substantially than any effort since the 1960’s.

Although this rapid expansion has placed ECD squarely in the ranks of the state’s most productive service providers, it has created substantial challenges. Funding support is still chiefly program-restricted, placing additional strain on an already cash-strapped operational budget. It has also compelled the growing organization to relocate its administrative offices from its home of almost 20 years, Episcopal House, to CHCRC.

Submitted by Jackie Ross