For most of us, getting ready for Thanksgiving involves making a list of the items that we are going to have for dinner, heading out to the store to purchase them, figuring out who we are going invite over for the meal and, on Thanksgiving Day, enjoying a great day of thanksgiving, football, food and fellowship.
That is not the case for everyone…especially families who currently have an incarcerated loved one or who are otherwise in a difficult season of their lives financially. Of course, these are the exact people that the Lord calls us to serve and to reach out to in His name…the poor, widows, orphans, the least of these…no matter the cause of the circumstances that they now find themselves in.
We have a great opportunity to practically demonstrate the love, mercy and compassion of Jesus Christ by coming alongside these families at, for them, a very difficult time of year. You can help & serve in a number of ways:
• As an individual or a family you can purchase the items necessary for a Thanksgiving meal for a family here in Camden…maybe two complete meals!
• You can collect the items necessary for a few meals from co-workers at your office, friends at school or members of your church…
• After you collect the items you can drop them off at Seeds of Hope Ministries, 1700 S. Broadway, Camden, NJ 08104 at designated times.
• Don’t have the time to go shopping? We have people ready to purchase complete meals for the families…if you would like to help in that way then please consider donating $30 which will cover the cost of the items for a meal. Maybe you can provide two or three meals!!! You can do that right through the Seeds of Hope website HERE or you can mail a check directly to our offices [1700 S. Broadway, Camden, NJ 08104].
• You can join us on Saturday, November 23rd to assemble the food boxes and deliver a few Thanksgiving meals to the families. Every way to serve is crucial.
ITEMS THAT ARE NEEDED TO ASSEMBLE EACH THANKSGIVING FOOD BOX FOR DELIVERY
• Frozen Turkey—delivered to the site where we will be assembling the boxes for delivery on 11/23/19
• Easy general directions for cooking a turkey
• Boxed Stuffing Mix (like Stovetop)
• A couple of cans of string beans, corn, peas
• 1 or 2 packages of dinner rolls
• 5 lbs of fresh potatoes or 2 or 3 boxes of instant mashed potatoes in boxes or packets
• 2 cans of turkey gravy or dried gravy mix packets
• Canned Yams
• 2 cans of Cranberry Sauce
• 1 Jar of olives
• 1 pack of Napkins
• 2 Frozen or fresh pies—if frozen, please bring with you on the morning of delivery day; fresh pies can be dropped off at the drop off locations during the week before delivery day
• Aluminum (foil) roasting pan to cook the turkey in
IF YOU KNOW OF A PLACE WHERE WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET SOME OF THE ITEMS ABOVE DONATED OR YOU SEE A SALE SOMEWHERE THAT WOULD ENABLE YOU TO PURCHASE LARGE QUANTITIES, PLEASE LET US KNOW OR TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT YOURSELF TO BLESS MORE FAMILIES…
Please prayerfully consider how the Lord is directing you to serve with this awesome outreach. If you have any questions, please contact Dan Stephens at dan@seedsofhopeministries.org or at 856-963-0312 (Leave a message for Dan Stephens). Thank you for considering helping in reaching out to the least, the last and the lost here in Camden.