Community Events
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SWING A HAMMER! HABIT FOR HUMANITY VOLUNTEER WORK DAYS JAN 31st FEB 2nd & FEB 4th
We got off to an incredible start in week one of our new building project - the crew not only finished the floor, they built all four exterior walls.
Three volunteer workdays are scheduled for next week:
Tuesday 1/31 - Interior Walls
Thursday 2/2 - Raise the Roof
Saturday 2/4 - Roof plus more
We are looking for EXPERIENCED CARPENTERS, as well as other volunteers of varying abilities who are willing to learn.
DATES: 1/31, 2/2 & 2/4
TIME: 8:30 AM TO 4 PM - Rain or Shine (unless pouring--check website for cancellation)
LOCATION: 703 Reeves St, Whitesboro, NJ
We will provide donuts & coffee, hoagies at noon and water throughout the day. Please let us know if you can volunteer!
YES- I CAN VOLUNTEER ON 1/31, 2/2 and/or 2/4
The Free Meal Center making last ditch effort to avoid eviction
What started as a vision to open a daily soup kitchen in Cape May County has now turned into a last minute effort to raise funds for a down payment on their facility. The Free Meal Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, needs $50,000 by March 31 to avoid being evicted from its home at 1206 Route 9 South in the Burleigh section of Middle Township.
‘The most distressing part of this whole thing is that we have a solid commitment from a benefactor to pay off the entire $325,000 price,” said Douglas Jewell, a local realtor who along with his wife Joyce is the founder of the TFMC. “Unfortunately, the seller is unwilling to wait for the funds to arrive if we don’t close on the 2.3 acre property by March 31st. We’ve been ordered to vacate the property April 1st.”
The Jewell’s are donating their $10,000 commission from the sale to the down payment, leaving $40,000 still to be raised. “We have to be pro-active in case the $325,000 check doesn’t arrive in time. The terms of the sales contract call for the owner to hold a mortgage for us with $50,000 down. Right now, we have to pursue that option,” Jewell said.
TFMC took possession of the property March 15, 2010. “Since that time nearly 500 volunteers have given of their time to help spruce up the grounds and gut and renovate the aging building. We’ve had church groups, school groups, boy scouts, retired folks, business people and contractors all pitch in to help make the soup kitchen a reality,” Jewell said. “We’ve come so far and it would be a shame to be derailed so close to the finish line.”
TFMC plans to open later in 2012. Lunch will be served year-round Monday through Saturday, plus breakfast on Saturdays. The meals will be open to anyone who walks through the door, no questions asked.
“Checks for donations towards the down payment can be made out to ‘Shore Title Company’, thereby ensuring that if the $50,000 goal is not met everyone will get their check back,” Jewell said. The mailing address for contributions is: The Free Meal Center, PO Box 863, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210. “TFMC will also accept any size loan from any business, institute or benefactor, which would be paid back once we receive the $325,000.”
TFMC is down but not out. “Worst case scenario if we get evicted is we either still buy the property once our large funding comes through or we purchase another property,” Jewell noted. “TFMC will survive one way or the other. Too many hungry folks are counting on us.”
For more information, call Douglas Jewell at 609-780-7129.
