The Mass Incarceration Task Force is collecting 2023 calendars to send to East Jersey State Prison in Rahway. This gift from NPC is greatly appreciated as expressed in the thank you card for last year’s calendars. The calendars must not have wire, but staples are fine.
There are many ways to help hungry families set the table this Thanksgiving and throughout the year. Learn about new developments with Arm in Arm and how you can get involved below.
In order to distribute Thanksgiving food in time for the day, please make sure these donations are here at the church by Wednesday, November 16. Use the wooden box outside the door near the playground.
Donate Food – Thanksgiving (pdf)
Donate Money (link) |
Donate Food (pdf) |
Donate Time (link) |
Greetings,
I am excited to share with you that we are embarking on a transformative chapter in Arm In Arm’s history: we are moving our headquarters to Mill One at One Johnston Ave. in Hamilton as of October 1st. Arm In Arm is on the move!
We will continue to serve and even deepen our service to people in Trenton, continuing and enhancing our presence at 48 Hudson Street, and at our Sustainable Garden on E. Hanover St. In fact, through pioneering mobile delivery, using our new state of the art food distribution center at Mill One and new refrigerated truck, we intend to deepen our presence in Trenton, executing more off-site Grab ‘n Go grocery events and reaching community members in their own neighborhoods, at times that are convenient for them. Using data collected by the Trenton Health Team, we have already begun forging partnerships with institutions such as Capital Health, to deliver food where the need is the greatest in a more equitable way.
As you well know, we continue to see an unprecedented increase in our level of service. We are serving more people than ever before, and our current home simply cannot accommodate the storage and efficiency needs we now have. Mill One will essentially operate as a “distribution hub” and offer us more and better space for food storage, including a loading bay so our truck can load and unload easily, as well as space for volunteers to prepare bags for mobile delivery. While families will not come to Mill One for food, as is the case at our other pantries in Trenton and in Princeton, families will come by appointment to meet with our Housing Stability Team to receive help with rental and/or utilities assistance and longer-term case management and/or for financial fitness, nutrition and parenting classes. Our Housing Stability Team will combine in person and virtual meetings to provide the most professional, compassionate and convenient ways to help families in need.
Finally, we will be downsizing our administrative space to provide more in service to our families. We have learned a lot during the pandemic and are incorporating more efficient, best practice use of space in which our staff will have safer, more professional space that they will share as they flex time between being in person and working remotely. Our board, leadership, and staff are all in agreement that this move will enhance our work and increase our impact by providing better space for our services and administrative functions, and by providing a safe and welcoming environment for clients, staff and volunteers, which better embodies our values of dignity and hospitality.
We want to assure you that our mission will remain unchanged as we continue to focus on securing basic needs of food, housing, and work to promote longer-term stability. Our plans are being clearly communicated with our clients, so they know where and when they can find us, ensuring we are meeting their needs.
Thank you for your support and your partnership. Once we are settled in, I will invite you to visit us in our new home.
Let’s continue working better together, helping our community thrive.
Sincerely,
David Fox, Ph.D., M.Div.
Dear members of Nassau Presbyterian Church,
Hunger is looming around the world: in the face of violent conflicts including the war in Ukraine, in the face of rising costs of food in the United States and around the world, and in the face of heat waves and other climate change related impacts that make agriculture hard and drought and flooding real concerns for food insecurity. Affordable housing is feeling more and more elusive to much of America’s population as the pandemic, inflation and other economic factors have influenced the market.
As we pray for these and all other grave situations, we also are called to act. The Hunger Program continues to partner with you, congregations, and partners around the country and world to “alleviate hunger and eliminate its root causes.”
Churches, communities and networks step up to counter the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and increased hunger and poverty caused by conflict, climate change, and rising costs. We deeply appreciate our grantee partners, networks, Hunger Action and Earth Care Congregations, Hunger Action Advocates in presbyteries, and donors who stand together to advocate for just policies and work to find ways to achieve food sovereignty, affordable housing and justice for communities.
Thank you for your financial support. We could not do the level of ministry we are able to do without the gracious support we receive. Gifts to the Hunger Program help us and our partners to create places of safety, peace, healing, and livelihood in the midst of difficult circumstances. God is present in all places, and we give praise for the ways God has moved in our world.
This summer we released our 2021 PHP Impact Report that shares a bit of the work we were able to accomplish in 2021. While numbers and statistics can’t get at the relationships and organizing that ultimately lead to addressing root causes, we do think some of the numbers are wonderful to see, as well as our strategy and a brief story from our partner in El Salvador. We invite you to read the report online:
We continue to work so that people have more and better food, communities standing for justice know they are not alone, and people around the world are allowed to enjoy the healthiness of creation as it was meant to be. Bless you for joining in this mission with us!
Rev. Rebecca Barnes
Coordinator, Presbyterian Hunger Program
Arm In Arm continues to serve the community at historic levels and this video created earlier this summer details their incredible work in the community. Arm In Arm is providing food to families through an average of more than 4,700 pantry visits and deliveries per month, which is more than double their pre-pandemic average. They are also providing more assistance than ever before to keep families in their homes. Arm In Arm is grateful to the Nassau Presbyterian Community for your partnership in helping them to serve at these historic levels and hopes you will continue to support us, and the community we serve, in the days, months, and year ahead– as an advocate, donor, volunteer, or ambassador. We are better together because of you!
Donate Monday (link) |
Donate Food (pdf) |
Donate Time (link) |
During the week of Chancel Drama this August 8-12, our cast put together over 100 personal care bags for Arm in Arm. Thank you for your donations!
Thank you for fulfilling our pledge this year!
We are joining with Westminster Presbyterian Church (WPC), our partner church in Trenton, to provide 150 backpacks filled with essentials for local kids. WPC will distribute the school supplies in partnership with Trenton Music Makers, the Apostalic Church, LALDEF, and Sprout University of the Arts. Read more: 2022 Summer Mission: School Supplies | Nassau Presbyterian Church (nassauchurch.org)
Once again the congregation stepped up in the largest annual mission event of Nassau Presbyterian Church. More people participate in Loaves and Fishes than any other mission project at NPC.
Dozens served, hundreds were fed, and ultimately the work of our Lord was done. Special thanks to ALL the volunteers who gave their time, talent and resources to make Loaves and Fishes 2022 a success.
Read more: Loaves & Fishes – Thank you volunteers! | Nassau Presbyterian Church (nassauchurch.org)
Each summer Nassau sends a group of youth and adults to rural Appalachia to serve our neighbors through home repair. But that’s only the beginning of the experience. Learn more in the video below.
Questions about volunteering for next year’s trip? Contact Mark Edwards (email).
The Refugee Coordinating Team is very happy to share an update on the members of the Afghan refugee family that Nassau Church has sponsored. We are so pleased with their progress since our last report and greatly appreciate the volunteer help provided by so many Nassau members.
The team is continuing to assist the members of the family living in Princeton in applying for asylum, as well the father in seeking “humanitarian parole” so he can join the rest of the family.
This summer has been a very busy time for the six children of this family, who range in age from adolescents to young adults.
The two sons continue to be very engaged in their support of the family and their education. The older son is working at a medical office in Princeton, while the younger son is re-starting his education at Mercer County Community College while continuing to work at a local grocery store.
The youngest daughter graduated this spring from elementary school. She is attending the YMCA summer camp and taking math classes at Princeton Middle School.
The next youngest daughter is also taking math classes this summer to prepare for the start of the school year. Her classes are at Princeton High School.
The third youngest daughter recently faced the challenge of aging out of the Princeton Public Schools, having almost graduated from her school in Afghanistan prior to her departure. She is working to complete her high school equivalency degree by passing the GED test, with ESL assistance from Beverly Leach.
The oldest daughter is working at Costco. She and her sisters rely on the support from volunteer drivers from our congregation for their transportation.
Angie Olsen organizes this group of drivers and provides a weekly schedule to keep everyone on track. Some additional help with this driving would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to be added to the driver list or can help in other ways, please contact Len Scales at the Church office (email).
As we hold this family in prayer, please especially pray that the father can be reunited with his family here in Princeton through the humanitarian parole process.
Nassau’s Mission & Outreach Committee has been impressed over the last few years with the developing HomeWorks program in Trenton.
With the help of Nassau members and the ingenuity and dedication of recent grads from local institutions, HomeWorks was created to offer a free, community-based, after-school residential option for high school girls in Trenton. HomeWorks empowers young women and supports their families as they invest in education and life-building skills.
For more information, visit
HomeWorks Trenton
The Refugee Coordinating Team is excited to share developments with the Afghan Refugee Family—they are investing in work, school, and extended family in the region. We couldn’t be more pleased with the progress of their transition to the States, and we deeply appreciate the continued support of the Nassau Church Family. Together, we are helping make a home for this family away from their homeland.
With a large family of adolescents and young adults it has been an exciting season of planning for summer jobs and coursework. Three family members have found rewarding employment, one is enrolled in Mercer Community College for the fall, and others are planning for summer school and activities.
The family is now a two-car household! We are grateful for the generosity of the congregation in donations from funds to vehicles and, of course, time. With the summer months approaching and the need for more transportation not provided by the school system, we are looking for additional drivers. This requires a background check and willingness to sign up for driving shifts as you are available.
We are looking for a few additional household items as well: lawn mower, picnic table(s) and chairs, wifi compatible printer, and dvd player.
As you hold this family in prayer, please especially pray for the reunification between the father and the family. Nassau is working with an immigration attorney to navigate the process to bring the father to the states as soon as is possible. Through all the trauma of the last eight months, one of the most difficult situations has been the distance it has put between loved ones.
Thank you for surrounding the Coordinating Team with support and the family with love!
Arm in Arm depends on volunteers to help us prepare and distribute bags of groceries through 3,000-4,000 food pantry visits and grocery deliveries per month.
We have been fortunate to have the help of students from The College of New Jersey and Rider University who have been volunteering in our Hudson Street and Hanover Street pantries about 45 hours per week. As they wrap up their semester this month, we will be left with a big gap in our pantries.
Especially now as we are serving at historic levels, averaging more than 4,000 pantry visits and deliveries per month, we need help. We are pro-actively outreaching to current volunteers, faith communities, and other groups with the potential to help us fill this gap and are also promoting a May Volunteer Challenge (below), encouraging individuals to volunteer, take an additional shift, and/or bring a friend with them to volunteer.
Food pantry volunteering 2022 — Signup Sheet
Water is life, and clean water means health ~ Audrey Hepburn
This year’s walk was wildly successful, raising more than $340,000, to help fund a wide range of vital projects, including:
Liz Beasley (email)
Deacon, Nassau Presbyterian Church
Volunteer, Villages in Partnership (VIP)
