What a blessing.  Donations of food and cash have been pouring into The Camden Promise over the last 36 hours.  The Christmas Spirit, God's Love, and the generosity of the world has come shining through for this organization.    Our board of directors is meeting tonight to discuss action steps for the days leading up to Christmas.

If you are interested in donating to The Camden Promise, please contact using our contact us page or call us at 612-326-5326.

On Friday, December 16th, donated food from a food drive at On Your Toes Dance Studio was being transported to the food shelf.  There were three trucks hauling food and one truck never made it to the food shelf.  This missing truck stole 1500 pounds of food.  That's 3/4 of a ton of food that isn't going to needy families this Christmas.  

Thank you to KSTP Eyewitness News for sharing the story.  Click here to see the story.

If you are interested in donating, food and clothing can be brought directly to the church at 4656 Colfax Ave. No in Minneapolis.  Please call the food shelf at 612-964-0881 to find out more information.  Cash donations are accepted through our donations page or the link to the right.

Thank you!!!

Pastor Jeff and Paul caught wind of a donation that would require freezing.  However, the food shelf is plum out of freezer space.  So, these two wonderful people went shopping.  After a few set backs, two brand spankin' new freezers arrived in the food shelf.  And not just some teeny tiny freezers.  These are huge chest freezers.  You could fit Pastor Jeff's car in one of them!  

I went up to the food shelf with TA after our meeting today.  The look on her face said it all.  We will be able to better serve the needs of our community with these freezers.  The Camden Promise can give out more meat.  Everyone wins.

And a huge thank you to the amazing donors who funded this purchase.  Truly a blessing for The Camden Promise and for the community.

-Ben

Dear Friends,

You are probably aware that a serious tornado went through north Minneapolis on Sunday May 22, 2011. Thankfully, the Gethsemane church building was not damaged by the tornado. However, many parts of the Camden community, including businesses and homes were devastated and the destruction in the area is wide spread. We have enclosed a map showing the path of the tornado and the area affected.

As a result of the storm, many of the families that the Camden Promise Food Shelf serve have lost their homes and most of their belongings. The Camden Promise is trying to help the families by providing them with food, clothing and supplies and by informing them about some resources for temporary housing and cleanup assistance.

Through our efforts we have recognized that it will take a long time for these families to get their lives back and to feel safe. The families are experiencing a great deal of stress and fear as they try to replace their losses. Our concern is the impact this stress places on the children and teens in our neighborhood.

We think that one of the best ways we can help the families (in addition to providing replacement belongings) is to create a community center for the children and teens. We would like to open this center as soon as the children are out of school for the summer. The center would offer the kids fun activities to keep them busy and would provide the kids with lunch and dinner. We also exploring and to use the center to teach the kids some life skills related to working and earning money and managing their earnings, while at the same time showing the adults in the neighborhood that the kids are being helpful. The kids could do various projects in the neighborhoods, such as yard work and cleanup.

To set up and operate a community center by the time school is out will be a huge undertaking, but we believe it is critical to help the families in our neighborhood recover. The Camden Promise is in need of money and volunteers to help to make our vision a reality. If you can assist us in setting up and/or operating the center, we would welcome your help. In addition, we respectfully ask that you send us a donation or pledge of monthly donations to help us provide the families with a much-needed safe place for their children. While cash donations are preferred, we have also attached a list of items that will be needed for the community center to operate in Gethsemane Church.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call us. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Sharon Ross - Executive Director