WHOLESOME RICHES
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Mission Statement
To reach at-risk students with the love of God through intentional and collective partnerships, weekly food distributions, classes and mentorship programs.
About This Cause
WHOLESOME RICHES: A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SERVING STUDENTS AND FAMILIES Background: Wholesome Riches is a non-profit organization based in Camden, NJ that is focused on partnering with schools and local organizations to holistically provide nutritious food and essentials to at-risk youth and their families, as well as offering “root-cause” focused supports that enrich and transform lives. As a Health education teacher in Camden, the deep needs and brokenness of my students and their families plagued me day after day. I would try to teach but the trauma and chaos in their lives prevented any productivity in the classroom. My students clearly faced traumatic situations in their homes on a regular basis. As a mother of 5 children of my own, my heart was breaking for their situations, and I began feeling the tug in my spirit to do something greater for them. A dream of freedom and joy began brewing in my heart and I began to pray. In 2018, we started round table discussions with the principal and guidance counselor of my school regarding the trauma that students faced daily. In turn, we collectively determined that a lack of consistent and nutritious food was an issue that many families were facing, especially on the weekends. This was causing more trauma and stress in the home and that was an quick starting point to begin a deeper support to the families. So, in September of 2019, we launched into the world of charity with our very small mission to feed 25 families from one school each Friday. That quickly turned into two schools and 50 families and when the pandemic hit months later, we found ourselves in a very different situation of strategizing on how to feed thousands. Detailed Description of Programs: “Food Distribution Compassion Project”: Why Food Distribution? Because Camden has been identified as America’s number one food desert which means no access to grocery stores and limited access to transportation. It is also known as a “food swamp” meaning there is constant access to fast food and low nutritional food options. This leaves the community without any viable option for a local grocery store, increased poverty rates, and limited access to transportation. In response to the desperate need for food, our organization has created an innovative and replicable approach to feeding students and families across Camden City all throughout the year. In partnership with the Camden City Board of Education and the Food Bank of South Jersey, Wholesome Riches has set up outdoor food distributions at 6 host neighborhood school sites each month, all 12 months of the year, covering the area of 14 schools. This is a total of 72 food events each year. With this strategy, we feed over 1,200 families each month. This is a community-wide strategy to invite local businesses, organizations, churches, and universities to serve the community each month. “Student Centered Learning: Love Your Neighbor” Why Student Service Learning? Because Camden students have very little opportunity to receive community service hours and to engage in service-learning experiences. Research shows that students gain life skills, confidence, empathy, positive feelings and decrease of ACES when they volunteer. At each food distribution, 8th-12th grade students are invited to participate in 4 hours of community service each month at their respective school. In addition, we are also implementing paid internships and mentorship opportunities for high school students throughout the school year.